Gibsons Landing Jazz Festival breaks loose this weekend. See five great acts at a ticketed event in Dougall Park on Saturday from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., a free show in Winegarden Park on Sunday afternoon, a mellow, swinging dance with the Creek Big Band at Harmony Hall on Saturday evening and a pop funk dance with Hey Ocean at the Roberts Creek Hall. See page B17 or www.coastjazz.com for more.
More jazz
Tonight (June 12), the Wild Bistro presents a Young Jazz showcase at 8 p.m. with two hot groups of young players on the Coast: Stramash, progressive jazz with Celtic seasoning, and Apogee, a funky jazz fusion. On Saturday, Wild Bistro continues with Sherele, an amazing Klezmer string quartet, Niv and Bonar doing their smokin' swing standards and sultry samba, Mick and Aileen Bryant on traditional and original pop/folk and a couple of jazzy numbers. Admission is by donation. Phone 604-886-1917 for more.
More music
The Pender Harbour Music Society presents the double guitar show of Bill Coon and Oliver Gannon. Two Much Guitar is on stage in Madeira Park this Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m. in the final concert of the Music Society's 2008/09 series. Tickets are $20, available at Harbour Insurance, John Henry's, the Sechelt Visitors Centre and Gaia's Fair Trade.
Northwest Trio
Pastor Dave Cottrell of the Sunshine Community Baptist Church reports they have been invited to host the Northwest Trio, a singing group from Crown College in Powell, Tennessee. This group of talented young women includes three singers, one of whom also plays trumpet, and their pianist. They have been invited to sing at Christenson Village in Gibsons on Monday, June 15, in the morning, then at Shorncliffe on Tuesday morning, and at Totem Extended Care on Tuesday afternoon.
They are also hosting a free community concert at the SDA building (corner of Highway 101 and Jack Road) in Wilson Creek on Tuesday, June 15, at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Coffee will be available after the concert, giving everyone the opportunity to meet these young artists.
Harmony Hall
If you are aged 40 plus, Harmony Hall in Gibsons would like to offer you a wide variety of activities coming up in the near future. If you drop in to shake a leg at the Creek Big Band dance at the hall this Saturday evening you might take a look around and think about some of the great ideas that are now in the planning stages: for example, an amateur production of the show Annie in the fall with local cast and crew.
If you are interested in being part of this underutilized resource, call George Grafton at 604-886-0228 or Graham Wray at 604-886-9295.
Cedar classes
Summer weaving classes begin at the Egmont Heritage Centre with Jessica Casey, Coast Salish master weaver, starting June 16 with root gathering at 10 a.m. Learn to identify, gather and process roots for basket weaving.
This preliminary class will be followed by cedar basket weaving (June 28), cedar necklace (July 7) and Salish loom weaving (July 14). Classes are limited to seven students. Meet on the balcony at the Egmont Heritage Centre; call 604-883-9994 to pre-register. Payment is due on the day of class.
Walking on Water
Cormorant Books invites the public to the launch of Walking on Water, a collection of 10 short stories by West Sechelt author Jancis M. Andrews. Over the years Andrews has won several awards for her writing, and in 2004 her non-fiction story, Country of Evil, was a finalist in the Western Canada Magazine Awards.
The author is a community volunteer with a strong interest in helping to stop violence against women and children. She will be reading from her new book on Friday, June 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Arts Centre in Sechelt. Refreshments will be available and Talewind Books will be on hand to sell copies.
Songs and Stories
David Roche and Lowry Olafson get together for Songs and Stories from the General Area of the Heart on Saturday, June 20, at 7 p.m. at Gibsons United Church. Tickets are $10, available at Coast Books.
Show cancelled
To their regret, the Arts Council announces that the National Aboriginal Day Art Exhibition scheduled for the Doris Crowston Gallery of the Arts Centre on June 17 will not take place. Instead, the current show, Katie Janyk's original ceramic work and John Davis' firefighting photos, will be extended until July 5. See www.scartscouncil.com for a list of forthcoming shows.
Send notice of arts events to jandegrass@dccnet.com or phone 604-886-4692 by Tuesday at 6 p.m.
