Les Stroud (a.k.a. Survivorman)

VIP Keynote Speaker

Star of the six-time Gemini nominated hit TV series Survivorman, Les is the only person in television history to produce an internationally broadcast series entirely written, videotaped and hosted alone. Survivorman has become the highest rated show in the history of OLN Canada and the Science Channel US and quickly became one of the most popular shows on the Discovery Channel International. Les has appeared on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, MTV Live, The View, The Hour and Larry King Live. He is also the force behind a new kids series for YTV and the Cartoon network called Survive This and is currently filming a new series called Vanishing Worlds.

Les is also a writer. His debut book “Survive! Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere--Alive!” spent 19 weeks on the Globe and Mail Non-fiction bestseller list and broke the top 100 on Amazon.com. In addition, Les was nominated for the Canadian National Magazine awards in the Best Travel Writer category.

Les has performed musically on stage with Alice Cooper, Steven Stills, Tommy Shaw (Styx), Tesla, Robby Kreiger (The Doors), Blues Travelers, the Northern Pikes and contributes to dozens of charities and benefits.

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

Musical Act

Tom Wilson (former lead singer of Junkhouse), solo artist Stephen Fearing, and guitarist/ producer Colin Linden, first started Blackie and the Rodeo Kings as a tribute to one of their favorite Canadian folk artists, singer/ song writer Willie P. Bennett. Their name was taken from Bennett’s 1978 album Blackie and the Rodeo King. What started as a side project soon turned into a full fledged band after their first album High or Hurtin’: The Songs of Willie P. Bennett was a critical success and popular with both fans of Bennett’s as well as each individual artist. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have five full length studio albums and many awards and nominations under their belt. In 1999, the band recorded Kings of Love which received a Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album — Group in 2000. The band originally played shows at such venues as The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec.

In 2003, the band recorded Bark. Kings of Love and Bark still had cover versions of Bennett's songs, but they also included some original material by the band members and cover versions of songs by Bruce Cockburn, Fred Eaglesmith and David Wiffen. In 2005, the band was included in a list published by the New York Times of songs found on President George W. Bush’s iPod. In 2006, the band recorded Let’s Frolic!, consisting of all-original material.