What an amazing past few months! The Young Canadians have been preparing for The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, Volte at the Calgary Stampede. The Grandstand show is a spectacle to behold, with everything from flying acrobats, soloists and confetti canons soaring over the audience to a pair of live black stallions and 180 talented singers and dancers, this show had everything! There was never a dull moment in the 2011 Grandstand show "Volte." I was lucky enough to be a part of this astounding show, and even luckier to have a character solo in it as well! Performing in front of 16,000 and up people every night was a thrill to say the least. However, getting ready for the show involved a lot of long and exhausting rehearsals in which we had to remember everything from fly cues to dance moves. I can't stress to everyone how truly amazing this program is, although it involves a lot of hard work and dedication every single performer is more than up to the challenge. Being a part of such a difficult and impressive show has taught me so much about myself and about the people I work with. I have so much respect for every performer, stage hand and choreographer involved in making this show the huge success it is!

This is a photo of one of our final numbers called "The Garden of Imagination" This is a photo of all of the Senior Cast members, as the Apprentices and Juniors were not included in this number. To describe the show Volte to you a little more, it is a Romeo and Juliet-esque theme in which Volte (played by Scott Morasch) falls in love with the ruler of the Garden of Imagination Artemis (played by Hannah Smart.) They embark on a journey of true love in which the younger versions of themselves (played by two juniors named Marcus and Nicole) have to save a teacher (played by me) from a group of pirates, and in which they rule the Garden of Imagination together while falling hopelessly in love. The show involved many pyrotechnics and fireworks plus a giant puppet that carried young Artemis and Volte over the audience. I will post many pictures and video's of the performance to this blog very soon! Make sure to take in the show if ever you decide to join us in Calgary for The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, The Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show! 

Hello everyone! Very sorry for not writing anything since the pageant, but I have been so busy with my schooling and all the new endeavors I am undertaking! This year I auditioned for a schooling program called The Young Canadians, and have been thoroughly surprised by all the amazing opportunities it has given me. The young Canadians is a professional company that performs at the biggest outdoor show on earth, the Calgary Stampede's Grandstand show. The rehearsals are long (and plentiful) but the end result is amazing! I am known in TYC (The Young Canadians) as an SFS or Senior Female Singer, and am one of 24 talented female singers in my age division. There are also Senior Male Singers and Senior Female Dancers in the Senior division. There is also a Junior and Apprentice program that accepts auditioned students of younger ages. TYC puts on 3 different shows a year, the Christmas Show which has 2 shows, the Spring Show which consists of 5 or more shows, and the Grandstand Show which runs every night of Stampede. (this year July 8-17) All of the shows are an amazing spectacle to behold, and require intense focus and dedication to the program. Senior Singer rehearsals are typically Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with extra classes added closer to show debuts and due to any feature roles! TYC has kept me focussed in school, and helped to hone my craft to a more advanced skill level while making lifelong relationships with the staff and students along the way. To be accepted into the Young Canadians, you must go through a rigorous yet rewarding and exciting audition workshop where we dance and perform to the best of our ability, while learning so many new things about dance and vocal. This years Spring Show was called Galleria, a show in which the "Damsel" must travel into the galleria of her mind to discover who she is. She meets a series of exciting characters along the way, and each helps her to discover a piece of herself. I was lucky enough to be cast as the Prima Donna understudy in my first year! this meant that I was able to perform as the Prima Donna for an entire show, and also was able to go out in the crowd and sign autographs after. This is a Photo of me in my Prima Donna outfit. This was a very exciting role for me to play, as I was able to sing Madonnas "Vogue" in front of a large audience. The Young Canadians is an amazing program, and has taught me so much about my craft. I still cannot wrap my mind around the idea that I will be performing on the TransAlta Grandstand Stage in a matter of a few months! I cannot wait, if you have any questions about the YC program, feel free to message me as I would gladly recommend this professional company to anyone.

