Jazz Week from June 9 to 14 heats up the music just before the Gibsons Jazz Festival weekend. All events are free with donations gratefully accepted. Jazz Week celebrates local musicians starting on Saturday, June 9. The opening show is at the Gibsons Library from 11 a.m. to noon with singer/songwriter Simon Paradis joined by Boyd Norman on bass. Then move on up to Sunnycrest Mall to hear vocalist Wanda Nowicki and jazz guitarist extraordinaire Budge Schachte from noon to 2 p.m. Have some refreshments at the Gibsons Public Market with the Jazz Group of Seven playing from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
On Sunday from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Double Treble – harp, guitar and flutes by Heidi and Bud Kurz – will perform at One Flower One Leaf Gallery in Gibson’s Landing. On Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the new Uptown Eatery (formerly Sita’s) hear the dynamic duo of Karen Graves and Budge Schachte. Wednesday at the Blackfish Pub, listen to Anagram and friends. On Thursday night at Leo’s Restaurant, Funktete will be pumping out the tunes for a good time while you dine. Reservations are recommended at the restaurants. Phone numbers and details are listed at www.coastjazz.com under jazz week schedule. Then get ready for the big weekend Jazz Festival June 15 to 17.
A Beckoning 招手
Opening reception for a new show, A Beckoning 招手, at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery is this Friday, June 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. with a performance at 7 p.m. Media Artist Joah Lui (aka Digi Majou) and Visual Artist Sandy Buck collaborated to bring this sensory-filled and participatory experience of media and artistic works from four recently completed and/or ongoing projects of Deer Crossing the Art Farm.
They write: “As professional artists working with Deer Crossing the Art Farm, we nurture culturally welcoming spaces that are intergenerational. We engage multiple publics in producing and performing the arts of theatre, sound, fabric, video, photography, design, sculpture, circus, writing, and more. We passionately believe that creativity, and the creation of art in community, offers important perspectives and hope to a world much troubled and in need of inspiration. In A Beckoning 招手, we showcase a selection of creations from professional artists, emerging artists and the wider public working together in creative play. During our reception, Joah Lui will appear as her alter ego, Digi Majou, and Sandy Buck as the Earth Element. The ensuing interplay of Ancestor, Goddess, Technology and Nature will invite the audience to see, play and create with us.”
Show runs until July 8. Friday, June 22, 1 to 2 p.m. is School Hour (call 604-318-1843 to book your class). Friday, June 29, 7 to 8:30 p.m. is Artists’ Talk Q&A. For further information: Sandy Buck at 604-375-3453 or Joah Lui 604-318-1843.
This Weekend
• This Friday, June 8, the Suncoast Phoenix Community Choir presents its spring concert, Earth, Sea and Sky, at 7 p.m. at the Sechelt Indian Band Hall and again Saturday, June 9 at 2 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, Gibsons. Admission is by donation at the door.
• On Saturday, June 9 at 2:30 p.m. hear a musical celebration with Julie Rutter, piano and flute, and Valerie Rutter, piano and recorder, at Living Faith Lutheran Church, Davis Bay. Proceeds to St. Hilda’s Restoration Fund. Tickets are available at the door or phone 604-741-9943.
CAD Dance
Coast Academy of Dance holds its year end recital, Dance Upon a Star, on Saturday and Sunday, June 9 and 10 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. both days. Tickets sell quickly but you can still get them between 3 and 5 p.m. at the Raven’s Cry Theatre on Friday or at the door on Saturday and Sunday.
Read Out Loud
A queer literary salon featuring readings from LGBTQ2 writers Hiromi Goto and Nicole Breit takes place at 7:30 p.m. on June 9 at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre (Trail and Medusa, Sechelt). All are welcome.
Circle Dancing
Circle Dancing in the Creek is Friday, June 15, 7 to 9 p.m. Enjoy learning traditional folk and contemporary dances with music from around the world. Dances are lively, joyful and healing. Everyone is welcome; no experience required. By donation. Call Sarah at 604-740-3720 or [email protected] for more info and venue.
Art Show and Sale
The St. John’s Art Group is holding an art show and sale on June 15 and 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with an artists’ reception on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. There will also be gently used art related materials for sale. The events take place at St. John’s United Church in Davis Bay.
Indie Book Award
The Whistler Independent Book Awards, an annual competition to provide independently published authors with an opportunity to have their work juried, has announced their nominees in the non-fiction category. Sunshine Coast author Patricia Hetherington has been nominated for her book of essays Under the Covers: A Life of Gumption, Passion, Gifts, and Secrets (reviewed in Coast Reporter, Feb. 9, 2018). The short-listed nominees will be judged by Canadian Authors - Metro Vancouver members and the finalists announced on July 16.
Art Submissions
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the Doris Crowston Gallery’s 2019 Exhibitions. The Sunshine Coast Arts Council is placing an open call for artists interested in having their work featured in the Gallery in 2019. They invite artists to submit exhibition proposals in any visual art medium by June 30, 2018. Submissions will be anonymously presented to a jury composed of fellow Sunshine Coast artists. Applicants are not required to be current members. Pose a question, make a statement, or bring more beauty into the community next year and submit. For eligibility, submission guidelines, and more information, see www.sunshinecoastartscouncil.com or call 604-885-5412.
Message Me
Please send notice of your arts and entertainment events to my email: [email protected] or phone 604-741-9360. Items go into the Art Beat column one day to one week ahead only, depending on space. Deadline is Tuesday noon for Friday’s paper.
