4 THE VOICE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011 EDITOR LEAH GOEBEL BR carer eR Y ory 2 Ee ere | Ee s LEAH GOEBEL photo Design formation student Nicole Mackenzie sets up angel statues for the program’s new exhibit entitled Muse which opens Thursday. Muse show to open Thursday Two of the life-sized winged her- The design By CARLY WIGNES f ormation Us the Christmas season and giant exhibit, angels have been popping up . around Langara. Muse, will show stu- alds adorn the breezeway along the ’ LSU and another is hovering inside the dents cre- design formation studio on the west ativity with _ side of A-building. The angels aren’t actually harkening many art Christmas, but are part of long-awaited works from design formation exhibit entitled Muse that opens this Thursday. costumes to The angels are “flying out to recruit desserts. more people” to the exhibit, according to design formation student Nicole Mackenzie. The angels, created by Mackenzie and classmate Andrea Diaz, took ap- proximately one month to complete. They wear canvas tunics dry brushed in silver with silicone wings that span over two metres. The bodies of the angels come from Arm and A Leg, a “mannequin for hire” business owned by design formation instructor Kevin Smith. “This whole exhibit is his vision,” said Mackenzie. She said her class learns about every aspect that goes into the creation of an exhibition from wall construction to marketing. Inside the studio, students worked on a range of projects from costuming to building fake desserts. “There’s lots of glitter all over,” said Mackenzie. “Craft and detail every- where.” The event, an opportunity for stu- dents to display their creativity, is free and runs for two weeks. The works of art within the exhibit are fabrications of what inspire the students, hence the name Muse. Students and instructors are excited to show off their hard work. “T can promise you, it’s nothing any- one’s seen before,” said design student Marchel Eang. Book junkies gather to discuss literature and love Read Dating offers a fresh take on speed dating that brings literature lovers of all stripes together at last. By CARLY WIGNES one night? Vancouverites are confident they can. An event downtown called Read Dating has proven to be so popu- lar that its opening night has already been filled. Hosted at the Vancouver Public Li- brary, participants speed-date discuss- ing their favourite book, movie or mu- sic with other singles in what has come to be known as “read dating.” Te: you can handle 17 dates in “Nobody in Vancouver has done any- thing quite like it before,” said librari- an Paul Hayes. “We still have a few spots left to fill up,” he added, referring to this Thurs- day’s event, which is geared specifical- ly to members of the gay and lesbian community. “We're trying to do something with the library in aiming at a demographic that sometimes drops away from li- brary services,” said Hayes. “This is a way of trying something a little bit dif- ferent, a little bit fun and bringing peo- ple back to the library.” Registrants, ages 19 to 35, each get a character’s name to use throughout the night as they rotate from one per- son to another, said librarian Barbara Edwards. Dana Gandolfo has never tried speed dating before, but this new spin on it has piqued her interest. “Td totally be up for it,” she said. “It’s sounds fun and it’s cool to know that everybody there is into reading.” A number of libraries that have run the program in the U.S. find they have trouble getting enough men, regard- less of whether it’s read dating for straight people or for gays and lesbi- ans, said Hayes. With only a few spots left for Dec. 1, the librarians are confident the event will fill up. “We've had a very good response so far and we’re hoping to continue it on in the future as well,” said Edwards ex- citedly. To join the fun make sure to reserve a spot by calling 604-331-3687 or go to the VPL’s website. DANA GANDOLFO Gandolfo thinks an event like Read Dating that caters to gays and lesbians who read is great. Fall down Alice's rabbit hole for dinner Join Alice and the rest of the mad gang as they find their way through Wonder- land; all the while enjoy- ing a cocktail and a great fine dining experience. By ALANNA HARDINGE-ROONEY a private wine cellar and evolved into pop-up dining events through- out Vancouver. In collaboration with Vancouver’s finest chefs, actors and creative per- sonalities, the Swallow Tail Supper Club offers a dining experience that’s unlike any other. This year, the supper club has teamed up with the In House Festival and Pastiche Restaurant, to host Down the Rabbit Hole, an Alice In Wonder- land themed night of fine dining and theatre. “We wanted to do a culinary-focused evening, with performance completely integrated into it,” said supper club chef Robin Kort. “Not like dinner the- atre, more like you’re immersed in a world of food.” Alice in Wonderland, with its Mock Turtle soup and shrinking potions, was ripe for culinary interpretation, ac- cording to Kort. Diners are given a $129 five-course meal made from local ingredients, in- cluding cocktails. While guests enjoy their fine cui- sine, puppeteers from Mind of Snail and actors Arielle Amara and Chris Ross provide the table-side entertain- ment. “We're getting them to do little vi- gnettes. They sit down at dinner with you, basically,” said Kort. One of the reasons the supper club is so unique is that they keep the location of the dinner a secret until the week before the event. The long table seating of the pop-up dinners provide Vancouverites with a rare opportunity to get to interact with fellow restaurant goers. “Tn Vancouver, you don’t usually get to meet people a lot, especially if you go to a restaurant and are seated at sepa- rate tables. So with this, it’s this weird experience, eating with people you’ve never met before, so it’s always inter- esting that way.” The soiree begins in the forest, where guests are met by the famous White Rabbit. They are then escorted to an enchanting Arthur Erikson home for their meal. “Vancouver is sort of boring archi- tecturally I find, so it’s hard to find places that are totally different,” said Kort. “When I do find one, it is a novel- ty.” Down the Rabbit Hole attracted the attention of Food TV host Bob Blumer, who has chosen to showcase the event on his program The World’s Weirdest Restaurants. Kort said she isn’t surprised. “You don’t usually get that kind of experience. You know, the Mad Hatter doesn’t usually sit down with you at restaurants, you don’t get the duchess peppering your soup and stuff.” I: started with small dinner parties in