The Greatest Hitz

We know you loved our family and friends' videos from the UNCOR...we didn't get to show the last one about us, but never fret, for the first time in history, you can watch all three videos right here!

Some of the music had to be changed (despite the fact that I buy my music legally on itunes, supposedly I don't really actually own it) but we think you will still enjoy.

Also, you can link to our debut performance of "Islands in the Stream."

Our Family Movie

Our Friends Movie

Our Movie

Islands in the Stream

What to wear: an UNCOR guide to style

Dear Friends,

we've been getting a lot of questions about how to dress for an Unconventional, Non-traditional, Celebration of our Relationship. We've also been indecisive (who, us? No... Never!!) about what to recommend. Our plans for what we're going to wear have gone through a few changes, but we finally did our shopping and we're going to look fabulous! We ended up going a little more formal than we expected, but, hey, who doesn't love dressing up once in a while?

So, what should you wear to the UNCOR? Well, we can't offer specific recommendations without dealing with everyone's colour tones and choices of partner-in-crime... but, our official designation for the Saturday evening event is... somewhere between Festive Attire and Dressy Casual (Need help with that? Scott did. Emily Post has some details). Approximately. Definitely not Black Tie or even Semiformal. The bottom line is we want you all to feel comfortable and look good doing it (and with a good looking group like you all, this shouldn't be too difficult!). If you feel like donning a hat or flaunting a fascinator, please do, but remember you also need to wear clothes covering other parts of your body!



Keep in mind that the Temple is a working design shop, and even though it will be cleaned up and ready to rock, there may be some risk of getting a little dusty. So, even though the party's happening (just) before Labour Day, you probably don't want to go with the white trousers. Also keep in mind that this will be an indoor/outdoor evening event, meaning uneven ground and grassy areas, so your hottest stilettos may not be the best idea. If you absolutely need that extra 3-5 inches of height, and are just dying to show off your killer legs, you might want to bring a seconhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd pair of shoes in case you need to switch. That goes for you too, ladies. Also, gentlemen, in case of rain or accidental immersion in the large pond on the property, your beautiful Italian leather dress shoes could be a risky choice. But don't let us stop you from being daring.

Don't forget to keep your eye on the weather, and remember you can find current weather and a link to the forecasts in a previous post on the blog. We're expecting daytime highs of somewhere around 20C (70F) and overnight lows around 10C (50F), but it could be significantly warmer and/or cooler.

For the rest of your time in Vermont, casual, weekend, dandy, goth, jock, wookie... whatever your style, we're glad you're you and you're going to be there!

PS-Bring your swimsuit! There is a pool, and if it is warm enough, I will be in it.

The Weather Up Here's Delightful

As you're all making final preparations for your trip to Warren, VT, we're sure you have (at least) one question on your minds: what's the weather going to be like?

Keep in mind that Warren is nestled in a valley in Vermont's Green Mountains, and that the Archy Bunker and Temple are part way up one of those mountains. Based on recorded weather data, we're expecting to see highs in the low 20s (Celsius! For our American friends, that's low 70s fahrenheit), and cool nights dropping down to somewhere around 10C, and maybe into single digits (about 50F). Make sure you bring something warm to throw on if necessary. A charming sweater, perhaps, or a shawl. Should be no need for a toque, unless you're one of our intrepid campers, in which case you might want something to keep your noggin warm.

As the Labour Day weekend approaches, check back here for up to the minute weather in our handy WeatherUnderground sticker (and, if you click on it, you'll be instantaneously transported, through the magic of the internets, to the WeatherUndergound site for Warren, with all the info you should need, including forecasts).

UNCOR Update

Greetings friends, family, and everyone else. We're now less than 60 days away from the UNCOR weekend in Vermont (OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!) and planning is well underway. We hope you've all booked your flights/cars/buses/horse-drawn carriages as well as your accommodations and are ready to party. If you're still looking for a roommate or a ride share, please get in touch with us ASAP and we'll help you get sorted out.

