Entertainment venues across B.C. got a shot in the arm with the announcement of relaxed rules on the size of organized gatherings, starting July 1. Indoor venues like clubs and theatres had been restricted to 50 people total, but can now allow 50 per cent of building capacity, or 50 people, whichever is greater. For the annual Festival of the Written Arts, for instance, which uses the 450-seat Rockwood Pavilion, that means audiences could expand to more than 200. The 144-seat Heritage Playhouse can now allow more than 70 in the building. That means more welcome social interaction and more revenue all around after 18 months of closures and tight restrictions.
Legion reopens
Roberts Creek Legion was set to reopen on Thursday, July 1 with a special day dedicated to the child victims and survivors of Canada’s residential school system. The performers (unnamed at press time) on the outdoor stage are donating their fees from the day to a fund for missing children. There’s more music there on the weekend with Brothers in Farms doing an evening set or two on Friday, July 2, preceded by DJ Sam Pulpo from 4:20 to 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, July 3, cover band The Hook rocks it out between 5 and 9 p.m.
Summer music
Sechelt’s Summer Music Series kicks off on the lawn behind the library at noon on Saturday, July 3 with Michelle Morand, followed at 1 p.m. by the trio Corner Table. The weekly free concerts continue until Aug. 28.
Open studios
Sunshine Coast painter Marleen Vermeulen often likes creating large, nature-inspired pieces and she’s inviting the public into her studio on Saturday and Sunday (July 3, 4) to see a big project she has been working on for months, a 6-by-35-foot forest painting. The studio door will be open from 12 to 4 p.m. both days, at 733 Courtney Rd. in Gibsons.
Halfmoon Bay painter Gigi Hoeller is also opening up her space at 8000 Birch Way between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (July 2-4).
GPM exhibition
New works by Coast artists Teryl Mullock and Steve Christian have just gone on display at Gibsons Public Market in an exhibition they’re calling Welcome to the New Norm. Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Benefit concert
Camp Elphinstone will be holding a Virtual Campfire and Benefit Concert on Thursday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m. as a fundraiser. It’s an all-ages event on Zoom, emceed by Camp Elphinstone alumnus and YouTuber @DownieLive. It will include songs, riddles, and music by Juno Award-winners Dan Mangan, Joel Plaskett, Partner, Hunnah, and Bedouin Soundclash. The YMCA website has ticket details.
This Fair Land
Halfmoon Bay author Ruth Rodgers has just published her third book of historical fiction involving characters and events at the turn of the last century (1890s-1920s). The new novel, This Fair Land, “explores a pivotal time in Canadian history, when the country was brought together for the first time by the transcontinental railroad and yet still deeply divided by racial prejudices and ingrained attitudes of class and entitlement.” Rodgers is launching the book (already available at Talewind Books in Sechelt, EarthFair in Madeira Park, and as an e-book on Amazon) in a virtual event on Tuesday, July 6 at 4:30 p.m. Email [email protected] for the online coordinates.
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