This weekend, our favorite band won its first ever Juno award!  Chic Gamine was nominated in the “Roots & Traditional, Group Album of the year”.  This is an impressive accomplishment for anyone, but especially so for the Gamines because they independently recorded their first album on a shoestring budget.

Because they were on tour in Montana over the weekend, they were unable to attend the awards ceremonies in Vancouver, British Columbia. They received the news during a phone call in between sets during their Saturday night performance.  During the 2nd set, they announced to the crowd that they had received the award, and an already special night became exponentially more festive!  Afterwards, they sat down in their accommodations and recorded a short 2-minute song/acceptance speech that they immediately posted online.  With the way they have taken off since forming in 2007, will they soon be able to tackle the Grammys?

Below you will find the official press release.  To view their cool video acceptance speech (Andrina is filming so you don’t see her in the video), please follow this link:  http://www.chicgamine.com/wp/2009/03/29/chic-gamine-wins-a-2009-juno-award/

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Toast of the town! Chic Gamine wins a 2009 Juno Award!

VANCOUVER, BC, March 29, 09 - The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and

Sciences (CARAS) celebrated the class of 2009 JUNO Award winners at last night’s

JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards held in Vancouver, BC. The non-televised gala event honoured 32 new

JUNO Award winners - the first of two nights celebrating the best and brightest in Canadian music.

“Tonight’s winners represent the sensational cross-section of musical talent that Canada has to offer,” said Melanie Berry, President of CARAS. “We

are so proud to celebrate Canada’s creative excellence each year at The JUNO Awards and to honour the hard work and successes of our artists.”

The members of Chic Gamine were doing what they do best while the awards were handed out; they were on tour in America, performing a concert at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center in Hamilton, Montana. The group was very surprised and thrilled to hear the news. They later honoured the occasion with a post concert celebration. In lieu of an acceptance speech, the group composed a quick “acceptance ditty” and posted a quickly shot video online after their Montana performance.

Chic Gamine has been selling its self titled debut CD independently at live shows and via their website for the last few months and already several thousand copies have been sold and orders for additional product have been placed. Their busy touring schedule has already taken them to major festival and theatre stages from California to New York, from Montreal to Washington and everywhere in-between. The next few weeks will see the group perform in Boston as well as Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette, Louisiana and the Houston International Festival in Houston, Texas. The summer months are already filling up with festival engagements in America and across Canada.

The group is taking time to write material for the next recording between live performance activities.

Chic Gamine: http://www.chicgamine.com

2009 JUNO GALA DINNER & AWARDS WINNER:

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ROOTS & TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: GROUP

Chic Gamine

Chic Gamine

Independent

For further information, photos, bio info or to set up interviews, please contact:

************************************

Andre Bourgeois

INSTINCT

Artist Management

P: 902-632-2149

E: andre@instinctartistmanagement.com

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Travel Manitoba has really been helping the fishing and hunting industry since the hiring of Kevin Palmer a few years ago.  Kevin has brought a new attitude to the marketing of Manitoba’s outdoor lodges and outfitters.  He has conducted many personal surveys of all “best customers” (including some of you reading this posting!) and developed quite a marketing plan.  This includes targeting meeting planners through a program known as the “Manitoba Premium Lodges”.  There are 19 lodges in this program (Aikens included).  Travel Manitoba has really made a splash in increasing the awareness of Manitoba’s incredible fishing and hunting opportunities.  This was done primarily through the All-Canada sportshows throughout the Midwest and the “Manitoba Monsters” program.  A new booth, new hunt/fish guide, and new attitude is really paying off with added exposure to our great industry.

As part of a final push for the 2009 season, Kevin has setup a trip to Dallas to meet with 1,200 meeting planners and to host our own little private “sportshow”.  Pat is excited at the opportunity to travel to a new market and gauge the interest in the Canadian Fly-In product (and obviously the interest in the “Aikens Experience”!    If you are in the Dallas area, the event will be held from March 26-28 at the Hotel Zaza.   If you would like to stop in, please give us a call.  Below is the official press release from Travel Manitoba.