We have a couple of exciting announcements to share with all y'all:

Exciting announcement number 1: We have made arrangements for delicious, creative, straight-up-fantastic food with Lisa Danforth Friedman at The Wooden Spoon. We won't divulge the details of the menu, but rest assured we are looking forward to the yum-yums and are confident that you'll enjoy it too!

(Note: If you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions – e.g., gluten intolerance, veganism, minimum 5-alarm spice level in all your food [in that case, best bring your own bottle of hot sauce...] – get in touch with us ASAP so we can ensure you'll be taken care of.)

Exciting announcement number 2: We're proud to let you all know that we have secured three more fantastic sponsors for the UNCOR.

Our new best friends at Magic Hat Brewing Company (Vermont's finest!!) are helping us out with a few cases of their most delicious varieties and will be the exclusive beer provider for the UNCOR. Nikki's favourite is #9, a magical, mysterious and damn tasty brew. Magic Hat is located in South Burlington, VT, so while you're in the neighbourhood, why not stop by for a brewery tour? (Just remember, if you drink and drive, you will no longer be our friend!) Or, if you won't have time during the weekend, find out where you can buy Magic Hat and get your refresh on.

In addition to the delicious victuals on offer from Lisa and the Wooden Spoon on Saturday, you, our dear guests, will also be treated to some AMAZING cheddar courtesy of Grafton Village Cheese Company. Grafton cheese is handcrafted in Grafton and Brattleboro, VT, and made from the sweet, smooth milk of Jersey cows, sourced from 25 small, family farms in southern Vermont. If your route home from Warren goes through either Grafton or Brattleboro, you can arrange to visit one of Grafton Village Cheese's retails shops or even witness the miracle of cheese-making in person. If that won't fit into your schedule, you could just as easily order some cheese online and have it delivered right to your door!

For our coffee-loving loved ones (you know who you are!!), we've got a real treat: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is chipping in some wake-up juice. Not only will Nikki be revved up on caffeine the entire weekend, but you too will enjoy some hot, rich, roasted goodness during our Sunday pancake extravaganza. We love Green Mountain Coffee for multiple reasons, and a big one is their Corporate Social Responsibility program and their good work in their home state of VT and all along their supply chain. Good coffee, good people.

Huge thanks to these three great companies, and to Bluebeards Original, Muddy York Films, and the Vermont Mystic Pie Company (our first set of sponsors). Also, don't forget to check out Africa Soma and Right to Play, our charitable organizations of choice!

The UNCOR Program

Here, for the first time, is the preliminary schedule for the Unconventional, Non-traditional, Celebration of our Relationship. We hope to keep to the stated times, or at least hold delayed-starts and extended overtimes somewhere in a range between the exactness of German railroads and the flexibility of herding cats. Also, the Yoga and Zumba sessions are optional (and hangover dependent).

The UNCOR Main Events: Saturday, September 3^rd.

held in and around the Temple of Dindor, on the Sellers property.

Ice Breaker with Libations: 4:30pm

Wedstock: An Unconventional Variety Show: 5:30pm

Please contact Michelle Newman to book your performance (email us for her address!).

UNCOR Dinner, Dancing, and (continued) Drinking: 7:30pm until collapse

The Day After the Night Before: Sunday September 4^th

in and around the Temple of Dindor, the Archy Bunker, and the Missing Links, on the Sellers property

Haingovara Yoga with Scott and Rodney Yee: 11am

Guayabo Zumba with Nikki and Sherry: 12pm

Yum Yum Pancake Brunch: 1pm

Putt Putt Tourney on the Missing Links: 2pm

Sunday Evening Drinks at the Archy Bunker: 8pm

All Weekend Long

Scavenger Hunt (Closes Sunday at 1pm)

50-50 Raffle (Closes Sunday at 1pm)

Door Prizes

Flip Cup

Special Bonus Event

Madsonian Museum of Industrial Design Tour Saturday at 11am

Admission for Adults by donation ($5.00 minimum), children: 25 cents, over 90: $5000 (scholarships available upon request). Additional details on reserving your spot to come soon.

