What do you have when you combine the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, the Sechelt Arts Festival, and too many other noteworthy events to fit into one Art Beat column? You have this weekend, an overflowing bounty of local arts and entertainment:
Art Crawl
It will always be called the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, but it’s a charming misnomer because it will take a brisk walk and multi-stop drive to sample even a small portion of the arts and crafts on display this 10th annual event, featuring 186 venues, the most ever. You could also just stroll around your local neighbourhood, where there are bound to be things to see. A whole new portion of the Coast – Gambier Island – has joined in, as well. (See our feature story above.) Friday to Sunday, Oct. 18 to 20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, with select locations open 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. Guide maps are widely available or see sunshinecoastartcrawl.com for all the details.
Sechelt Arts Festival
The annual mid-Coast celebration of the arts wraps up this weekend with Forro Do Cana, which will bring “an explosion of Latin sounds, colours and dance from northeast Brazil” to the shíshálh Nation Community Hall Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The group was created by local world-class fiddler Serena Eades and Brazilian dancer Andrea Monteiro. They’ll also be offering a free Farro and Frevo Brazilian dance workshop at Coast Academy of Dance on Wharf Road at 2 p.m. Tickets for the evening show are available at secheltartsfestival.com. It’s also the last weekend to catch the festival’s excellent display of local art, plus the memorable heritage exhibit, Through Helen’s Eyes, both at the Seaside Centre.
Writers read
A special Friday, Oct. 18 event at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt (7 to 9:30 p.m.) brings together seven local writers who will offer readings and chat. Included are Heige Boeham, Jan DeGrass, Jo Hammond, Rosella Leslie, Andreas Schroeder, Andrew Scott, and Howard White. There’s a suggested $10 admission in support of the Forge Writing Bursary – a fund that offers financial assistance to Coast writers.
Body of Light
Multi-discipline creator Gordon Halloran’s film Body of Light was inspired by his direct encounter with a life-threatening illness. In the aftermath, Halloran took in the views of dozens of local healing practitioners, a process described as “an artist’s flight through the shadowy passages we must negotiate to explore the mystery of healing, its affect on our relationships with one another and with our planet.” Screenings Friday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. at Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt, and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. at Gibsons Cinema. Admission is by donation ($15 suggested). All proceeds go to the Sechelt Hospital Foundation.
Unique theatre
October’s Off the Page reading performance is the unique SRO Stars, a play written by five members of Vancouver’s Motivation, Power and Achievement (MPA) Society about their lived experience with mental health issues. Local writer Lenore Rowntree volunteers with MPA in writing workshops, and she and the MPA writers have developed SRO Stars, a production of five-scenes, each a mini-play in the style of “documentary theatre,” a stage version of reality TV. Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. Admission is by donation.
Custody
Winner of the César (French Oscar) for best film of 2018 and Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, Custody tackles the subject of domestic violence and the trauma of family breakup. The story unfolds in director Xavier Legrand’s gritty style and is “flawlessly and realistically acted by the three central performers, particularly the ten-year old boy at the centre of the custody battle.” Saturday, Oct. 19, 2 p.m. at Raven’s Cry Theatre, Sechelt. Sunshine Coast Film Society members $5, non-members $9.
Taiko and more
Wa-Gakki Matsuri is a celebration of Asian musical instruments, a performance ranging from the thunder of taiko drumming to the gentility of bamboo flutes and lutes. Led by Madeira Park’s Alcvin Ramos, this gathering of musicians will also feature special guest Min Lin, master of the guqin/zheng, or Chinese zither. Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. Tickets are $15 to $20 from MELOmania, Strait Music, and online at eventbrite.ca.
Serenade into autumn
Here’s a great line-up presented by Nikki Weber: The J Tones Trio (Joan Vernon, Joy Germaine and Jan Gillis), accompanied by musicians Miles Black, Sacha Fassaert and Barry Taylor. Special guests are Four on the Floor, a new quartet directed by Patrice Pollack. Saturday, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. at St. Bart’s Church, Gibsons. Tickets $22 in advance, $25 at the door. Available at the Blackberry Shop in Gibsons, Strait Music in Sechelt, or call Nikki at 604-740-0933.
Cool trio
Singer and songwriter Devon Hanley teams up with pianist and trumpeter Walter Martella and bassist Boyd Norman for a Sunday afternoon concert, the latest in the Pender Harbour Music Society’s 2019-20 series. At the School of Music, 2 p.m. on Oct. 20. Tickets $25 at Harbour Insurance, Strait Music or online at the society’s website.
At the pubs
On Friday, Oct. 18, there’s a fundraiser for Dianne Whelan’s film, 500 Days in the Wild. Performers include Joe Stanton, Clay Hepburn, Simon Paradis, Devora Laye and Bonar Harris. At the Roberts Creek Legion, 8 p.m.
On Saturday the 19th, dance with the Peter Van Trio, Motown, R&B, and ‘70s rock, with Al Alford, Tim Rannard and special guest Karen Graves. At the Gibsons Legion, 8 p.m.
Submissions
If there’s 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.