Being a delegate in the Miss Teen Canada-World pageant over a year ago has really changed my perspective on life, and has helped to mould me into the young woman I am today. The pageant was an absolutely amazing experience for me, it gave me newfound respect for myself and all the other delegates. I was astounded with my success in the pageant and am very excited to compete again in the Alberta pageant soon. I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures and memories from the pageant on my blog so my fans and other girls thinking of competing will have a great idea of what to expect.

Pictures will be coming soon!

Sarah-Ashley

Pilger is a small town that is located 100 miles outside Saskatoon Saskatchewan. With its small population hovering at just under 100 people, its a greart way to get to know everybody on a personal level, and share friendly hellos every day. This is what makes a small town feel like such a home. Every person is friendly, and loving. It makes everyone here feel like they are all part of the same family. 

Pilger Saskatchewan doesn't have any of the qualities that being in a city, or even a bigger town does, but it is full of its own unique things that make it special. Pilger is full of locally owned business from people in the town. There is an autobody that a man runs to help fix peoples cars in the area, and even a grocery store that is also a coffee shop for people to sit and share time with in the early mornings. The town also has a bar/restaurant owned by my mother where most famers come in after a long hard day to talk about crops, the weather, or even just local news. 

The Pilger Pumpkin Festival is a known festivity all around the area. People from all over come out to see all the huge pupmkins that local farmers, kids, and even just families, have grown over the year. Last year the largest pumpkin was 600 pounds! Its not every day you see one that big. The festival isn't just about the biggest pumkin though, it has baking contests that people enter with pumpkin as the ingredient and it has games and fire works. It a great place to come with your family just to hang out with the community and spend the night together. Pilger also has annual craft sales and street dances. The Pilger Tavern hosts street dances where theyhave a celebrity preformer in to have a concert. Its normally a older band, but everyone from hours away still comes down to see it. Harliquin, and Prisim have both been apart of the street dance, and all the guys loved having to get to see them live. 

Pilger is close by the town of Middle Lake, and here you can enjoy the nice camping grounds, and lake that it offers. All summer long the campsites are booked up, and you can always find people down at the lake swimming, or enjoying some icecream. They also hold a July First Celebration in the area. St. Benedict, Middle Lake, and Pilger, all team up to have baseball tournements where local people, and out of the area people all play. There is face painting for the kids, barbecues, and just everyone workign together to have a great day, and celebrate the countries birthday. 

The only school is in Middle Lake, and all the parents and kids team up to make the school the best place it can be. The people are full of school spirit for the local soccer teams, basketball teams, hockey teams, and every other sports team. You can often find the moms on the side lines with their faces painted in the crowd, cheering and chanting for their kids and all the other team mates. One of the cool things that Pilger has to offer is it memorial site. Here they have a model of the old school, and a writing about it. It has been there for 15 years, since the last school shut down. People out here also are crazy fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders! People book a hall just so they can get together to watch the games together, in a good old community fassion. 

Pilger may be just a small town to people who drive threw it, but there is so much more to it then that. This isn`t just a small community, its a home. People here are all like family, helping out with each others farms, and everyone just supporting each other. A small town is such a wonderful place to grow up, and offers you a feeling of comforte and serenity. Thats why Pilger will always be my home!

-Cassandra Wojak

(pictures will come soon)

If I was the creative director for Free The Children and I had the opportunity to create a poster for global distribution, I would choose the above photo to be the main focus of the poster because To me it seems as though all the children are uniting and running towards the same goal. This picture represents diversity, happiness, and power. The children are not all the same age and I believe that is a positive image to feed into the world because many children in Canada and the rest of the world feel severely separated by age, gender, and race. This photo shows co-operation and a real life view into what conditions these children must face daily. I love the fact that the children are beneath their new school, and seem happy that they have been given this school. You can clearly see the joy and happiness beaming from the young childrens faces as they celebrate their new learning institute. This would be an amazing poster to be distributed around the world because it shows the excitement that the children would have to any potential sponsors. 