Sponsors and Donations

We are pleased to announce and thank our first three sponsors: Muddy York Films, Bluebeards Originals, and The Vermont Mystic Pie Company and introduce you to our two charitable organizations: Africa Soma and Right to Play.

Muddy York Films is a Toronto based Film Production Company. Co-founded by Alan Sukonnik, Muddy York Films works with feature films, commercials and music videos incorporating older cinematic technologies with new cleaner and clearer digital formats. Check out their reel here featuring clips from their work with Nikki's fellow Victoria native musician Nelly Furtado. Muddy York Films were the generous makers of our UNCOR video.

Bluebeards Original makes products for the bearded man. Bluebeards uses only natural ingredients like lime and aloe to make beards clean and healthy. They don't test on animals, but when tested on Scott, they brought out his blue eyes and made his beard fresh and clean! Scott is a proud user of Bluebeards beard saver and beard wash, and Nikki often finds him gazing in the mirror using their beard brush. If you are lucky, you will win one of their lovely gift sets at the non-wedding. In the meantime, visit here to buy their products today, so you will be sure to look good at our party.

Vermont Mystic Pie Company makes quite possibly the finest, all natural, premium bake-and-serve pies ever. They use local Vermont apples to provide not only delicious pies to customers, but also a value-added market for producers. The company combines pride in high-quality, natural foods, with socially progressive principles: tasty and responsible, what could be better? Many of you will get your first taste of Vermont Mystic Pie at the UNCOR, and we hope you love it. When you do, be sure to spread the good word!

Africa Soma is Scott's organization of choice for donations to support small-scale educational initiatives in Kenya. The Swahili (which Scott speaks, along with Maa, French, German and English) word “Soma” means “to learn” and captures the mission of Africa Soma, an all-volunteer organization which facilitates creative educational opportunities among and between disadvantaged youth in Kenya and their global peers. Most of their activities are based out of a rural Maasai community, Elangata Wuas, in Southern Kenya and in the Nairobi slums, where they work with local organizations servicing youth. You can read more about their current programs here, which include a Secondary Scholarship Program, Community Library Project (which some of you donated to at our Halloween Party in 2009), an Art Exchange Program, Cultural Dialogue, an Evaluation Program, and a Volunteer Teaching Program.

Right To Play is Nikki's organization of choice for donations to support sport and play programs for disadvantaged children around the world. Nikki has been a Right To Play ambassador since 2003 (and many of you have supported her fundraisers over the years). She traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan to visit their programs where she saw first hand how the power of sport and play can promote peace, health and development. Right To Play gives children a chance to become constructive participants in society, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, social background or religion. Through games and sports, they help create social change in communities affected by war, poverty and disease. A team of top athletes from more than 40 countries support Right to Play. As role models, these athletes, like Nikki, inspire children and raise awareness about Right To Play internationally. Each week, more than 700,000 children take part in regular sport and play activities and a combined total of more than 1 million children attend regular programming and special sports events and festivals. This is made possible by more than 15,000 local Coaches, Teachers and Leaders. You can see Right To Play's program map here.

To make a donation to Africa Soma or Right To Play on our behalf, please visit our gift registry. Thank you for helping make positive change through the programs and projects that mean the most to us.

Gifts + Hotels + Talents

Hello everyone!

We wanted to update y'all on a few things that we've been getting questions about:

First and most important, our awesome gift registry is now online!

Second, don't forget to email us to get the hotel discount code for the Sugar Lodge if that is where you want to stay. It will likely be the best deal in town and we want you to get a great price. If you are flying solo or even with a duo and would like to share rooms to cut costs, just let us know and we can find you a mate.

Third and most fun, please let us know if you are going to participate in the Variety Show so we can connect you with Newman, our great and talented singer, comedian friend and host of the night's festivities.

Love Nikki + Scott

A video message...

Hey friends, as you know from the email that brought you here, we're getting not married. We were in Vermont a couple of weeks ago and shot some video, then had our good friend Al use his editing skillz to make it into something watchable. Just enter the password we included in the email, and you should be able to watch the show...