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Travel Manitoba                                                     Press contact: Nat Silverman

155 Carlton St., 7th Floor                                     Nathan J. Silverman Co./PR

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3H8                            1830 Sherman Ave., Suite 401

(800) 665-0040                                                       Evanston, IL 60201-3773

www.travelmanitoba.com                                  Phone (847) 328-4292

                                                                                   Email: natsilv@aol.com

News

For Immediate Release

Manitoba to Host Dallas Receptions March 27-28

for Trophy Fishing and Hunting Fans

            WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 17, 2009 — Travel Manitoba and selected premium fly-in fishing and hunting lodges from the central Canadian province of Manitoba will host get-acquainted public receptions March 27 and 28  in Dallas for area outdoors enthusiasts interested in learning about trophy fishing and big game hunting in Manitoba’s remote wilderness areas.

            The walk-in receptions, free of charge and open to all ages, will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 27, and from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, at the Hotel ZaZa, 2332 Leonard St., Dallas. Complimentary food and beverages will be offered, and hotel parking will be free for reception guests. For information, call Travel Manitoba toll-free at 1-800-665-0040.

            The deluxe Manitoba lodges co-hosting the receptions will include Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge, Big Sand Lake Lodge, Golden Eagle Lodge, Kississing Lake Lodge, and Laurie River Lodge.

            Manitoba is a prime destination for trophy fishing, including massive northern pike, which Travel Manitoba has dubbed “Manitoba Monsters.” The province’s deluxe lodges also attract sportsmen and women from around the world who want to land enormous lake trout, impressive walleye and channel catfish, and, at Manitoba’s northernmost subarctic frontier lodges, the elusive, hard-fighting arctic grayling, known as the “sailfish of the north.”

            Hunters come to Manitoba for trophy black bear, caribou, moose, white-tailed deer, and wolf, plus waterfowl and upland game birds.

            According to Kevin Palmer, Travel Manitoba’s fishing and hunting marketing consultant, “By virtue of Manitoba’s longstanding — and pioneering — wildlife conservation and management practices, it offers some of the largest and most plentiful game on the planet.” He says outdoors enthusiasts are attracted to its “vast wilderness locations of rare solitude and pristine beauty.”

            Travel Manitoba and the Manitoba lodges at the receptions will be emphasizing the province’s accessibility via nonstop flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to Minneapolis–St. Paul or Chicago, connecting to nonstop flights to the provincial capital of Winnipeg.

            On the Net:

            Travel Manitoba: http://www.travelmanitoba.com

            Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge: http://www.aikenslake.com

Departing Winnipeg in deep-freeze conditions, Pit, Julie, Patrick (and baby Natasha) head to Minneapolis this week for the Northwest Sportshow. This destination is the seventh of nine stops  in Aikens’ tradeshow circuit.  Prior to this trip we’ve visited Kansas City, Chicago, Denver, Calgary, Phoenix and Montréal. The last two, Phoenix and Montréal, were held on the same weekend. Meaning, Pit and Julie spread the good word about Aikens in warm and sunny Arizona while Pat and Gerry approched the people of french Canada for the first time.

Many of you are aware that much of Aikens’ staff are French-Canadian, so it only makes sense for us to offer our unique product to french speaking anglers. Gerry and Pat are happy to report that, amidst many surprised reactions, they were able to speak to many interested “pêcheurs” (fishermen)! Nous tenons à remercier tous ceux qui sont venu causer avec nous au sujet de la pêche sportive sans égale au Manitoba. Nous esperons vous voir un jour sur notre quai!

If you or anyone you know will be in the Minneapolis area this weekend, don’t hesitate to contact us  to let us know you are coming. It would be our pleasure to set aside some admission tickets for at the Will-Call. Phone 1-800-565-2595 or 204-237-5253. Email fishing@aikenslake.com . We hope to see you there!