Tickets have sold quickly for the Nomadic Tempest show by Caravan Stage Company in Gibsons, but there might be deck seating available on the wharf for this Friday and Saturday, July 28 and 29 (bleacher seating is sold out for Saturday). The show is presented by Canada 150+ in collaboration with Sea Cavalcade Society and Sunshine Coast Jazz & Entertainment Society. The Caravan returns to BC after a 30-year world tour aboard the Company’s 90-foot tall ship, Amara Zee, a replica of a Thames River sailing barge. Nomadic Tempest is an epic tale of four monarch butterflies from disparate corners of the globe, displaced by climate change, searching for a new home. The performance is on the vessel from a crew of 19 performers and it combines theatre, singing, aerialists hanging from the riggings, light and video projections. The story is told in five languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Indigenous Salish. Tickets are available at www.share-there.com or at WOW Gallery, Gibsons; MELOmania, Roberts Creek; Sechelt Visitor Centre; EarthFair Books, Madeira Park.
During Sea Cavalcade there is a free shuttle bus every 10 to 15 minutes all four nights from Elphinstone School to the Landing – on Friday from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Relics rock
Martini Blue (aka Martin Brown) is playing at the Legion this Friday, July 28 during dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. (Friday night is the Legion’s roast chicken dinner for $12 members, $15 non-members.) Martini Blue has been competing successfully in many steel guitar competitions in the U.S. He’s now part of our musical community in his role with the beloved Relics band. He will entertain on Friday and perform with the Relics on Saturday. The Relics play the Gibsons Legion on Saturday, July 29 for Sea Cavalcade. Members are $5, guests $10. Show starts at 8 p.m. You have enough time to dance your socks off and still go to the fireworks.
Dance Party
Sunday Funday takes the music outside. It’s a free parking lot dance party, hosted by the band Brothers in Farms on Sunday, July 30 from 3 to 7 p.m. in the Roberts Creek Hall / Masonic Hall parking lot.
Slow Sunday
Graham Walker writes, “It’s a busy summer with so much going on all the time, but we’re creating our little slow corner of the Coast.” This week’s Slow Sundays in the Creek has a special concert at 2 p.m. with some of Roberts Creek’s finest home-grown who have come up through the ranks of the Celtic Music Camp and gone on to renown in the world festival circuit: NUA, featuring James Law (fiddle), Graeme McGillivray (guitar) and Jacob McCauley (bodhran master). The concert is from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the park behind the Creek Library.
Mountain films
Come enjoy Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival at Gibsons Garden Hotel on Aug. 4. This best of the fest tour celebrates the 20th annual Vancouver event with a selection of critically acclaimed adventure films from around the world. Doors open at 6 p.m. and films start at 6:30 p.m. Persephone will be selling beer from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and again in the intermission. Tickets are at www.eventbrite.ca for $15 plus the Eventbrite fee.
Materiality
Materiality, an exhibition of mixed media by Carole Sinclair, will hold an opening reception on Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery from 2 to 4 p.m. Sinclair has a background as a fashion designer, which informs all her work. Her art explores the unexpected and unpredictable. Diverse media and found objects interact in her work, creating a transition between the natural and the industrial. Some pieces simply acknowledge the beauty of found objects set against a non-conflicting white backdrop, where their inherent natural qualities can be best appreciated. The exhibition Materiality juxtaposes found materials with painting, drawing and collage to create a balancing of form or sometimes an uneasy friction. The show runs Aug. 3 to Sept. 4 with viewing times of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For further information call Michael Aze at 604-886-0531.
Burlesque
Boudoir Rouge presents a fundraiser for victims of the B.C. wildfires on Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Roberts Creek Hall. Sexy burlesque, musician Matt Watson, the Jeevious family and a DJ dance party are all on stage for your $20 ticket (at www.share-there.com).
Arts minister
The Honourable Lisa Beare (NDP, Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge) has been named the new Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. She was named to the newly created position when the Executive Council of British Columbia was sworn in on July 18. Her past roles include two terms on the board of directors for Variety - the Children’s Charity and positions as vice-president of CUPE 4078, member of Canadian Women’s Voter Congress, and president of the Vancouver chapters of Women in Aviation and The Ninety-Nines. To welcome the new minister, the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture has invited her to meet with Vancouver’s arts, culture and heritage communities at a special introductory event in the fall. Stay tuned.
Culture Days
Register your Culture Days events, activities and open houses by July 31. Events listed for the Sunshine Coast will be able to take advantage of the Sunshine Coast-branded culture days materials (posters, etc.) in a province-wide promotion. Any arts or cultural activity – professional, community, amateur, educational – can be part of Culture Days as long as it meets four basic criteria: it is a free event; involves audience participation or a behind-the-scenes access; is happening during Culture Days (Sept. 29 to Oct. 1); and is registered on culturedays.ca.
Texada Blues
The Texada Island Blues and Roots Festival 2017 takes place on Saturday, July 29 from noon to 9 p.m. and on Sunday, July 30, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. celebrating music at Gillies Bay Ball Park. Most of the performers are from within 100 km of Gillies Bay. Sunshine Coast musician Ron Campbell and his Blues Busters are headliners. A schedule of performances can be found at www.texadabluesfestival.com or phone 250-334-7049.
Keep me posted
Please continue to send me your arts announcements, but note they will run in the newspaper one day to one week ahead only. Deadline is Tuesday at noon for next Friday’s paper. Email [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692.