Nikki + Scott's Non-Wedding... from Scott M on Vimeo.

Now that you've had a laugh, have a look around our blog to get more info!

Can't wait to see you in Warren, VT, in September!!

Important Non-Wedding Travel and Other Information

Where to Go:

Nikki + Scott's Non-Wedding will take place on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4, 2011, at the Missing Links Lodge in wonderful Warren, Vermont at the southern end of the Mad River Valley.

More than just a skier's paradise, the Mad River Valley is home to countless artists, architects, farmers, chefs, rugged individualists, localvores, organic fanatics, and all around characters, not to mention some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Vermont. The Valley runs on tourism these days, so there's no shortage of things to do and see.


Why the Missing Links Lodge?

The Lodge, also known as the Archy Bunker, is the product of the ongoing innovation and invention of David Sellers and his colleagues and students at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School (read more about the Design/Build movement here). Dave is also the father of Nikki's old roomie, Trillium. We first visited the Bunker and the Missing Links in September, 2009, while living apart in Montreal and New York. Warren was roughly in the middle, and a relatively convenient spot to meet up and spend a relaxing and romantic weeked. We immediately knew it would be a fantastic place to throw an unconventional party. The more we learn about the place and the Valley, the more we love it!


Where to Stay:

Being a popular tourist destination, there are plenty of places to stay in the Mad River Valley. We've made special arrangements with Sugar Lodge for our guests to get discounted rates (email us for details about how to get the discount). For those who want to pitch a tent, limited camping space is available at the Missing Links (email us for details). Of course, you're welcome to make your own arrangements, and the Mad River Valley Lodging website is probably the best place to start.

A couple of important notes:

1. The Labour Day weekend is a busy one in the Mad River Valley, with numerous events including the Mad River Road Race (Stage 3 of the Green Mountain Stage Race). So please make your accommodation reservations early if you want to beat the bikers to it!! Also, many places have a three-night minimum stay due to the long weekend. We encourage you to take advantage of that, get away from work, and explore the Valley. If you would like to share rooms, we can help match you up. Send us an email.

2. We've booked the West Hill House bed and breakfast (just across the road from the Non-Wedding site) for the entire weekend for our families. If we hadn't already snagged it, we'd definitely recommend it. Sorry.

3. Please let us know where you plan to stay as soon as you book it so we can make local transportation plans for Saturday's festivities. While most of you will have cars, we will strictly enforce a no drinking and driving policy during our events.


Getting to the Non-Wedding:

For those of you crossing continents and/or oceans, the closest airport to Warren is in Burlington, Vermont, about a 1 hour drive away. Warren is also about a 3 hour drive from both Boston and Montreal, so if you don't mind a longer drive, you may find flying into one of those larger cities easier. If you want to keep the cost of car rentals down, we can help you coordinate with other guests (email us). Warren is about a 6 hour drive from NYC, depending on traffic, floods, and moose.

For local travel during the main events, keep in mind that there are approximately zero taxis in Warren. We'll be organizing mass transport from select hotels to the Missing Links and back for September 3, because we want you to have as much fun as possible without having to worry about driving. More details to follow, and like we said before, please let us know where you're staying so we can make plans.

Who, When, Where, What, Why, and How of a Non-Wedding: An Interview with Nikki + Scott

Q- Who are the couple behind this novel idea?

A-Well we are two Canadians, similar but different, who found each other in a backpacker campground/hostel in Nairobi. We are both atheists. Nikki is an “ist” about just about everything from feminism to former vegetarianism. Nikki enjoys taking positions and defending them, even if she is proven wrong. It could be the lawyer in her, or maybe the competitive swimmer, but in the end she is really just a woman, who, for the most part, disdains traditions that can't be justified in a way that isn't sexist, racist or homophobic. Scott is an anthropologist and part-time perfectionist, and that's about where his -ists stop. Our shared habitus was evident from the moment Nikki was able to see past Scott's beard and Teva sandals.

