Welcome to The Traveling Penguin Page, home of the world's most famous and well-traveled Penguin!  The Penguin has been all around the world, visited 24 countries so far and posed with people such as Paul Stanley from Kiss and Sir Edmund Hillary.  For details of The Penguin's travels and some views of where he's been so far, click on Photos & Travels.  

Update:  March 26, 2008:  The Penguin was recently in Mexico and had a great time as always.  A big thank you to JACK FM for making this trip possible and a big hello to all the other JACK winners!   Thanks guys for such a fun trip!

Previous Updates:

Feb 11, 2008:  The Penguin was recently in Hawaii and managed to spend some time on each of Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.  It was a fantastic time of course as Hawaii is definitely one of our favourite places.  Surf, sand and mai tais - how can you resist?!  Lots of great new photos so check 'em out in the Travel section!

Oct 19, 2007:  The Penguin recently took in a show by Canadian rock legends April Wine.  Another great show at the River Rock Casino.  The band sounded great and kudos to drummer Jerry Mercer - a fantastic drummer at any age but at 68?  Phenomenal!  Thanks for posing with The Penguin!

Sept 4, 2007:  The Penguin attended the INXS show at The River Rock Casino this past week and met up with singer JD Fortune and drummer Jon Farriss.  Thanks for the great show and for the photos guys!

 July 9, 2007:  The Penguin recently met and posed with music manager extraordinaire Terry McBride of the Nettwerk Music Group.  Terry is the manager of many amazing artists including Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Avril Lavigne and many many others.  Check out Nettwerk and their artists at www.nettwerk.com.  Thanks again Terry for taking time out from your incredibly busy schedule!

May 24, 2007:  The Penguin just met Stewart Copeland, drummer from The Police of course, as they're in town rehearsing and setting up for the North American portion of their upcoming tour, kicking off here in Vancouver next week.  Thanks Stewart, you're a gentleman and a scholar! 

May 13, 2007:  Last night, The Penguin took in the show by Canadian punk icons Teenage Head and managed to pose with the guys after the show.  Thanks guys!

May 8, 2007:  The Penguin made a quick trip to La Conner, Washington, to check out the Tulip Festival.  Check out some of the photos in the USA section.  And The Penguin is now on Facebook!  Join The Penguin's group by doing a search for, what else, The Traveling Penguin !

April 20, 2007:  The Penguin recently went to see the U2 Tribute Band, Elevation.  The guys put on an absolutely fabulous show and having seen U2 three times,  I feel like I've seen them four times now!  The guys graciously posed with The Penguin and even gave The Penguin a backstage pass.  Check out Elevation's website at www.u2tributeband.com and if you get a chance, definitely go see them!  Tell them The Penguin sent you!

Jan 19, 2007:  The Ireland photos are finally here!  Despite the gale-force winds and monsoon rains, The Penguin had a great time in Ireland and can't wait to go back.  A big hi and thank you to Kevin and Frank for the great tour; hi to the guys at The Stag's Head pub; thanks to everyone who bought The Penguin a pint, very much appreciated!  And a big thanks and hi to Mart & Jaume at the Guinness Brewery for the perfect pint!  Photos are in the Travel section!
 

Nov 20, 2006:  The Penguin is on the road!  Or rather, a wing!  This time we're visiting The Netherlands and Ireland.  If you see The Penguin en route, come on up and say hi!  Details and photos to come!

Nov 9, 2006:   A very sad day yesterday, Gyoza, one of our cool cats and long-time companion of The Penguin passed away.   A unique cat with an awesome personality, temperament and spirit, Gyoza was the perfect embodiment of 'catness'.  Indeed, with his sinuous walk, large eyes and huge paws, Gyoza was more like a tiger or panther.  He was a sight to behold and will be dearly missed. 

Gyoza
November 7, 1993 - November 8, 2006

Oct 5, 2006:  Wow, does time fly!  Quite unlike penguins!  In any case, The Penguin had a great night out some time ago to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  As The Penguin was 'The Best Penguin' at our wedding in Fiji, The Penguin just had to accompany us to our anniversary dinner.  We had a great time at Joe Fortes and greatly appreciated the personalized service and fantastic wine and food!  We can't wait to go back!  Special thanks to Peter and the whole gang at Joe Fortes!

