It’s one of the biggest weekends on the Sunshine Coast arts calendar, rivalled only by the Art Crawl and the Sechelt Arts Festival in October. For starters, the 37th annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts in Sechelt gets underway with an author event on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 15, followed by another 20 events through Sunday evening. Some are already fully booked, but many aren’t yet. Tickets are available through the festival website, www.writersfestival.ca, or www.share-there.com and by phone at 604-885-9631. Pro tip: If an event is not listed on the website, it’s sold out.
Craft Fair
Also in Sechelt, there’s the 32nd Hackett Park Arts and Craft Fair. The quality is high, as it’s a juried event, and more than 80 B.C. artisans made the cut this year. Live music, food and face-painting are also part of the festivities, above and beyond the fine crafts. Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adults $3, seniors $2, kids under 12 are free.
Chamber Music
At the north end of our peninsula, the 15th Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival runs from Friday afternoon, Aug. 16 through Sunday, Aug. 18, featuring five concerts of traditional and innovative music at Madeira Park’s School of Music. There will be performances by the New Zealand String Quartet, violist Evan Hesketh, double bassist Dylan Palmer, Christie Reside and her flute, clarinettist James Campbell, Graham Campbell on guitar, and pianists Tigran Saayan and Alexander Tselyakov. Get tickets at penderharbourmusic.ca under Chamber.
Music in the forest
The fine sounds created by the long-standing musical collaboration of saxophonist Karen Graves and guitarist Budge Schachte will resound among the trees in the Clack Creek Forest on Sunday, Aug. 18, from 1 to 3 p.m. You can take it in for a suggested donation of $10. It’s relatively deep in the woods of Roberts Creek, so planning ahead to get there is a good idea. Check it out at www.livingforestinstitute.ca under Programs.
Quilts on a Line
We have a few quilt shows on the Coast throughout the year, but this is the only one staged outdoors. Quilts, “plus many handcrafted items such as table runners, wall hangings, bags of all types,” and a quilting demo are on offer at the Quilts on a Line Show. It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Wildflower Quilting Studio, 1647 Field Rd. in Wilson Creek.
20 years and counting
Squamish artist Sinàmkin (Jody Broomfield) celebrates an anniversary in his creative career, which began in 1999, with an exhibition at Gibsons Public Art Gallery of his wide variety of artistic skills. Sinàmkin works in hand-carved red cedar wood, sculpted metal, graphic prints and paintings. There’s an opening reception on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. The show runs until Sept. 8.
Swamp romp
The Whistler-based Flag Stop Theatre and Arts Festival comes to the Coast on Friday, Aug. 16 with a performance of the Stephen Vogler play About the Moose, at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. The play is described as “a hilarious romp through the swamp. A witty satire on bureaucracy and wildlife management that is both moving and drop dead funny.” Advance tickets are $20 from Laedeli Gifts or www.thepointartists.com, under events, or $25 at the door. Showtime is 8 p.m.
Free tunes
Music in the Landing goes all weekend, with Katrina Bishop on Friday Aug. 16 from 7 to 8 p.m. under the gazebo on the wharf. On Saturday the 17th, there’s jazz with the Colleen Savage Trio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Pioneer Square, next to the Visitor Centre.
Funktete plays in the evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Winegarden Park. And Double Treble does a few sets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sundial Stage next to the Aug. 18 Sunday Market.
The Sechelt Summer Music Series on the stage by the library features the Budge and Karen Duo followed by Brothers in Farms, noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17.
And Slow Sundays in the Creek, starting at noon, has Loose Endings, People of the Drum, G. Willy, and Hordes of Ords, at the gazebo behind the library in Roberts Creek.
Anagram
Anna Lumiere and Graham Ord are joined by John Rule on drums, Sacha Fassaert on bass, and special guest vocalist Sarah Noni, at the 101 Brewhouse in Gibsons on Thursday, Aug. 22, 7 to 10 p.m. Sarah Burton opens.
Looking ahead
The weekend of Aug. 23 to 25 is fast approaching, and that’s the time for the three-day, outdoor Rogue Festival of the Arts, “where you can immerse yourself in non-stop, genre-crossing music, art, and more.” Check it all out at www.roguefest.ca.
Submissions
If you have an event you’d like considered for Art Beat, please let us know by 11 a.m. Tuesday at [email protected]. Space is limited and, regrettably, we can’t list everything. Also check Coast Reporter’s Coast Community Calendar for more music and events.
