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Art Beat: Nutcracker auditions April 17, Banff film festival next week and the last cookbook you'll ever need

Here's what's happening in the Sunshine Coast arts scene this week
A. Art Beat_Rachel Rivera
Rachel Rivera, whose work is currently featured at The Kube gallery in Gibsons.

Waldorf Ballet of Sechelt has announced that auditions for its 2022 production of The Nutcracker will take place on April 17. 

Pre-registration is mandatory at www.waldorfballet.com/nutcracker. 

Ballet dancers aged seven years and up from all Sunshine Coast schools are welcome. (Six-year-olds who will turn seven by December are encouraged to audition.) 

Dancers eight years and up may be considered during their Nutcracker audition for the Waldorf Ballet Professional Training Programs.  

Give us a verse, drop some knowledge 

The Gibsons Public Library has summoned anyone who relishes the opportunity to read aloud with expression, or who enjoys listening to others’ readings.  

The Readers’ Open Mic event takes place monthly, in person at the library and live on Zoom. On April 20 at 6:30 p.m., readers are invited to pick a piece of poetry to read aloud (five minutes maximum).  

In keeping with National Poetry Month, April’s theme is “Song of Myself,” Attendees may read or perform their favourite poems or songs—composed by anyone. Teens and adults, and readers at all levels of English, are welcome. 

Details are online: gibsons.bc.libraries.coop. 

The peak of entertainment 

The Tetrahedron Outdoor Club is hosting the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour for the 22nd time on Friday, April 22 at Elphinstone Secondary School in Gibsons. 

Every year, the Banff World Tour team licenses about 40 films that feature a range of styles and themes, including climbing, skiing, kayaking, biking, adventure, culture and the environment. Local host organizations determine which movie selections to project. 

The Tetrahedron Outdoor Club uses the event as a fundraiser and community builder to unite 750 outdoor enthusiasts from across the Sunshine Coast for an evening of films and inspiration. 

Funds raised at the event will support the volunteer maintenance of four cabins and accompanying trails in Tetrahedron Provincial Park. 

The event will include raffle tickets and prizes, a 50/50 draw in support of Dakota Ridge Nordics, a concession in support of Elphinstone Secondary students, and membership opportunities with the Tetrahedron Outdoor Club.  Films start at 7 p.m. 

Tickets ($25) are on sale now at Beyond Consignment, Tapworks, Alpha Adventures, Trail Bay Source for Sports and Elphi Cycles (Gibsons & Sechelt). Browse for more information online: www.tedoutdoor.ca. 

High-flying inspiration 

At the Kube Gallery in upper Gibsons until April 30, Vancouver-based artist Rachel Rivera is displaying brightly-coloured canvases infused with natural elements and charismatic birds in an exhibition titled Super/Natural. 

Rivera, who is a co-founder and designer for the lifestyle brand WKNDRS, is inspired by the land and the sea. She draws inspiration from the juxtaposition between nature and “supernatural” colours. 

She is a graduate of the communication design program at Alberta University of the Arts, and regularly produces art, murals and installations for galleries and exhibitions. 

Details are at The Kube’s website: thekube.ca.   

The last cookbook you’ll ever need 

Roberts Creek artist Jane Covernton has published a cookbook for the survivalist in everyone. Infused by Love: an End Times Cookbook, with recipes, photographs, preserving tips, thoughts on gardening, community, sharing food, and on how to live through These Times contains dozens of recipes ranging from Lovely Nettles to Echinacea Peppermint Schnapps. Staples like Chicken Soup and Roasted Spiced Beets are here too—documented with Covernton’s trademark passion for garden-raised crops and homegrown wisdom. 

The book (priced at $35) is available from the Davis Bay Farmers Market at the Davis Bay Hall every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. At that location, Covernton offers in-person chats “about the End Times, cooking, building community or your grandchildren or whatever, and to sell you a book.” 

Alternatively, copies can be ordered by phone: 604-989-9090.