Week two of the Sechelt Arts Festival is featuring the innovative musical theatrics of the Marvelous Mr Moysey, in one show only at Raven’s Cry Theatre on Friday, Oct. 11. At Trail Bay Centre on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. you can be part of a public mural-painting project called Paintillio. Get involved and leave your mark, just by picking up a brush and staying between the lines. And on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre on Medusa St., immerse yourself in the art at The Space Between. (see the feature story above). The festival also has much more going on, including workshops and exhibitions. Get the whole picture at secheltartsfestival.com.
Good laughs
The Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons presents an evening of comedy on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Halfmoon Bay’s Toby Hargrave hosts headliner Charlie Demers and a mystery special guest performer. Partial proceeds of the 18-and-over show will be in support of Arrowhead Clubhouse. Tickets are $25, at Sechelt Fish Market, The Blackberry Shop, and www.heritageplayhouse.com/shop.
Kid comedians
Paula Howley of Head Start Public Speaking for Kids and the 101 Distillery in Gibsons are trying something unique: inviting seven young comedians – aged eight to 13 – to perform five-minute comic routines. “I wanted their authentic selves up there,” Howley cautions. “Families are welcome, but they should be prepared for frank expression.” Sunday, Oct. 13 at 3 p.m.
Present Tense
The Gibsons Public Art Gallery’s members’ show, Present Tense, has many interesting works to see. There’s an opening reception on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.; the mixed-media exhibit runs until Nov. 3.
Writing workshops
Sunshine Coast Arts Council director and curator Sadira Rodrigues knows a thing or two about writing, especially regarding art. She’s giving a professional development workshop that “will focus on ways to develop quotations, statements and ideas about your work that help open it up to others who are not familiar with it.” Thursday, Oct. 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre. Limited to 20 participants; $15 for Arts Council members, $25 for non-members.
Gibsons Public Library is also helping wordsmiths with 10 Tips to Improve Your Writing, led by Rebecca Hendry. On Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10:30 a.m. It’s free.
Reading writers
Seven Coast writers will join the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl on Friday, Oct. 18 at the arts centre at 5714 Medusa in Sechelt. Doors open at 7 p.m. with a reading event from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Betty Keller will emcee with writers Heige Boehm, Jan DeGrass, Jo Hammond, Rosella Leslie, Andreas Schroeder, Andrew Scott, and Howard White. The event is a fundraiser for the Forge Writing Bursary – a fund that offers financial assistance to Coast writers. Door prizes, quizzes and refreshments, too. Admission is a suggested $10 donation to the bursary.
Custody
French actor Xavier Legrand got behind the camera for the first time to direct the film Custody and garnered some impressive European awards for his efforts. “Custody tackles the difficult, yet familiar, subject of domestic terrorism and the trauma of family break-up.” The Sunshine Coast Film Society has scheduled two screenings: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m., at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons and Saturday, Oct. 19, 2 p.m. at the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt.
Infinity
Ninety-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has lived her life with rare flare. Raised conservatively in Japan, Kusama moved to New York as a young woman, making a big splash on the U.S. and international art scenes during the 1960s and ‘70s. A documentary on her unique career, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity, will be screened as part of the Sunshine Coast Art Council’s Sunday Film Series at the Arts Centre in Sechelt on Oct. 13 at 10:30 a.m. Admission is $10.
Heads Up
Coast artist Gordon Halloran was inspired to create the film Body of Light after experiencing a life-threatening illness. What followed was a two-year filmmaking odyssey in which Halloran interviewed dozens of local traditional and alternative healing practitioners. Two screenings are coming up: Friday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. at Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt, and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. at the Gibson’s Cinema. Admission is by donation ($15 suggested). All proceeds go to the Sechelt Hospital Foundation in support of mental health services. Halloran and partner Caitlin Hicks will be on hand for a chat after the screenings.
Correction
In the Sept. 27 story about the book Emily Carr’s B.C.: South Coast to the Interior, by Laurie Carter, I wrote that Carr visited the Sunshine Coast in 1933. In fact, she came in 1908, all the more impressive given the difficulty of local travel 111 years ago.
Submissions
If there’s an event you’d like considered for Art Beat, please let us know by 11 a.m. Tuesday at arts@coastreporter.net. Space is limited and, regrettably, we can’t list everything. Also check Coast Reporter’s Coast Community Calendar for more music and events.
