In this issue...
• All hell breaks loose after PEI music festival headliner pulls out and fans can't get refunds. But wait, there's more!
• After a brief delay due to the death of Pope Francis, Carlo Acutis becomes first millennial saint - and the patron saint of the Internet
• By the numbers X 10 + 1
• The iconic Publishers Clearing House brand is on shaky ground and past winners are panicking
• Introducing the new Rose Michaels brand of colouring books!
• Before you go: 7 things you may have missed in the news
• Enjoy the outdoors with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
• Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
• The Hump Day Collection
• Send a FREE happy greeting card to someone to brighten their day!
... and trivia, quotes and more!
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All hell breaks loose after PEI music festival headliner pulls out and fans can't get refunds. But wait... there's more!
Wow! Concertgoers on PEI aren't happy after one of the headliners of a major Cavendish music festival pulled out, leaving ticketholders without an option for refunds. Many claim that singer Alex Warren was the only reason they bought tickets for the event.
Warren apparently pulled out of the event due to mental health issues several weeks before concert organizers actually announced his cancellation and continued to sell tickets based on Warren's attendance. When they claimed that Warren had "just" advised them, it was made clear from Warren afterwards that they knew long before they actually announced his cancellation to fans.
Article excerpt: "Alex Warren has had an extra-'Ordinary' year so far, with one of 2025's biggest hits and arguably one of the songs of the summer. But this week he has found himself defending why he had to drop out of performing at this month's Sommo Festival in Cavendish, P.E.I.
Yesterday (September 3), organizers for Sommo announced that the 24-year-old singer-songwriter had pulled out of the festival due to a 'recently booked scheduling conflict.'
Warren was scheduled to perform on the Sunday night, September 14 just before headliner Hozier. His absence now leaves organizers scrambling to fill his slot.
'With the festival being next week, as you can imagine, this leaves us in a difficult position,' they added. 'We are working hard to complete the lineup and you'll be the first to know when we do.'
Now Warren has broken his silence, issuing an apology and an explanation for his inability to perform at the festival.
In a video posted to TikTok, Warren said he was 'told not to make a video about this, but you guys deserve answers. And it's really f**king weighing on me not talking about this, and everyone keeps telling me not to talk about it, and musicians don't do that, and I f**king think that sucks. You guys deserve to know everything.'
'Four weeks ago I asked for time off,' he explained. 'I'm going through a lot of stuff. I've been touring all year. I have rehearsals on my birthday, all these different things. So I wanted a week off, where I could go see a therapist, where I could spend time with my family and sleep in my own bed because I haven't been able to do that.'
'My team had told me that I'd have to cancel a show or two, and I said that's totally fine,' he continued. 'I don't care how much we lose. I don't care what the f**k happens. I just want time off.'
Warren then clarified that while he did in fact ask his team to cancel his appearance, the festival failed to announce it to fans."
While Warren was being torn apart by criticism before the announcement, the tide certainly changed afterwards. I've never seen so many TikTok videos from PEI as I have since this issue broke out into the open a few weeks ago. The anger switched from Warren to festival organizers pretty fast.
I'll be very surprised if their future festivals aren't negatively impacted.
Read: Alex Warren explains why he cancelled his Sommo Festival appearance.
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After brief delay due to the death of Pope Francis, Carlo Acutis becomes first millennial saint - and the patron saint of the Internet
I've mentioned this story a few times in the past, but it's finally come to fruition. Carlo Acutis is the first millennial saint and has become a bit of spiritual celebrity among youth because of his age. He was only 15 when he died of leukemia nearly 19 years ago on October 12, 2006, in Monza, Italy.
His canonization was delayed because of the death of Pope Francis in April, but Pope Leo XXIII subsequently granted Acutis the title of Saint on September 7.
Article excerpt: "In the silence of St. Mary Major Church in this central Italian hill town, a tour group of Polish teenagers files past a glass-sided tomb to look in on a child of their own age. His face and hands are reconstructed with silicone. He's wearing jeans, a tracksuit top, and Nike sneakers. He is Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint and known in the Catholic Church as 'God's influencer.'
On Sunday, Acutis - who died of leukemia when he was 15 years old in 2006 - was canonized in a ceremony at the Vatican presided over by Pope Leo XIV, and attended by thousands of devotees of this first saint of the 'digital age.' Witnessing the rise of the internet, cellphones and social media as a teenager, Acutis harnessed these new powers of communication and coded a website to catalogue and promote eucharistic miracles. (Eucharistic miracles involve the Catholic sacrament of Communion.)
A large framed portrait is unveiled, of a curly-haired teenage boy in a red polo shirt against a blue background.
