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Art Beat: It’s time for some summertime blues

The weather looks like it’ll be on the cool side this weekend, but hey, so will the music at the 16th Annual Pender Harbour Blues Festival, running Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9.
blues fest
Vancouver rockabilly band Cousin Harley is among the attractions at this weekend’s Pender Harbour Blues Festival.

The weather looks like it’ll be on the cool side this weekend, but hey, so will the music at the 16th Annual Pender Harbour Blues Festival, running Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9. It’s a great line-up, including Prairie Oyster frontman Russell deCarle with Steve Briggs, Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne, Steve Marriner, Cousin Harley, Marcus Mosely, Doc Fingers, Joe Stanton, Simon Paradis, Jim Foster, Steve Hinton Band, Blue Line Duo, Karen Graves, and Poppa Greg and the Chillin’ Dylans. Various venues are staging shows, from Madeira Park to Egmont, 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Schedules and ticket info are at phblues.ca.

At Gibsons Public Market on Saturday, June 8, Bad to the Bow plays the atrium at 2:30 p.m., while over at Tapworks in Gibsons at 2 p.m., it’s The Locals. At Roberts Creek Legion on Saturday night, local band Never Was opens for Vancouver’s Found a Lovebird at 9 p.m.

A blend of choirs

Suncoast Phoenix Community Choir is joining the Pender Harbour School Choir this weekend for two performances of a concert called A Place in the Choir. With an age range of 13 to 89, the choirs’ message is clear: “There is room for everyone in a community choir,” says director Sara Douglas. The program includes Canadian folk songs, some Beatles, spirituals and classics. 

A Place in the Choir is on Saturday, June 8, at 7 p.m. at St. Hilda’s Church in Sechelt and Sunday, June 9, at 2:30 p.m. at Calvary Baptist in Gibsons. Admission by donation.

Proud out loud

On Saturday, June 8, Gibsons Public Library is hosting its fifth annual LGBTQ2 literary series, Read Out Loud. This year, the event features visiting writer Ahmad Danny Ramadan, author of the novel The Clothesline Swing, published by Nightwood Editions, of Gibsons. Also on the bill is local poet and visual artist Denise Brown, who will share poetry from her most recent chapbook, When Chaos Stops To Catch Its Breath. It’s at 2 p.m. and it’s free.

Delightful dance

It’s the season for local dance schools to strut their stuff.

The Coast Academy of Dance presents four performances of its Greatest Hits on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9 at Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. both days.

The Cardio Cabaret Crew, who train at Coast Academy, will also be on hand to perform their award-winning choreographed routine as part of the show.

Tickets $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors, available at the academy office on Wharf Road, Lucky’s Smokehouse, and Moorestock Mini at Trail Bay Centre and by e-transfer at info@coastdance.com.

Starting Tuesday, June 11 and running through June 13, also at Raven’s Cry, Waldorf Ballet in Sechelt brings back A Bird’s Tale, “with an extended storyline, new characters, and loads of adventure!” Performers are all local students ranging from three year olds to the dedicated teens of the school’s Professional Program. All shows are at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 and available online at waldorfballet.com.

Coast images

Our beautiful ex-urban setting here on the Coast offers countless photographic opportunities. You can see for yourself at the fifth annual Come Celebrate Local Photographers show, where 30 local camera buffs have some of their best shots on display. The exhibition is at Sunnycrest Mall, with a gala opening on Thursday, June 6, from 3 to 7 p.m., then daily through the weekend from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

United Artists

For years, a group of amateur painters has gathered Thursday afternoons in the well-lit lower hall at St. John’s United Church in Davis Bay to daub canvases, share encouragement and get a little expert instruction. And each June, they’d have a show of their works. That tradition is now coming to an end. The St. John’s United Artists, as they called themselves, are putting up their last exhibit together. It will be on display Friday, June 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a reception starting at 4 p.m. On Saturday, June 8, you can see the exhibit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

‘Candid Beauty’

Gibsons Public Art Gallery has a new show opening this week, The Indigenous Archival Photo Project, in the main gallery, featuring images by Paul Seequasis of Indigenous people from across the country. “Moments of time are emancipated from… powerful in their straightforward and candid beauty.” In the Eve Smart Gallery, there’s a display of fine masks by Davis Bay woodcarver Artie George, great nephew of Chief Dan George. An opening reception for the combined show is at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 8.

A to B

A new show also opens at The Kube in Gibsons, with a reception starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 7 for West Vancouver painter Susan Patterson’s exhibit, A to B, which explores “tensions between the landscapes we occupy and the histories impeded in them.”

Heads up

Coast keyboard whiz Anna Lumiere and sax virtuoso Karen Graves bring their Vancouver band Mimosa to High Beam Dreams in Gibsons for a show on June 14 at 7:30 p.m. Originals, covers, and a lot of fun. Tickets at www.share-there.com.

Submissions

If you have 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. Also check Coast Reporter’s Coast Community Calendar for a broader list.