Family, friends, and many fellow musicians have taken to social media over the last several days to express their sadness and condolences following the death of Ken McBride, of Sechelt. Ken was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend; an accomplished musician, songwriter, recording artist, event soundman, and in his role as local “guitar doctor,” a skilful and much-appreciated instrument technician. Ken died of cancer Jan. 30. There are tentative plans for a memorial on Sunday, Feb. 16, with details still to come.
Exhibit openings
• Sunshine Coast artist Maurice Spira has enjoyed a decades-long career and we’ll now get to see some of his forthright and often challenging creations in a new, solo show at the Sunshine Coast Arts Council’s Doris Crowston Gallery in Sechelt. “Bringing together work from across his practice, this carefully curated exhibition presents a selection of his drawing, paintings and prints,” the council said in a release. The opening reception is Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 to 4 p.m.
• There’s an opening at Artworks Gallery on Cowrie St. in Sechelt on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. for the new show Recovered Relics, by painter Doug Jinkerson. “Dynamic realism depicting unique scenes of the Sunshine Coast.” The exhibition runs until Feb. 29.
• Colourful Distraction is an exhibit at The Kube in Gibsons by painter and fibre artist Haley Hunt-Brondwin. There will be a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. at the gallery on Saturday, Feb. 8. “Meet the artist and view her vibrant collection of paintings and fibre arts, a meditation on focus and avoidance.”
• Watercolour artist Mardell Rampton has a display on until early March at Redecor on Cowrie Street in Sechelt. “I paint intuitively… capturing nuances of colour, suggestions of texture, the feeling of sanctuary that spending time in nature evokes,” Rampton said.
Off the Page
Harmony is on the rebound from a divorce, but during a date with Peter that’s humming along nicely she walks in on him smooching her 17-year-old son, Trevor. Busted! But that’s not the end of Harmony and Peter’s (and Trevor’s) relationship, in writer Dave Deveau’s play, Lowest Common Denominator. Widely acclaimed and produced, Deveau’s work “investigates queer themes that speak to a broad audience.” The Off the Page troupe delivers a reading-performance of this work at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. Deveau will be on hand for a chat with the audience and cast. Admission is by donation.
Comedy kids
The 101 Brewhouse in Gibsons is presenting another Comedy for Kids Show on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. These wisecracking youths have been honing their lines for six weeks with Paula Howley at Head Start Public Speaking. Family-friendly, $5.
Oliver Swain
A performer “held in high regard in acoustic and folk music… for both his astonishing instrumental and vocal abilities,” Vancouver-based Oliver Swain entertains at The Kube in Gibsons on Friday, Feb. 7. Swain will do a solo set after he and singer Deanna Knight share some tunes together. Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8. Advance tickets $15, $20 at the door.
Sing, baby
A fun evening of socializing, song, and sing-along is on tap at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons Saturday, Feb. 8, at an event they’re calling Sing Baby Sing, featuring Bits of String and The Billy Hillpicker Band. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a social hour of music in the lobby, with a cash bar, then a show in the theatre at 7:30 p.m. for songs, sing-alongs and dancing. Tickets are $15 at Gibsons Florist, MELOmania in Roberts Creek, Gibsons Building Supplies in Sechelt and at www.share-there.com.
Moondance
Melodic tribal dance grooves are promised at a Full Moon Party on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Roberts Creek Legion. Beatfarmer and Granola Guru will generate the rhythms, with visuals by Simon Haiduk, 8 p.m.
Boy Erased
Russell Crowe takes on the role of an Arkansas pastor and Nicole Kidman plays his wife, the parents of Jared (Lucas Hedges) in Boy Erased, the story of a young gay man shunned by his family, friends and faith and forced into a conversion therapy program. The 2018 film was nominated for many awards, including two Golden Globes. The Sunshine Coast Film Society presents the film Thursday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. at Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt. Two more screenings follow at Gibsons Heritage Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 and 18.
Following the Ninth
Even if you’re not into classical music, there are almost certainly parts of Ludwig von Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony you’d recognize. One of the most stirring compositions ever created, and ingeniously written by Beethoven when he was virtually totally deaf, passages from the 200-year-old symphony have seeped into many cultures. The documentary film Following the Ninth looks at the music’s global impact. It will be screened at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 10:30 a.m. Admission by donation.
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.
