Arts

The Fredericton Region Museum has been open since 1934 and has served as a historical site in New Brunswick. (Credit: Fredericton Region Museum) In a document titled “Difficult Decisions,” the provincial government laid out to the public the options considered to balance the budget. This included budget cuts to the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, which are set to potentially impact over 100 historical sites. One of the options the government is considering to cur

Matt Blanchard in his workshop at Nimble Instrument Repair. (Malachi Lefurgey/AQ) Matt Blanchard, a former employee at Tony’s Music Box,  recently opened his own instrument repair shop: Nimble Instrument Repair Shop.   “I'll be doing this not until I'm retired but until I'm dead,” he said.  Located in the heart of downtown Fredericton,  Blanchard has taken up space to preserve the sweet melody of music for hobbyists and musicians.  “The support has been amazing ... everything

The Rice Purity Test is a survey that measures the amount of rebellious, sexual experiences an individual has had in their life. (Credit: The Rice Purity Test) Is living in your twenties all about checking off as many boxes as you can?  The Rice Purity Test is an online survey in which you check off boxes of all the “taboo” things you have done. Ranging from “sex in public” to “running away from the cops.”  The test first appeared for me in middle school. Where the lunchroom

Clavicular framemogged meme (Credits: Google Images)  Clavicular walks up to strangers on university campuses with a tape measure and a camera.  He talks about framemogging, when someone simply looks better “in frame” than someone else. To mog is to dominate visually or to win genetically.    For some viewers, it’s simply meme culture, but the language is sticking.     Looksmaxxing, a term born in online male forums, refers to optimizing one’s physical appearance to its highe

Mariana Veneziani and Sarah Sprague getting married in JDH. (Brianna Lyttle/AQ) As part of the St. Thomas University Students’ Union (STUSU) Sex Week, on Feb. 11 in the student hub of James Dunn Hall, students could “marry” their friends and partners, obtaining a certificate and bestowing upon each other marriage ring pops, later becoming lollipop exchanges once the former ran out. STUSU members Sade London and Olivia Brown took the responsibility of officiating the weddings.

A customer sitting at Ma Cafe in Fredericton, New Brunswick. (Malachi Lefurgey/AQ) “If you could have any superpower in the world, what power would you choose?”   I always say time. Being able to stop time at any given moment, go back, relive a memory, never be late to class and always have everything in on time.   The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of nostalgia is “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy per

A music collage representing Judson Doncaster's most listened to artists in 2025. (Malachi Lefurgey/AQ) In 2025, I listened to an obscene amount of music. My total ended up at over 150,000 minutes and these are the tracks that I spent the most time with.  “Pennies” by The Smashing Pumpkins came in at number one for a good reason.  This song is airy and jovial without feeling mockish. While it is buried deep in the long and masterful album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadne

A scene from Disney's animated movie "The Princess and the Frog." (Credit: Google Images) Where are people going on dates? The actual sit-down, eat dinner, don’t talk with your mouth full and forcefully laugh at every joke type of date.   Do they still even exist? Or what is the modern version of this?  In my world, in both personal and through conversations with others, dates are somewhat hard to come by. But despite the scarcity in action, it is high on the topics of conver

Ghost Mountain is making a comeback after disappearing for four years. returning with their newest album October Country . (Submitted: Judson Doncaster) October   Country  by Ghost Mountain is my album of the year for 2025.  Ghost Mountain started his career as a dark and gritty rapper who found success alongside his friend and fellow rapper, Sematary.  Ghost Mountain started as a mainstay feature on both of Sematary’s first two albums, but had only one solo song titled “Coil

On Feb. 13, before Valentine's Day, the St. Thomas University Black Student Association (STUBSA) hosted a social event where Black students could come together to make connections outside of the classroom.  (Malachi Lefurgey/AQ) To break the ice, the STUBSA handed out questionnaire bingo sheets, where everyone must go around and mark someone who crosses out the specific box. For example, “someone who was born in July.”    Though the event started quietly with groups huddled t