There are only Four days left until I leave! I am absolutely ecstatic and nervous to meet everyone and participate in all the wonderful events that I'm sure Michelle and her dedicated staff at MTC-W inc. Have arranged for us! The road to Miss Teen Canada was long, treacherous and thrilling, but now I am nearing the end of this roller-coaster ride of preparation and I must say, I am quite sad about it! This has been the best experience of my life, and I never want it to end. Thankfully, I still have a full week of fun filled events, appearances, and new friendships being discovered in all the girls. I am perfecting my talent right now which is singing somewhere over the rainbow in a dorothy costume, red pumps, and a little basket with my stuffed dog bruno (whom I have had since I was three). I have also been sponsored all my traveling money, and have had alot of success getting my dresses and hair discounted at an amazing amount. I would like to take this time to thank my sponsors, Perry Thompson Photography, Mr H. Ahn, Striga Ventures Limited, Marathon Integrators, Heartwood Inn, Glamis Resources and Colleaux Engineering for their amazing support and donations. I am so thankful for this opportunity, and I hope that it does not end soon [=

Stampede means alot to me because it brings the citizens of Calgary and outside of Calgary together. It encourages people to get out there and experience the culture of Calgary in the form of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth! It was an honor to be asked to serve free traditional canadian breakfast.. Pancakes and sausages.[= I participated in 3 pancake breakfasts, one to support the Salvation Army in Calgary, and two that raised money for the Firefighters Burn Treatment Center. I love to support charities and help raise money for good causes while sporting my crown and sash.. Or in this case cowboy hat and sash! 

Stampede breakfast number one! - Salvation Army

I arrived early in the day to a NorthWest location where there was a moon bounce, a hall where I got to serve breakfast to young children, happy elders, and representatives from the Salvation Army. It was a rewarding job being able to supervise the children playing on the moon bounce and helping the elderly pour their coffee

 but the highlight of my day, was when a little girl came up to me and asked me for my autograph. Being a "princess" and all I obliged gleefully! I love being a role model to children, and I love having kids look up to me like an older sister.

Stampede Breakfast number 2 & 3 - Firefighters Burn Treatment Center

I went to this event twice and did two different jobs, because i loved it so much! This event was deep in Calgary's jungle i.e. Downtown so it is usually very hard to find parking. We thought ahead and decided to take a bus down to the event. This was one of my first experiences on a bus. I know, quite pathetic being 14 and still new at busses, but there is a first time for everything. I must say, I like taking busses! You meet so many new and interesting people, it opened my eyes to how diverse Calgary really is! Once arriving upon my destination, I walked down the street to a long line of calgarians anxiously awaiting their pancakes and sausages, bragging about how much they were going to donate to this amazing cause. I was soon assigned an important job which was to spread the word about the firefighters burn treatment center, and tell people that the recommended donation is $3 but you can donate more or less or none at all! Many people had amazing conversations with me about my pageant, my title, my platform, my shoes and many other various topics. I was asked by many people to describe my experience, and I replied that it was an amazing character enhancing journey that had taught me valuable life lessons, morals and values. I enjoyed talking with the people who were donating their time and money to this charity. After I spent an hour and a half communicating with everyone, I was asked to go on stage and talk about my platform, my journey to Miss Teen Canada-World, and how to vote. I also then announced the singer who's name was Patrick Masse. The next day, I arrived on location feeling energized and ready for the challenges the day would surely hurl at me. The first thing that they asked me to do for the morning was station myself at a grill and make pancakes. Now, I have never made a decent pancake in my life. I have tried a multitude of times, but they just never seem to cook right. But I decided to try anyways. They had a large grill and a small device that measured the perfect  amount of pancake batter. even though some of my pancakes still came out uneven or quite burnt, the people were still quite gracious and kind about my slight lack of cooking skills. About an hour after I had been stationed at the grill, we heard the wail of fire truck sirens and everyone turned their concerned gaze towards the source of the sound. Thankfully no-one was in any danger, since it was just the firemen and firewomen coming to party with us! they pulled up in front of the scotiabank banner, and asked me for a picture with them! Of course, I happily obliged. One funny thing you may notice about this picture, is that every firefighter is taller than me! I was wearing heels, and flat footed I am 5'8", so all these firemen were about 6'0"! It surprised me how tall they all were, and so very kind also. I love stampede, and sadly it only comes once a year, but there are many more events to come! [=