August 18, 2006:  The Penguin recently had the pleasure of meeting two local actors, Tyler Labine and Bruce Harwood.  Tyler recently played Dave Groves on Invasion and will be seen in the upcoming season of Boston Legal.  Bruce is of course best known for his role of John Byers, one of the Lone Gunmen on The X-Files.  Thanks for the photos guys!

The Penguin has had an exciting July.  At the beginning of the month we went to New York and had a great time visiting the city.  We also went to see The Drowsy Chaperone, a play co-written and starring our friend Bob Martin playing on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre.  The play was nominated for 13 Tony awards and won 5!  Way to go Bob!   The play is awesome, both imaginative and hilarious.  The Penguin also had a great time meeting the cast afterwards.  Special thanks to Bob, Sutton Foster, Lisa Lambert and Georgia Engel for graciously posing with The Penguin!

If you get a chance, make sure you go see this play - you won't be disappointed!  Check out the info at www.thedrowsychaperone.com

New York completely surpassed all our expectations, in safety, cleanliness and friendliness.  We can't wait to go back and see more!   The photos are in the Celebrity section and in the Travel section!

More recently, The Penguin went to another Chris Isaak concert.  As you may recall, the camera jammed as I was about to take the photo of Chris with The Penguin so no photo with Chris.  This time around, Bernie and The Penguin managed to spend about 3/4 of the concert sitting on the lip of the stage with perhaps 10 other people so that was quite the experience for them.  Afterwards, we dutifully lined up to try again for a photo with Chris.  The security people were constantly barking out "no photos allowed" and "only Chris Isaak merchandise will be signed".  Well, Chris certainly saw The Penguin on stage all night and having met The Penguin before, perhaps he'd make an exception.  We finally get in front of Chris, he looks at The Penguin and says "I can't sign that".  As we're about to say "Good, we don't want you to", he promptly signs it!  In permanent marker.  Auggggh!   I ask if we can get a photo of him with The Penguin and he declines saying he can't as the security guy will slap him otherwise.  So once again no photo with Chris and The Penguin is disfigured with his signature!  Damn you Chris Isaak!  :)   We may be the only people in the world that want to get rid of his signature!

After the show, we chatted briefly with Rowland, Kenney and Hershel.  Hershel is definitely one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and he graciously posed with Bernie and The Penguin.  Thanks Hershel!

The next day The Penguin had the opportunity to meet Brent Butt, comedian and star of the TV show "Corner Gas".  Brent also graciously posed with The Penguin.  Thanks Brent!  And by the way, I think you need The Penguin in an episode of Corner Gas.  Saskatchewan definitely needs a Penguin!  In the photo you can see Chris' signature on The Penguin - damn you Chris Isaak!  :)

May 20, 2006:  The Penguin, along with a media frenzy and a good throng of fans and supporters, was on hand to welcome home today Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei at the Totem Pole in Kitsilano, the same place where they set out to circumnavigate the world under their own power nearly two years ago!  Colin is now the first person to circumnavigate the world under human power alone.  Julie joined Colin for much of the expedition and she in fact is now the first woman to row across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland.    The Penguin was particularly proud and honoured to meet such intrepid travellers!  Congratulations on your incredible achievement and welcome home!   You can read about their expedition at  www.expeditionplanetearth.com

May 15, 2006:  The Penguin has had quite an exciting time the past few weeks.  First of all, The Penguin went to a book launch party for Vancouver author Chris Needham and of course had to pose with the author!  And this past weekend, The Penguin got to meet Canadian Olympic Curling Gold Medalist Brad Gushue as well as Canadian Paralympic Curling Gold medalist Sonja Gaudet.   Brad and Sonja were great and even let The Penguin try on their gold medals for size!  The Penguin goes for the gold!  And as a nice bonus, The Penguin got to meet another of the JACK FM family here in Vancouver, Kim Seale, who handles the traffic reports from high in the sky over Vancouver and the lower mainland.  Check out the photos here and in the celebrity section!

April 3, 2006:  The Penguin recently attended another Arrogant Worms show with opening act, The Polyjesters.  Both groups were great and highly entertaining.  If you get a chance, definitely go see either or both of these groups if you can!