The sainthood of a contemporary has inspired enthusiasm among Catholics. Saint Carlo Acutis receives prayers and requests for miracles from around the world - often, fittingly, through the internet. His tomb is livestreamed 24/7 via a webcam. Devotees post messages to him in comments under online prayer videos on YouTube for Acutis. 'Blessed Carlo, thank you so much for interceding for my prayer, it's a miracle that I got a positive pregnancy test at the age of 43,' reads one. 'Blessed Carlo - heal me with my arthritis,' reads another. 'My cousins lost their dog and I prayed to Carlo Acutis so they might find it, and miraculously they did.'"
(Note: "Blessed" is the title of an individual who has been beatified but not yet canonized.)
... "Miracles are a prerequisite for being declared a saint in the Catholic Church. For Acutis, the Vatican recognizes two: the healing of a 4-year-old Brazilian boy with a serious pancreatic malformation, and the sudden recovery of a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman after a near-fatal bicycle accident. Vatican officials say both the mother of the young boy and the injured woman had prayed to Acutis for help."
To view the live stream of the tomb of Saint Carlo Acutis, click here.
Read: A teen nicknamed "God's influencer" has become the first millennial saint. Related: A wildly popular 15-year-old computer whiz is becoming the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.
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The iconic Publishers Clearing House brand is on shaky ground, and past winners are panicking
If you're of a certain age, the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes was the "lottery jackpot" of its time. Winners became rich, receiving a substantial amount of money every week for the rest of their lives. Winners would be advised by a knock on their doors with TV cameras rolling and much celebrating going on! It was always exciting to watch.
I hadn't really heard much about Publishers Clearing House (PCH) in recent years. Apparently, there was a reason for that. They went bankrupt and they've left a slew of panicked past winners in their wake as their financial lives have been turned upside down. (Let's be honest, if you have a certain income, you will live at the level of that income, so no one can really blame them for freaking out a bit.) For clarity, PCH will live on, but under a different owner who has stated that they are not responsible for paying past winners.
Article excerpt: "Several Publishers Clearing House winners claim they are no longer receiving their promised lifetime payouts - and it’s having a devastating effect on their lives.
The company declared bankruptcy in April, and an investigation by Oregon outlet KGW8 found that at least 10 past winners who had been receiving annual payouts never received their yearly check.
'Why didn’t somebody give me a heads up? [Say], ‘Hey, we’re going out of business,’' former winner John Wyllie of White City asked while speaking to the outlet. 'It’s not a good way to treat anyone.'
Wyllie, 61, who won $260,000 a year for life from Publishers Clearing House in 2012, said the money had allowed him to retire early and move closer to family. Now, however, he said things are looking bleak.
'This feels like a nightmare. I thought this was going to go on for the rest of my life, so I didn’t really have to worry about money,' he said before adding that he has been having trouble finding work and will likely lose his home."
... "ARB Interactive bought Publishers Clearing House out of bankruptcy in July and stated that they plan to run sweepstakes under the Publishers Clearing House brand name.
'At ARB Interactive, we are committed to restoring and preserving the trust that has defined the Publishers Clearing House (PCH) brand for decades,' a representative from ARB Interactive wrote in an emailed statement to PEOPLE.
The company added that while they are not responsible for the payment of prize money won before their acquisition of Publishers Clearing House, they have assumed responsibility for prizes awarded after July 15, 2025, as well as a SuperPrize from May 31."
What a heartbreaking situation.
A bit of trivia: Former Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon was not affiliated with Publishers Clearing House. In fact, he was affiliated with a competing company, American Family Publishers (AFP). To this day, many people falsely "remember" that McMahon was attached to Publishers Clearing House.
Read: Publishers Clearing House winners say they are no longer receiving their lifetime payments: "Feels like a nightmare."
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Introducing the new Rose Michaels brand of colouring books!
Do you like to colour? Do you know people who like to colour? The new Rose Michaels brand of colouring books for people of all ages is now available on Amazon Canada for $13.99 CAD, Amazon USA for $9.99 USD and in a number of other international Amazon marketplaces, as well. (International prices vary.)
Current books include:
• Let's Color Some Shoes and Purses
• Let's Color Some Letters
• Let's Color Some Trees and Birds
• Let's Color Some Cars and Trucks
• Let's Color Some Rockets
• Let's Color Some Doors
• Petal by Petal 1-2
• Silly Happy Monsters 1-2
• Goofy Ghouls & Friends 1-4
Coming soon:
• Demons & Monsters 1-2
• Skulls & Flowers
• Mythical Creatures
• Owl Mandalas
• The Owls Coloring Collection 1-3
• Christmas Coloring Fun
To view the entire list of Rose Michaels' colouring books, visit her website or follow her Facebook page.
