The Yarnbomber

by Jenn Thornhill Verma

In these parts, trigger mitts, work socks and delicate doilies are often the handiwork of grandma (or grandmudder, as we affectionately refer to Nan down home in Newfoundland and Labrador). But on the islands that make up Twillingate, off the northeastern shores of the island of Newfoundland, yarn has arrived in surprising new forms — stapled to clapboard structures as street art. These are definitely not your grandmudder’s variety of knit and crochet goods either. Picture hearts and happy faces; life-sized characters like Waldo (of Where’s Waldo?) and Popeye; and familiar Newfoundlandia such as a tin of Carnation evaporated milk and a bag of Purity hard bread. Now imagine those hand-stitched wares affixed to wood siding, boarded-up windows, light poles and abandoned roadside signs. It’s the work of Nina Elliott, who goes by the alias “Rock Vandal.”

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Reasons to be Cheerful

by Séan McCann with Andrea Aragon

Séan McCann is a founding member of Great Big Sea, the acclaimed, legendary and multi-million-album–selling band. In this exclusive extract from his explosive memoir of addiction, recovery, music and love, published by Nimbus, he shares unique insights into his upbringing and the evolution of the band that would help change the face of Canadian music.

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They Just Click 

by Heather Maclean-Reid

It sits steadfast and unyielding in the cold, relentless North Atlantic Ocean. With wild, unabashed natural beauty, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is the farthest east you can travel in North America. Closer to Ireland than to its westernmost Canadian cousins, Newfoundland is one of Canada’s largest and most picturesque islands. “The Rock,” as it’s affectionately known, is renowned for its jaw-dropping, dramatic coastline (complete with icebergs happening by) and craggy, barren terrain. It is also home to some of the cleverest, funniest, kindest and most colourful people you’ll ever meet, evidenced on the world stage in the musical sensation Come From Away, which serves up just one example of true Newfoundland and Labrador hospitality and hilarity. 

And nowhere else is the love, happiness and warmth of its residents more magically captured than in the artistry of Wild & Heart Photography, based just outside the capital of St. John’s in Conception Bay South.

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Critch Talking

Mark Critch shares stories of his childhood and discusses his bestselling autobiography, Son of a Critch: A Childish Newfoundland Memoir, in our exclusive interview with award-winning journalist Tara Bradbury.

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The Fogo Island Inn Phenomenon

There is no success story quite like that of Zita Cobb. A brilliant woman who grew up on Fogo Island off the coast of Newfoundland, she left home at the age of 16 and returned two decades later to embark on project that would change the face of Newfoundland forever. She believes her unique and socially aware business model can be emulated anywhere. Zita Cobb’s ingenuity can change the way we all do business. 

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