• Mardi Gras is famously celebrated in much of the Western world and in both hemispheres, from Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans – and yes, to the Sunshine Coast. Masks and feathery headgear are customary, along with a let-it-rip attitude. Join in the merriment on Saturday, March 2 with the band Common Ground at the Sechelt Legion. There is a costume contest. Starts at 7 p.m. and is $15 for members, $20 for guests.
• At Roberts Creek Hall, Electric Space Clown, “an artist collective inspired by the cosmos, festival culture and self-expression,” is hosting a Mardi Gras bash. There will be a costume contest. Doors at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m. Tickets are $25, available in advance by e-transfer from [email protected].
Not strictly Mardi Gras
• The Gibsons Legion will be hopping on Saturday, March 2 when the Steve Hinton Band brings on their jumping, swinging blues. “Bring your dancing shoes,” says Steve. The show starts at 8 p.m.
• The musical action will be a bit heavier up the road at Roberts Creek Legion on Saturday, March 2 when you can hear Motorama with Sinmobile, and FIR. Music starts at 9 p.m.
• Earlier on Saturday, March 2, Gibsons Public Market offers up Gary Gilbert (aka Dr. Fun) and Christopher-Jordan Knox performing as the Blue Line Duo, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The Road Forward
The syiyaya Reconciliation Movement, in partnership with Vancity, School District No. 46 and shíshálh Nation, is holding a public screening of the musical documentary The Road Forward, at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 1, at the shíshálh Nation Hall in Sechelt. There will be a post-screening talk with two of the cast members, Latash-Maurice and Delhia Nahanee. It’s described as “a musical documentary by Marie Clements [that] connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history – the beginnings of Indian nationalism in the 1930s – with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today.” Admission is by $10 suggested donation.
An extra Fiddler
If you’ve tried and failed to get tickets for the sold-out production of Fiddler on the Roof, by the SD46 Music Theatre Ensemble, there might be one more chance. The show at Chatelech Secondary School Theatre ends its run Saturday night, but a Saturday, March 2, matinée has been added. Tickets are $10 at Strait Music in Sechelt. Good luck.
Winter dance
The Coast Academy of Dance presents its Winter Show on Saturday, March 2, 3:30 p.m., at Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt. The show will feature the school’s pre-professional students and competitive team. Tickets are $17, available at Lucky’s Smokehouse or from the Academy’s business office, which has limited hours. More information from 604-885-2263 or [email protected]
Spring Eruption
The Bad to the Bow youth fiddle group is staging its Spring Eruption Concert on Sunday, March 3 at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Gibsons. The group “plays a fusion of world music styles.” The Low Key Fiddlers will also make an appearance, and join in for a few tunes. Doors at 6: 30 p.m., show from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Snacks, tea and coffee will be available for sale. Admission is by donation.
Opinion Piece
Powell River artist Megan Dietrich, currently based in Vancouver, opens her show, Opinion Piece, at The Kube in Gibsons on Friday, March 1. “Her work is confident, introspective, and temperamental and a quiet quest for personal, artistic evolution.” The reception is from 6 to 9 p.m. at #104, 875 Gibsons Way.
Exploring texture
Vancouver artist Catherine Tableau will share some of her techniques at a talk and demonstration on Saturday, March 2 at Gibsons Public Art Gallery. Tableau’s plaster-hanging work is part of the current three-artist show at the gallery, ?What Matters!. Her work, like all the pieces in this show, is unique, with slabs of strong colour and textures that draw you in very closely, to take in the smallest details. Her talk is from 2 to 3 p.m. and it’s free.
Unarmed Verses
If you didn’t catch this award-winning documentary in February, there’s one more screening, at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. The film follows 12-year-old Francine Valentine, a resident of the troubled, low-income Villaways housing development in Toronto, as she begins to find her voice as a budding poet and spoken-word performer. At 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 4. Admission is $5 for Sunshine Coast Film Society full members, $9 for single-event members. Following the screening, the society will hold its annual general meeting, and all are welcome to stay and participate.
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.
