Downtown Saturday Night

Location: Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: 6th Avenue
Date: Oct 2014
Website: townofkipling.ca

  The town of Kipling, Saskatchewan has a population of about 1100 people.  According to the town website it was named after author Rudyard Kipling who wrote The Jungle Book.  Being a small town it has a strong sense of community.  A mural by Janet Blackstock is painted on the corner of 6th Ave and Main Street.  It depicts the town coming together on a typical Saturday night.  Children play in the street as the adults gather in groups around their vehicles.  The crowds all seem to be headed towards one building which is painted red like the town's famous paper clip.  The words Downtown Saturday Night are written on the side of the building.  We actually visited Kipling on a Saturday, but needed to be back in Winnipeg, Manitoba that evening.  While we were taking pictures of the mural, the sun was already starting to set and was making quite a glare on the wall.  By the time the sun fully set across the prairies we were already well on our way to Winnipeg.  We may never know what actually happens in Kipling on a Saturday night, once the sun goes down.

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Map of Our World
Downtown Saturday Night

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Post # 105

World’s Largest Paper Clip

Location: Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: Bell Park 6th Avenue
Date: Oct 2014
Website: townofkipling.ca

  The small town of Kipling, Saskatchewan has the world's largest paper clip on display.  The paper clip is over 15 feet tall and and weighs 3043 lbs.  The paper clip represents a series of internet trades that also made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.  When we drove from Regina, Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, Manitoba we specifically detoured in order to check it out.
   It all started in 2005 when Kyle Macdonald traded a red paper clip online for a fish shaped pen.  He then traded the pen for a door knob and so on and so on.  Eventually, he ended up trading a KISS snow globe with actor Corbin Bernsen.  KISS is a band best known for their painted faces, stage pyrotechnics and Gene Simmons' tongue.  Corbin Bernsen is best known for appearing in the Major League movies or as Arnie Becker on the television show L.A. Law. As a result of all this trading Corbin now has a star in front of the giant paper clip.

  The snow globe was traded for a movie role.  This is where the town of Kipling finally became involved.  The movie role was offered online and the town of Kipling traded the house at 503 Main Street.  One of the residents of Kipling acted in Corbin Bernsen's movie Donna On Demand.  The trading was complete and the big red paperclip was erected in Bell Park.  It now joins a long line of world's biggest items that draw tourists like ourselves to small towns like Kipling.  Not many of them can boast such a story as this one red paper clip.

  One question we have is if a paper clip is defined by its shape or its function?  While this giant red steel bar has been bent into the traditional paper clip shape one wonders if it would be capable of actually holding paper.  Aside from the fact it would need giant sized pieces of paper, we wonder who or what would give it that slight bend needed in order to slide some paper into place?

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Map of Our World
World’s Largest Paper Clip

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Post # 104

My Big Fat Greek Wedding House

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 73 Glenwood Crescent
Date: Oct 2014
Website: www.facebook.com/MyBigFatGreekWeddingMovie/

  The sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding will be released in theatres today.  The original movie was filmed mostly in Toronto and went on to become the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time.  The movie was written by Nia Vardalos about her own life.  She plays Toula who is a Greek woman that falls in love with a non-Greek man (John Corbett).  The story follows the two families as they come together for the inevitable big fat wedding.
  The home above was used as the exterior of  the Portokalos house where Toula lives with her family.  You can tell that even in real life this home belongs to a Greek family.  The statues in the yard and the decorations on the front make this clear.  There were still a few modifications that were made for filming such as adding a false second floor and placing additional statues and lighting in the front yard.  A false garage painted like a Greek flag was added on one side while the actual garage pretended to be a big bay window.
  The home makes multiple appearances throughout the movie and dressed up in all it's proud Greekness it really is hard to miss.  Based on the trailer we watched for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, it looks like the entire cast is back for the sequel.  That includes the house. 

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Map of Our World
Portokalos Home

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Post # 103