The young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. Pippin the musical will run from Feb. 18 to Feb. 22 at the Black Box Theatre in St. Thomas University. (Credit: Cameron Rouse) Upon entering the Black Box, students are running through choreography, writing down cues and painting sets for the opening of their 2026 production of Pippin.  From Feb. 18 to Feb. 22, St. Thomas University’s musical theatre class will showcase Pippin , a musical th

" I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest." (Malachi Lefurgey/AQ) Can we truly and realistically do it all? Work, family, school, love? Where do our passions live in the balance of work and life? Imagine, when you are born, a tree is born somewhere in the world at the exact moment you are. This tree is your life. Growing from the sun, rain, snowstorms, thunderstorms, everything life is throwing your way.   As we get older, the tree's ro

Birch & Teal Productions play on the infamous Oscar Wilde play The Importance of Being Earnest. (Brianna Lyttle/AQ) As part of Fredericton FROSTival, Oscar Wilde’s classic farce The Importance of Being Earnest  delighted audiences at the Tom Morrison Theatre during the last weekend of January. The story follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff as they make up names and identities for themselves and switch back and forth between them while finding love in Victorian England

The reimagined classic play The Velveteen Rabbit performed by the actors of TNB Young Company. (Brianna Lyttle/AQ) Tania Breen’s stage adaptation of the classic children’s novel The Velveteen Rabbit first hit the stage in 2013 with Theatre New Brunswick’s (TNB) touring Young Company. Once the show closed, the rabbit doll used in the production took up residence on a shelf in the TNB building. Now, the rabbit has hopped down and is touring the province again in a new re-imagin

The Smashing Pumpkins album cover of Siamese Dream . (Credit: Pinterest) I could talk about The Smashing Pumpkins endlessly (and I do). The four band members are all individual legends and their sound together is irreplicable.  They burst onto the scene with their first album Gish , which at the time was the highest-selling independent album ever. They followed that success with something even better: Siamese Dream  in 1993.  This album was relatively different compared to th

Jazz Trio Solina performing the art of jazz at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre. (Jennifer William/AQ) Jazz has moved out of the shadows. In Fredericton, it’s lively, visible and very much part of the city’s cultural scene.  On Jan. 31 the Canadian jazz piano trio Solina took the stage at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre. They delivered a cabaret-style evening full of energy, improvisation and lyrical interplay.    The intimate Jim Myles Auditorium let the audience experience

Watercolor paint, pencil crayons, pastels and Joan Didion. (Malachi Lefurgye/AQ) Each year, people popularize new year's resolutions on social media, from VSCO girls, to “to be cringe is to be free.” Now, 2026’s resolution is to break free from the chains that consumption-driven media has over us all. Since our frontal lobes are finally reaching maturity, our generation is now becoming aware of the decline and uprise of social media. We are aware that simply sitting in bed sc

The Multicultural Cafe bringing the wolrds cultures in communion. (Credit: Elizabeth Pellerin) On Jan. 22, the Multicultural Association of Fredericton (MCAF) hosted one of their monthly Cultural Cafés at the Fredericton Public Library. This event serves as a cultural exchange between Fredericton’s citizens and has been finding success with the city’s newcomers as they integrate into the community. “The idea is to find new friends,” said Larysa Motspan, volunteer coordinator

#2016core. (Credit: Pinterest) For many students, the return of 2016 is not just a trend but a reflection of how overwhelming the present has become.     Camila Baquerizo Bayona, a fourth-year student completing an honours in human rights with a double major in political science and international relations at St. Thomas University, said she was just a kid back in 2016.  “The problems I had back then were nothing compared to what I understand now.”   Her memory of the year is

Jaydes most recent album, Yen.  (Credit: Judson Doncaster) Jaydes is the most compelling artist of the last 15 years. This self-titled album, released under his middle name, Yen, is a sound that does not easily fit into any genre.  Although an artist who found early success as an underground rapper, Jaydes’ music has ventured from just him and his guitar to what can best be described as pseudo punk.  He is truly an enigma who is able to create compelling music in every genre