World Pond Hockey Championships

This unique event is an annual international competition that takes place outdoors, on bodies of frozen water, playing the pond hockey variant of ice hockey. The event takes place in and around Plaster Rock, New Brunwick.

The first championships were held in 2002. The 2007 event was opened by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the first time the Prime Minister attended the event and indeed the first time a prime minister had ever visited Plaster Rock.

We speak with Danny Braun from Plaster Rock about how the event started, what takes place, and just how they manage to pull it off in this community of 1,150.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Black Ice: “The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes: 1895-1925″.

Comprised of the sons and grandsons of runaway American slaves, the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes helped pioneer the sport of ice hockey changing this winter game from the primitive “gentleman’s past-time” of the nineteenth century to the modern fast moving game of today. In an era when many believed blacks could not endure cold, possessed ankles too weak to effectively skate, etc. (”and lacked the intelligence for organized sport”), these men defied the defined myths.

We speak with George Fosty, one of the co-authors of “Black Ice”.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Poutine

Poutine is a dish consisting of French Fries topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients. It is a quintessential Canadian comfort food, especially in Quebec.

The dish originated in rural Quebec in the late 1950s and is now popular in many parts of the country. Several Quebecois communities claim to be the birthplace of poutine, including Drummondville, St. Jean-sur-Richilieu and Victoriaville.

In this conversation, we get a took on poutine from Drummondville with restauranteur Daniel Leblanc.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com