Entertainment
Laughter Returns to Red Deer

For the better part of the last two years, laughter has been hard to come by. Live entertainment came to an abrupt halt, with no certainty of when it would return.
The wait is finally over.
Not only are Central Alberta’s venues reopening, they are bringing back live shows to the area. The Velvet Olive is once again bustling with live music many nights of the week. Bo’s Bar and Grill is bringing huge acts back to the city. It’s not just the music we missed though. Comedy is coming back in a big way.
Pre-pandemic, the longtime hub for comedy in Red Deer was the Heritage Lanes Lounge. Running for almost a decade, the room saw many of Canada’s finest and funniest bring hilarity to town each and every Sunday. Now, for the first time since 2019, weekly stand up is back at The Lanes.
“Heritage Lanes is excited to be back hosting weekly ‘Splits and Giggles’ comedy”, said Shelby Chrest, owner. “As the city’s longest lasting comedy venue we feel it’s important for our community to gather and socialize while supporting local.”
“Splits and Giggles” launches Sunday, August 8th at 8PM at Heritage Lanes. Kicking off the first show is nationally renowned headliners Kathleen McGee and Sean Lecomber.
The Lanes won’t be your only source of funny in the area, as many other shows are new or returning. The Radisson Hotel will be back to hosting monthly events beginning August 6th with Adam Ruby, and The Velvet Olive’s “Fake Comedy Show” returns August 13th. When asked for comment, “Fake Show” producer Zachary Landry said “I’ll get back to you in an hour.” One hour later, “I was eating blueberries.”
You’ll also find monthly mirth at Red Hart Brewing and The Spot. And just outside the city, Sylvan Lake is in on the action, hosting Lisa Baker August 6th at Fireside Restaurant, and Longshot Comedy featuring Marc Anthony Sinagoga on September 10th at Lodge 43, as well as September 11th at The Fox & Hound in Innisfail.
With the support of venues like these, local comedians are thrilled to once again have places to hone their art. “During these lockdowns and restrictions, I realized how important laughter and friendship is to all of us”, said Niek Theelen, local artist. “After months of shutdowns, it’s invigorating to see Red Deer comedians come back with renewed energy and passion to make Central Alberta laugh again.” Niek, like many others, had to pivot when stand up evaporated, so he began work on a documentary to be released next year through Telus Optik TV. “Love of the Game” will shine a light on disabled athletes and how they rise past their challenges to play the sports they love.
No matter how they filled the time though, nothing feels sweeter to a comedian than the stage and a hot crowd.
Shelby Chrest sums it up: “Laughter is contagious, we want to put smiles on faces and that’s worth sharing!”
Arts
Trump’s Hollywood envoys take on Tinseltown’s liberal monopoly

Quick Hit:
President Trump has appointed Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as “special envoys” to Hollywood, aiming to restore a “Golden Age” and challenge the industry’s entrenched liberal bias. According to RealClearPolitics’ Ethan Watson, the move highlights the necessity of reclaiming cultural institutions from leftist control.
Key Details:
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Trump’s Truth Social post described the trio as his “eyes and ears” in Hollywood, advising on business and social policy.
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Hollywood’s leftist dominance, as seen in Disney’s political agenda and the cancellation of Gina Carano, has alienated conservatives.
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Watson argues that Trump understands “politics is downstream from culture” and that influencing Hollywood is vital to shaping American values.
Diving Deeper:
President Trump’s latest move to reshape Hollywood has the entertainment industry buzzing. By appointing Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as his “special envoys” to Tinseltown, Trump is signaling that conservatives no longer need to cede cultural institutions to the left. As RealClearPolitics’ Ethan Watson writes, “Donald Trump understands something many right-wingers haven’t for a long time: It’s time to take back institutions.”
Trump, who has long criticized Hollywood’s liberal slant, sees the entertainment industry as a battleground for shaping public opinion. “Although studies have shown that many Americans, particularly younger people, are unaware of the biggest news story of the day, nearly all of them consume media produced by Hollywood,” Watson notes. This cultural dominance, Watson argues, has been exploited to push a left-wing agenda, alienating conservative voices.
The case of Gina Carano exemplifies Hollywood’s intolerance toward dissent, Watson writes. The former “Mandalorian” star was fired by Disney in 2021 after posting a historical comparison on social media. “In truth, her cancellation was most likely due to her mocking pronoun virtue signaling and COVID-19 precautions that were essentially an entrance fee into the upper echelons of Hollywood,” Watson states. The politicization of entertainment didn’t stop there—Disney executive Latoya Raveneau openly admitted to inserting a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” into children’s programming.
Watson pushes back against the idea that conservatives should simply “build their own” Hollywood, arguing that the industry is too integral to American culture to be abandoned. “Casting it aside would be like trying to create an alternative to Mount Rushmore or baseball – it’s irreplaceable,” he writes. Trump’s decision to highlight conservative-friendly stars like Stallone, Voight, and Gibson sends a powerful message: conservatives in Hollywood no longer have to stay silent.
Trump’s envoys are a step toward restoring balance in an industry that has become a one-party echo chamber. “Hollywood, along with social media, has become the ‘town square,’ the medium by which Americans share ideas,” Watson explains. With leftist cancel culture stifling dissent, Trump’s initiative is not just about entertainment—it’s about ensuring freedom of expression in America’s most influential industry.
Business
Donald Trump appoints Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors to Hollywood

From LifeSiteNews
In a surprise post on Truth Social, Trump announced, ‘It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.’
In an unexpected move, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Mel Gibson, along with Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, to be “special ambassadors” to Hollywood in his next administration.
“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.
Elaborating on his decision, Trump continued:
They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!
These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!
All three of the Hollywood stars are baptized Catholics and have, to varying degrees, professed and defended their beliefs both in God and in conservative principles more generally.
The appointments come just days after Gibson, who is well-known as an outspoken Catholic actor and director, appeared on the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, making headlines for defending the resurrection of Christ, talking about the post-Vatican II crisis in the Catholic Church, and speaking candidly about the important role his faith has played in his life. Gibson’s house was also one of many to have burned down in the fires ravaging Los Angeles, describing it as a form of “purification.”
Similarly, Stallone, who talked about his return to Christianity in the early 2000s after drifting away in his younger years, was also in the news recently for saying for the first time publicly that he is the survivor of abortion.
As for Voight, he was raised Catholic and attended the Catholic University of America, and is well-known for holding conservative views and talking openly about his belief in God. He is also the father of famous actress Angelina Jolie.
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