The Inspirito Women’s Vocal Ensemble will hold their debut concert, She Sings, on Sunday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 711 Park Road in Gibsons. This ensemble with 26 members from the Coast community is under the artistic direction of Sarona Mynhardt. It promises to be an hour of powerful and uplifting choral music, with an eclectic selection that ranges from classical sounds to contemporary choral music, jazz, gospel and African music. Joining them as guest artists will be soloist Maderi Mynhardt and internationally acclaimed flautist Bernard Blary. Admission is by donation. For more information contact Sarona at vivavoce@saronamynhardt.com or visit the Inspirito website at www.inspiritovocalensemble.ca.
Colorifics
The Colorifics hit the Gibsons Legion on Saturday, May 5 at 8 p.m. with tons of new sultry and saucy danceable ditties from their latest album, Love’s Biology. Call Royal Canadian Legion Branch #109 at 604-886-2411 for details.
Gallery Opening
The Annie Aculiak Studio and Inuit Gallery opens this weekend, May 5 from 10 to 4 and invites the public to come and see the art. The new gallery is at 5700 Cowrie St., Sechelt. From 11a.m. to 1 p.m. Double Treble, Bud and Heidi Kurz, will be playing music for flute and harp – some Celtic tunes, even a bit of jazz. All are invited.
Gospel Choir
The Universal Gospel Choir of Vancouver, a multi-faith community choir, makes their first visit to the Sunshine Coast with all genres of music: old school gospel to current, uplifting pop with songs from around the world. Presented by the Gibsons United Church, the Choir will appear at the Gibsons Public Market Atrium on Saturday, May 5 at 7:30. Tickets are $25 at Laedeli and Strait Music or online at share-there.com/gibsonsunited. (See share-there.com for details on a vocal workshop from 10-3p.m.) For information, call Rod at 604-886-6630.
Double Author Bill
Join local author, Rebecca Hendry, and previously-local author, Kim Clark, at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre (5714 Medusa St.) for the launch of their new novels on Saturday, May 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. Hendry’s One Good Thingis a novel set in Yellowknife’s historic Old Town in the ’70s that explores both abandonment and belonging in the life of one young woman. Clark’s A One-Handed Noveloffers a fresh take on independence, disability, and love through one woman’s journey to count down her six final orgasms, as a result of her Multiple Sclerosis prognosis.
Rebecca Hendry was born in Ottawa to a hippie mother and a poet father. She moved to a new city or town across Canada every year until she was 11, when she settled on the Sunshine Coast. Her first novel, Grace River, was published by Brindle and Glass in 2009, and her short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals. Kim Clark is an author, poet and playwright and self-described gimp. Clark has published short fiction – Attemptations(Caitlin Press) – and poetry: Middle Child of Summer(Leaf Press),Sit You Waiting (Caitlin Press), and Dis ease and De sire, The M anu s cript(Lipstick Press), as well as co-editing the red-head anthology, Canadian Ginger(Oolichan Books). She lives in Nanaimo. Books will be available for sale by Talewind Books, and all are welcome. Admission is free. RSVP at https://www.bcbookday.eventbrite.ca.
Site C Book
Alliance4Democracy is delighted to invite you to hear and meet award-winning journalist Sarah Cox for an inspiring (and likely enraging) discussion about the story of Site C Dam and to help launch her new book, Breaching the Peace: The Site C Dam and a Valley’s Stand Against Big Hydro.The author has been one of a very few independent journalists to investigate deeply, thoroughly and in the public interest, into the questions raised about Site C dam. A modern-day David and Goliath story, Breaching the Peaceis an uplifting and astonishing story of the farmers and First Nations who are fighting the most expensive megaproject in B.C. history and the government-sanctioned bullying that has propelled it forward. This event is free on Sunday, May 6 from 7-9 p.m. at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre. Any donations to help with legal costs will be welcome.
Mercury
From Montreal, hear Mercury on their Canadian Tour, at the Gumboot Café in Roberts Creek on Sunday, May 6 at 8 p.m. This concert performance of new music is from clarinet player Lori Freedman and double bass player Nicolas Caloia who will present their own compositions and improvisations as well as music written for them. A part of the programme will include one or two works from composers such as Earle Brown, John Cage, Cornelius Cardew and Christian Wolff, known for their use of open and graphic scores.
Music Show
Norman Foote is a Juno award-winning entertainer from Vancouver who has received international acclaim for his song writing, outrageous props and off beat sense of humour. He’s happy to say that local musician extraordinaire Nikki Weber is his aunt. He writes that he will be performing in Gibsons on Tuesday, May 8 in a show called Songfest. It brings together some great musicians including Jim Foster, Bruce Miller, Warren Mark and guests Nikki Weber’s Ukulele Gang for an evening of songs, stories and laughter. This special performance is at the Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons, on Tuesday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets for $15 are at Laedeli Gifts, Gibsons and Strait Music, Sechelt.
Readers’ Choice
Adventure on Whalebone Islandby local author Michael Wilson (Rainy Bay Press) was recently named as a finalist in the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards. It was nominated in the Diamond Willow category for Grades 4-6. Wilson has already written a sequel, The Mystery of the Missing Mask, about the adventures of four children in a town not unlike Gibsons.
Message Me
Please send notice of your arts and entertainment events to my email: jandegrass@dccnet.com or phone 604-741-9360. Items go into the Artbeat column one day to one week ahead only depending on space. Deadline is Tuesday noon for Friday’s paper.