And if you're so inclined, you can check out a photo of The Penguin's room-mates, Gyoza and Zebu. 
Click here for Gyoza and here for Zebu.

March 6, 2006:  The Penguin is now back from Cuba!  This is the 23rd country The Penguin has been to and had a great time.  The people we met were awesome and everywhere we went, it was "Hey, El Penguino!"   The Penguin now has a lot of fans in Cuba!   New photos added in the Photos & Travels section.

Check out this story - Giant Penguin found in New Zealand - posted on  PALAEOBLOG featuring The Penguin !

And in other Penguin news, The Penguin is currently featured in The Student Traveller magazine, published by The Canadian Federation of Students-Services and Travel CUTS.  It's great to see The Penguin being recognized in print!  Check it out if you get a chance.

December 6, 2005:  The Penguin went to the Chris Isaak concert on Friday night.  However, the Penguin had to be checked into the cloak room as no "foreign objects" were allowed into the theatre.  It's the first time the Penguin has ever been checked but managed to handle it fairly well.  Apparently Chris Isaak concerts in the states tend to be rather...rambunctious!  After "Wicked Game", Chris said this was a rock and roll show and invited everyone to come down front.  Well, lots of people did just that and seeing as how we had front row seats, perhaps it was a good thing the Penguin was hiding in the cloak room as it might just have been crushed.  Chris put on a great show and was incredibly entertaining, telling fun stories and running through the audience.  

After the show we lined up for an autograph session with about 200 other people.  Chris was signing autographs very quickly, moving down the line of people under heavy security guard with a few quick words with each person.  There were signs everywhere "No cameras" and "No photography please".  Didn't look good for a photo with Chris.  Chris came to us and looked rather surprised at the Penguin.  I explained the story of the Penguin and Chris said "You'd like a photo?"  I said sure if possible.  Chris said something like "We don't do photographs" and then in a lower, quiet voice "but go ahead."  I said great and fumbled my camera out of my pocket.  He leaned down beside the Penguin and said to me  "You can't take photographs....but go ahead.  Know what I mean?  No photographs....but go ahead...."  I tried to focus on Chris and the Penguin....and the camera wouldn't focus!  D'oh!!!  Tried again, still wouldn't focus.  Finally solved the problem but by then Chris had to move on to the next person and the security guys swooped in and ushered me along.  So unfortunately no photo of Chris with the Penguin.  We'd go see Chris again in a second so hopefully we'll have another chance someday.  However, Kenny, Hershel and Rowland of Chris' band Silvertone were all signing autographs in the lobby area as well and were more than approachable.  Each posed with the Penguin and were great to chat with.  Thanks guys!  The pics are of course in the Celebrity & Personality Section but here's the pics as well.

October 17, 2005:  The Penguin had quite the weekend.  First off, The Penguin took in the Tom Wilson and Bob Lanois show on Friday night.  Tom and Bob were in fine form with Tom being his usual entertaining self.  Tom and Bob showcased their new album, The Shack Recordings.  Check it out at www.theshackrecordings.ca and pick up a copy.  You'll love it!   

On Saturday, The Penguin went to the Home and Garden show and managed to meet Mike Holmes from "Holmes on Homes".  He was swarmed by several thousand fans with many female fans looking for a nice hug.  Mike was more than happy to oblige and seems to be enjoying his job even more these days!  :)  Thanks Mike for putting on such a great show and shaking up the renovation industry.

Later that night, The Penguin went again to see Tom Wilson and Bob Lanois.  The Penguin was on the guest list for the show and since this being the first time The Penguin's been on a guest list, well, we just had to go again.  Another excellent show with some good laughs and great songs.  Be sure to catch Tom and Bob if you can on their current tour. You can find their tour info at www.theshackrecordings.ca   And be sure to tell Tom "The Penguin sends its regards"!

October 6, 2005:  The Penguin recently got to meet up with a number of local celebrities and personalities including Sammy Salo from the Canucks, Christopher Gaze from Bard on the Beach, Vijay from JACK FM and BC Premier Gordon Campbell.  The Penguin also had a good time going to see the Documentary/Movie 'March Of The Penguin'.  Other theatre-goers were thrilled to have The Penguin in their midst!  And it was nice to see The Penguin's name in lights!              