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Trivia: Did you know?
Walt Disney's first successful animated character wasn't Mickey Mouse! It was actually Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. (Obviously, the look of the early concept of Mickey Mouse borrowed heavily from Oswald.)
Oswald starred in a number of cartoons for both Walt Disney Studios and Universal in the 1920s and 1930s. According to Oswald's Wikipedia entry: "He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created Mickey Mouse as a replacement to Oswald."
Click here to watch Trolley Troubles featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from 1927 on YouTube.
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Quotes of note
• 1. "The duty of comedy is to correct men by amusing them."
- Molière (1622-1673), French playwright, actor and poet (shown in photo)
• 2. "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."
- Francis of Assisi
• 3. "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."
- George Bernard Shaw
• 4. "I have a genuine love affair with my audience. When I'm on stage they're not privileged to see me. It's a privilege for me to see them."
- Ozzy Osbourne
• 5. "Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."
- Wayne Dyer
• 6. "Experience is the teacher of all things."
- Julius Caesar
• 7. "Discipline is just doing the same thing the right way whether anyone's watching or not."
- Michael J. Fox
• 8. "Guys are lucky. We can wear a suit over and over, just with different shirts and ties."
- Ryan Reynolds
• 9. "Doing nothing is very hard to do... you never know when you're finished."
- Leslie Nielsen
• 10. "Halloween is the beginning of the holiday shopping season. That’s for women. The beginning of the holiday shopping season for men is Christmas Eve."
- David Letterman
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Enjoy the outdoors with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
In September, the group is walking on the Riverview Riverfront Trail, with meet-up at the gazebo on Coverdale Road in Riverview.
In October - to start its remarkable 20th year! - the group moves to Centennial Park, with meet-up in the parking lot up the street from the main entrance on St. George Boulevard.
The group meets for walks every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. New participants are always welcome! For more information, please contact Wayne Harrigan at 506-386-2187 or via email.
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Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
My three volumes of Acadian recipe books (English and French) and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1 are out now and make a great addition to your recipe book library or a gift for someone else! They are available on Amazon Canada, Amazon USA and in some local retail outlets in Southeastern New Brunswick:
• Chapters, Dieppe NB: Volumes 1-3, Forgotten Recipes
• Le P'tit Coin Acadien Poutine Râpée, Bouctouche: Volumes 1-3, Forgotten Recipes
• Monument-Lefebvre, Memramcook NB: Volumes 1-3
• Centre culturel Kent-Sud, Bouctouche NB: Volumes 1-3 (French versions only)
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The Hump Day Collection
The Hump Day Collection 1 is now available for purchase through Amazon in ebook or paperback (300+ pages) format. The book contains 75 updated and revised Hump Day stories that ran for many years in a local newspaper. I've been asked many times to put these in book format, so I'm hoping you'll like it! For ebook lovers, the book is part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription-based program from Amazon. To purchase today:
• Chapters, Dieppe NB
• Amazon Canada: amzn.to/4gckiQX
• Amazon USA: amzn.to/3CnKfiF
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Send a FREE happy greeting card to someone to brighten their day!
When was the last time you received a wonderful heartwarming greeting card in the mail to brighten your day? It's probably been quite some time, right?
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club wants to change that. They have launched a campaign called Inspiration which will see individuals receive cheerful greeting cards containing an uplifting message.
The cards are intended for anyone who would appreciate a happy message, be they health-care workers, teachers, students, seniors, retail or restaurant workers, delivery drivers or anyone else, including family, friends and neighbours.
The message inside each card reads, “Someone who thinks very highly of you wanted us to send you this sunny smile to brighten your day!” The cover of the card shows a smiling sun graphic accompanied by the words “Hi! Bonjour!” The cards are printed in both official languages.
Any names and addresses collected during the campaign will be kept confidential and not used for any other purpose. The cards are sent anonymously. Recipients will not know who made the request.
Requests for cards may be sent via email to inspiration@monctonsunriserotary.ca. There is no cost for sending or receiving a card. Requests must include the name and full mailing address of the person who will receive the card, including the postal code. The envelopes will be hand-addressed and sent with a real postage stamp. As well, Rotarians will hand-write a short greeting inside the card.
The Inspiration Campaign is a service project of the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club. Bricor Communications has also joined the campaign as a sponsor.
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About this newsletter
Brian Cormier's Weekly Update is distributed weekly from September to June. If you're reading this newsletter online and want to subscribe, please email me, fill out the subscription form on my website, or subscribe via the "Join Our Email List" button at the top of the newsletter (if you're viewing this in a browser.) This newsletter is not published in July and August and on holidays.
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