SMART mentors


Chic Gamine lends its ears to young performers


Vocalists/musicians Andrina Turenne and Alexa Dirks mentored young talent before their performance


Members of Chic Gamine Alexa Dirks (second from right) and Andrina Turenne (far right) joined their young performer mentees for a finale performance.


played the main stage for a full set for the very first time – and shared the honour with former member Ariane Jean, inviting her onstage to perform a song. Te moment was touching and encapsulates the essence


M


of the group: its talent and charisma is boundless, but the members never lose touch with their humble roots. Tis humility along with their heart-stopping harmonies


and never-back-down, chase-your-dreams, all-in approach to music led the Folk Fest organizers to elicit Andrina Turenne and Alexa Dirks to mentor up-and-coming artists in the Galaxie Young Performers Program. Te experience for the intimate crowd nestled on the


grass at Shady Grove for the youth performance as well as for the young participants more than exceeded expectations. Winnipegger Cassidy Mann, who's participated in the


young performers program at Folk Fest more than once, says the ladies of Chic Gamine “were the best mentors I ever had. “Tey were just so supportive and open, (and) they're just


the kindest people.” Going above and beyond, Mann says she got to see her


mentors backstage after their milestone main stage per- formance. From their guidance, she says she learned “to be confi- dent and really believe in your music... what you're trying


embers of Chic Gamine of past and present had a bit of a whirlwind Winnipeg Folk Fest this year. Debuting mostly all new music, the local group


to say and what you're trying to do.” Te group has never wavered from its own belief, and


the new formation of Andrina Turenne, Alexa Dirks, An- nick Bremault, Sacha Daoud and Benoit Morier dedicate to their music full-time. Giving up has “never been part of our discussion,” says


Turenne. When it came to festival highlights for Turenne, nothing


could have been dreamier than assuming the stage that one of her idols, Bonnie Raitt, graced the night prior. “To see one of your heroes onstage and then perform in


front of your community. (It's) just amazing.” Turenne also felt gifted to have been chosen as a valu-


able mentor for a hand-picked crop of talent. Forty-two musicians from across Canada and the United States were selected by a jury of industry professionals to work with mentors at the festival. “It's humbling to even be asked to be in the position,”


says Turenne. “Being recognized as somebody who has something that's valued by another generation coming up.” Mann says she's been looking forward to the experience


since she heard Chic Gamine members would be mentor- ing the young group, as a devoted fan and Winnipegger herself, the group models what is possible for a committed performer from this small prairie city. Already playing sets all around town, Mann may be priming to follow in the footsteps of several past young


performers who've moved on to their own slots in the Folk Fest lineup. Besides learning from the successful singer/musicians


of Chic Gamine, Mann says the opportunity to play and experiment with other young performers from across North America who share her dreams was extremely rewarding. “It’s really nice to just get feedback, especially from other


songwriters that are trying to do the same thing,’ she says. The group of six young artists mentored under Chic


Gamine, including Winnipeggers Mitchell Schimnowski and Mann, collaborated on most songs onstage, offering their harmonies and additional guitar support on each other’s tracks. Te crew had clearly bonded over their time spent prepar-


ing to take the stage together, and, under the guidance of Turenne and Dirks, took the stage with confidence. Dirks jokingly disciplined a performer when he said


he was surrounded by brighter talent onstage that day, reminding him they talked about refraining from being self-deprecating. Tough, she introduced the group riding the line her-


self: “I don’t know what we really taught them ‘cause they seemed to know a lot already,” said Dirks. Turenne adds: “It was great that we were busy with the


young performers all day so we didn’t think about (our main stage performance) too much.” But if you were watching their main stage show, you’d never know they had a shred of trepidation.


its “fan” account propped up. “I embraced it and said, ‘OK, let’s talk about


Portage Place has a new face, and she’s a real fan O


By Brenlee Coates


lga Pogrebinskaia had what you would think to be the distinct displeasure of crafting Portage Place’s response after


it,’” says Pogrebinskaia, marketing coordina- tor of the shopping centre. “I realized it was someone pushing us to


move toward social media. Now we’re a part of the conversation.” The Portage Place FAN Twitter account


sometimes bolstered the mall’s image by diss- ing Polo Park, though most of its comments were irreverent and, quite often, hilarious. She admits the way Portage Place was


pushed to enter social media wasn’t ideal, but she was glad that the mall was in the forefront of people’s minds. “I’ve had my frustrations with it,” confesses


Pogrebinskaia. “Now I’m a little flattered that we had so many followers.” Pogrebinskaia’s ability to cut through


negativity and see opportunity is exactly why she’s perfect for her role at Portage Place. She sees the challenges for the mall as a chance to make an imprint on Winnipeg and one of its major landmarks. “It’s all about having a vision and push-


ing through it, no matter how many hours it takes or how many naysayers it gets,” says Pogrebinskaia. “It just pushes you to do bet- ter and better.” Luckily, Pogrebinskaia isn’t alone in her


attempts to reimagine the mall and the downtown core.


10 SMART TAB “We had so many alliances form over T


(the fan Twitter account),” she says. “Other businesses, the media, the Downtown BIZ. Tey picked us up.”


he Downtown BIZ has partnered with Portage Place in dreaming up events and helping boost its image. Their


next joint project is erecting a permanent, enclosed patio where the temporary patio sits now. Tough she’s working against some nega-


tive perceptions and stereotypes about the downtown mall, Pogrebinskaia didn’t have to combat her own. “I fell in love with Portage Place when I


first came to Canada,” she says. “It is the first place that you see as a new-


comer or if you’re taking the bus. “It feels so homey.” Downtown revitalization aside, Pogre-


binskaia has a big job to do representing an entire mall and its many tenants, on a lower budget than most. “For marketing, it’s just a whole differ-


ent beast,” says Pogrebinskaia. “When you promote, you have to make sure you hit eve- rybody. You’re promoting the community.” As we linger at Starbucks in Edmonton


Court, Pogrebinskaia exchanges a familiar greeting with one of her tenants from Mesh Hair Design. “I know pretty much all of my tenants


by name,” says Pogrebinskaia – though it appears she doesn’t just know their names but knows them. “People don’t want to deal with a title,


they want to deal with a person,” she ex- plains.


Olga Pogrebinskaia www.smartcareers.ca


Tough personalizing interactions comes


naturally; “I’m so casual. I will never not be me,” Pogrebinskaia also finds time to interact with visitors to Portage Place – not exactly something that’s expected in her job description. “I’m at customer service every day. I need


to know what my customers want,” says Pogrebinskaia. Wanting to encourage patronage from


her neighbouring businesses and get to know regular patrons, Pogrebinskaia of- fered a contest over the lunch hour for six days where people “fished” for a chance to win a hot tub. She worked the event herself, and drew


tons of information from even the one or two minutes of interaction she had with visitors. It’s her above-and-beyond devotion and


perseverance that makes Pogrebinskaia stand out at her job. “My approach has always been, ‘why can’t


we?’” she says. “I understand that downtown Winnipeg


isn’t New York, but why can’t it be?” With new local entrepreneurs moving


in shortly, lunch-hour concerts and more events in the works, Pogrebinskaia has helped poise the shopping centre for a revival. “My strategy is to make it for every- body; make people feel welcome. “I love everything about downtown. You


can see it’s really on the uprise and every- body knows it – and people that don’t know it will see it soon.” Like Te Little Engine that Could, Pogre-


binskaia may just make a believer out of everyone.


August 2014


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20