We knew within weeks of meeting that we were in love and that we would spend the rest of our lives together. Our social contract was formed in October 2008 under the florescent lights of the Nakumatt (i.e. Kenya's version of Wal-Mart), in a grocery store check-out line when Scott said to Nikki, “You know, I would marry you if you wanted me to,” and she replied, “I know.” Our non-wedding, with you, our community, all together under one Vermont sky, is the favor we ask of you: come together and party like it's 1999 (without the fear of the Y2K).

Q-When is this non-wedding happening?

A-September 3, 2011. We met on September 3, 2008 at Upper Hill Campsite. September 3, 2011 is the first time since we met that September 3 falls on a Saturday. Coincidentally, September 3 is also Scott's Mom's birthday, so there will be gluten-free birthday cake and a hearty round of everyone's favourite birthday song performed by all of us (offer does not guarantee in-tune singing).

Q-Where do you plan to do this?

A-At the Missing Links Lodge in Warren, VT. With our friends and family scattered around the globe, this particular spot in what you might think of as the middle of nowhere seems just as good as any. Plus, as Nikki was born in Calgary and Scott in Edmonton, nowhere in Alberta was possible neutral turf!

Q-What, if I may be so bold, is a non-wedding?

A-Our non-wedding is an UNCOR: or an Unconventional, Non-traditional Celebration of Our Relationship. An UNCOR is whatever the couple wants it to be...because they make the rules, not Emily Post. Our UNCOR is just as much about our guests - family and friends invited from 5 continents - as it is about us. It is a fully participatory event: this UNCOR will only be as loving, fun, competitive, crazed, intense, funny, and celebratory as you make it!

Q-How will this UNCOR work?

A-We warmly invite all friends and family willing to share this celebration of our love and lives together. The main event for our non-wedding will be a variety-show-type thing in which you (and we) are the featured performers. We want you to sing, dance, act, juggle, speak, and generally entertain us and each other. We encourage, but do not require, all guests to participate in the show. Please see the schedule of events for more details on how to get involved.

Q-What's this all about really? Why a non-wedding?

A-Mostly to be different...and difficult. Nikki has always approached life by finding out what women are supposed to do and then doing the opposite. Sure, that may be considered juvenile by some, but she makes no apologies for her attitudes. Scott is more measured in his approach, questioning and reasoning why or why not to do something. As an anthropologist, Scott is not averse to ceremony or ritual, nor for that matter is Nikki. But a ceremony or ritual done without questioning, or just because “that's the way its always been done,” does not fly with either of them.

For Nikki it goes much deeper. Her problem with weddings is where they come from: matrimonial ceremonies, precious metal rings, partner selection (or non-selection), white weddings (and their dresses), and the legitimacy or illegitimacy of offspring are based on ideas that women are property, with men paying for the ultimate and exclusive use of such property, and Nikki does not want to associate any of these things with her love for Scott. Scott wants to note that Nikki is not a trained anthropologist, but he loves her anyways. At the same time, both of us respect and love our friends who have chosen to celebrate their relationships in traditional and non-traditional ways, and we'll continue to do so with open hearts and minds.

Marriage as a legal contract and government institution does have its benefits. One thousand and forty nine to be exact, at least in America. Which is precisely why, one day, we will legally marry. However, participating in a socially sanctioned contrhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifact that creates separate classes of citizens: straight and gay, is not acceptable to either of us. Currently, it is also not acceptable to the conditions of our immigration statuses to be legally bound.

By having a non-wedding, instead of a traditional ceremony, we hope to create an anti-establishment utopia with all of you, if only for a long-weekend.

Q – But what if I love weddings and wedding traditions?

Well, we love you, and we've included some of the best parts of weddings in our Non-Wedding. Gifts are not only appreciated, but also expected. Click here for our unconventional gift registry. There will also be plenty of opportunity for dining, dancing, drinking, and dessert. Just don't expect to see a ceremony that resembles anything you might have seen at a wedding.