Sleazy Christmas is back! Dawn McSweeney takes you behind the scenes of this unique holiday fundraiser for Forget The Box, revealing the inspiration, the lineup, and Andrew Jamieson's surprising love for all things Christmas. Support local art and have a laugh this holiday season!

Street lamps gleamed against turning trees; juicy oranges, crisp reds, and mellow yellows, on the cusp of tumbling from their branches in the late October chill. I headed to Mcsway Poetry Collective’s Halloween open mic, hosted at the ever-so-cozy community hub, The Yellow Door.

Metatron Press is an award-winning literary publisher based in Montréal, Quebec. Founded and managed by Ashley Obscura, this remarkable publishing house is “devoted to publishing new perspectives in literature that reflect the experiences and sensibilities of our time.”

Nestled on Montreal’s bustling Saint Laurent Boulevard lies a hidden gem known as The Wiggle Room—a venue steeped in cabaret charm, burlesque feathers and wayward rhinestones.

Back home in southwestern Ontario, it’s a twenty-minute drive to the nearest second-hand bookstore, a place which, for the longest time, I did not know the name of. It’s a long, single-story building with book-patterned posters lining the windows and pictures of the children whom the non-profit benefits placed in the entryway.

Andrew Woods’ Mile-End studio is located on the same street corner, and in the same building, where Arcade Fire, Stars, Operators, and others have recorded some of the best music to come out of this city.

It’s September 2022, and I’m standing at the back of the Diving Bell Social Club, leaning up against the bar. The house lights have been dimmed, and the coloured stage lights flash with precise coordination, making for an ambiance that is at once intimate and exciting.