Nearly 50 people gathered for a night of English country dances in Davis Bay last weekend, during the first of two homegrown opportunities to learn and enjoy traditional folk dancing.
“As far as I know, there has never been an English country dance here on the Coast before,” said Lise Kreps, who organized the event with Heidi Kurtz. “I particularly love the music, which lasts quite a while from the end of Shakespeare’s time up into the early Americas and well into the 18th century. If you can walk, you can dance it — it’s all about grace and flowing and eye contact.”
Kreps (recorder, flute, viola da gamba) and Kurtz (flute, harp, and piano) joined a group of eight other musicians to provide live accompaniment: Barry Taylor and Graham Walker on hand percussion, Alan Ogborne on piano and cello, Jane Ogborne on flute, Claire McCaig on recorder and saxophone. Susan Larkin travelled from Vancouver along with professional dance caller Heather Webster.
“People were very keen,” said Kreps. “They want us to do it again. They want to go to Vancouver for the English dance there, and they’re going to come back in two weeks when we do a contra dance.”
Contra dancing is a 19th-century style more akin to Irish jigs and reels, which later blossomed into modern square dancing. “We’ll have louder instruments and faster music and more percussion,” added Kreps. A seasoned contra caller, Katie Pinter, will officiate. “It’s just a really fun way to get together with people in a way that hasn’t changed over the last 200 years,” she added.
The Contra Community Dance takes place on June 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Davis Bay Community Hall, with admission by donation.
Wartime hit parade
The Driftwood Players have announced their fall mainstage production will be Waiting for the Parade, a drama of the Second World War written in 1977 by John Murrell.
The show — a series of vignettes of five Calgary women responding to civilian life in wartime — will be performed in Gibsons, Sechelt and Pender Harbour from Nov. 6 to 16.
Auditions will be held later this month: Saturday, June 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Sechelt Seniors’ Activity Centre, and Sunday, June 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons.
Interested auditionees should contact the Driftwood Players ([email protected]) for details.
Pender Harbour gets the blues
The Pender Harbour Blues Festival takes place this weekend, starting with duelling dinnertime performances by Brandon Isaak (at the Lagoon Restaurant at the Painted Boat resort) and Joe Stanton and Gary Comeau (at the Backeddy Pub in Egmont). Brent Parkin and The Grand Koolios serenade the Legion in Madeira Park from 8 p.m. onward.
The epic Blues in the Park show (held at Pender Harbour Community Hall from 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday) is hosted by Sully Antonyk and features musicians Simon Paradis, Jim Foster, Brandon Isaak, Brent Parkin, the Steve Hinton Band, Tim Hearsey, Jerry Cook, Peter VanDeursen, and Tim Rannard.
Following four ticketed Saturday night shows, the Gospel Show with Marcus Mosely and The Grand Koolios play at the Pender Harbour School of Music. An all-star jam takes place that afternoon at the Legion, starting at 3 p.m. and concluding at 7.
A full lineup with links for ticket purchases is available at penderharbourbluesfestival.com.
Bonus blues
As the Pender Harbour Blues Festival gets under way, the Pender Blues Jam will host a free show for Egmont Day on Saturday, June 7, from noon to 3 p.m.
Jay and the Civvie-Cats will perform at the Egmont Heritage Centre in Pender Harbour.
Honouring Halloran
A genuine renaissance man who made the Sunshine Coast his home while earning accolades for his multidisciplinary art around the world died last weekend after battling cancer since 2024.
Gordon Halloran of Roberts Creek was renowned as a filmmaker, installation artist, playwright, director and author. Halloran’s global reputation was cemented through major art projects at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, in various North American cities, and through his Paintings Below Zero tour.
In the midst of it, he was still a vital contributor to the cultural life of the Sunshine Coast, directing a production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Raven’s Cry Theatre and filmling two of his movies — Singing the Bones and Body of Light locally. As late as 2023 he exhibited digital shadow boxes at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, and directed his one-man play Showing Size for the Sechelt Arts Festival.
Watch next week’s Coast Reporter for a full article dedicated to Halloran’s legacy.