March 31, 2005:  The Penguin has now returned from a great trip to China.  The Penguin managed to spend a few days in each of Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai.  Lots of new photos to check out!  And read Bernie's write up on the trip to China here!

February 22, 2005:  This past weekend proved to be quite the Penguin experience.  On Friday, the Penguin went to see The Arrogant Worms, Canada's premiere comedy folk troupe!  The Penguin seemed to be recognized as soon as we entered the theatre as there were quite a few shouts of "The Penguin!!!".  I guess it's hard not to recognize The Penguin!  The Penguin spent the second half of the concert on stage with the band, much to the delight of the audience and indeed the band had a great time bantering about The Penguin and making reference to it in just about every song.  At one point a couple of folks dashed to the stage and gave The Penguin a monkey hat to wear.  The Penguin was suddenly transformed into a "Monkquin", a penguin that can swing from icebergs!  Perhaps you had to be there.  In any case, a great time was had by all and if you get a chance, be sure to check out the Arrogant Worms (www.arrogant-worms.com)!

On Saturday, The Penguin went to the Adventure and Travel Show and had the pleasure of meeting Rupert from Survivor!  Yes, Rupert!  Full of energy, passion and enthusiasm, he gladly posed with The Penguin.  Voted the fan favourite from 'Survivor All-Stars' and the recipient of a cool million bucks, he was definitely a crowd favourite on Saturday with a huge crowd and line-up to meet him.  A very nice and fun guy!  Good going Rupert!

The pics with the Arrogant Worms and Rupert can of course be found in the Celebrity & Personality section.  Check 'em out!

The Penguin has now returned from the latest trip to Hawaii, Australia and Fiji!  The Penguin was a big hit down under, particularly when we went to Phillip Island to visit its relatives, the Fairy Penguins!  In Sydney, The Penguin was even interviewed and filmed for a TV travel show!  Be sure to check the Photos & Travels section for the new photos added.

The Penguin also got to meet and pose with the band Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.  This is of course Tom Wilson, Colin Linden and Stephen Fearing.  Tom, having met the Penguin several times previously, invited The Penguin to spend the concert on stage with the band.  Some of the audience remembered The Penguin from the time with Tom Wilson when he participated in the Storytellers Cabaret.  Tom took several questions from the audience and each question was about The Penguin!  Tom finally had to say, "Ok, enough about The Penguin already!"  The band was great and graciously posed with The Penguin afterwards.  Go and get their CD's - you won't be disappointed!  Start with their latest, BARK.  And check out their website - www.rodeokings.com - for more BARK info.

The Penguin also posed with opening act, Joel Kroeker.  He played a great set and we'll all be hearing more of him in the future.  Check out their photos in the Celebrity & Personality section.

The Penguin has recently been on JACK radio here in Vancouver.  Not that The Penguin could say much but The Penguin got to meet Larry and Willy!  Thanks guys!  You can check the photo out in the Celebrity & Personality section.  

The Penguin also recently posed with Neil and Tim Finn, the Finn brothers of Split Enz and Crowded House fame.  Although late for their soundcheck, they took the time to meet the Penguin and graciously posed for the photo.  They went on that night to play a great concert here in Vancouver on the opening night of their current tour.  Be sure to check out this new photo in the Celebrity & Personality section, added July 23, 2004.

The Penguin previously  got to meet Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar.  Gordie conducted a Gibson guitar clinic and played, chatted and answered questions for an hour and a half!  It was a great experience and Gordie graciously posed with the Penguin afterwards.    

The Penguin has been back for some time now from an awesome trip to the Cook Islands - Rarotonga and Aitutaki are definitely a tropical paradise!  Check out the photos  under the Photos & Travels section  

If you are interested in a career in the music industry, either as an artist or behind the scenes as a manager or a producer, then be sure to check out The Insider's Guide to the Music Industry. The information you can obtain will give you a definite advantage for success in this highly competitive area!

Our page represents our range of interests and our on-going projects. It spans the range from the serious to the not-so-serious and as a rather eclectic collection of information, it will be continually transformed and updated.

Hey look at this!  We actually won an award as a "key resource" for penguins!!!

Bernie & Brian, 308 - 1928 W. 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1J3 Canada

© Penguin Productions - All Photographs by Brian Verch / Bernie Abromaitis