Hackett Park Arts and Crafts Fair is on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event coincides with the Festival of the Written Arts and the Power of Paint, giving visitors to Sechelt a taste of the Sunshine Coast’s artistic community. The fair attracts around 6,000 visitors each year and is one of the largest juried arts and crafts fairs in B.C. Participants come from across B.C. This year the 82 vendors include 20 who are appearing at Hackett Park for the first time. The Fair features Inuit felt artist Annie Aculiak, the architectural glass windows and doors of Anthony Jamieson and the porcelain hand-carved tableware and accessories by Calgarian, White Owl Ceramics. For entertainment, look for the ever popular Knotty Dotters Marimba Band, singer-songwriter Kevin Crofton’s Canada 150 tribute and the a cappella trio, the Gibsons Girls. Children can enjoy clown Gerardo Avila as well as make soap and get their faces painted. Food vendors range from vegan juices and falafels to Indian tacos served with fried bannock bread. A recent addition to the Fair is the beer tent, featuring Gibsons Tapworks hand-crafted beer. Hackett Park is on Trail between Dolphin and Medusa in Sechelt. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors, children under 12 free with an adult. See www.sunshinecoastartscouncil.com for more.
This weekend
The Chamber Music Festival presents three days of music in Madeira Park. See penderharbourmusic.ca for ticket information and schedule.
The Festival of the Written Arts is a full weekend of Canadian writers and readers. See writersfestival.ca for ticket information or phone the office at 604-885-9631.
The Power of Paint opens at the Seaside Centre, Sechelt, with artworks by the Eleven Equal Artists. Admission is free.
Music in Gibsons
Music in the Landing, the free summer music series presented by the Town of Gibsons, hosts a special Friday night in the gazebo on the Gibsons wharf to enjoy the irresistible rhythms from local virtuoso guitar and multi-instrumentalist Celso Machado from 7 to 8 p.m. Then on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Pioneer Square at the Visitors Centre, check out the mother and son duo, Bellows and Strings with Anna Lumiere and Noah Ord. Next, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. up the street, stop for a few tunes from Bonar Harris on vocals and guitar. On Saturday, 7 to 8:30 p.m., take in Walter Martella on piano and trumpet and his band of Paul Steenhuis, Karen Graves, Budge Schachte, Verna Chan and John Rule in Winegarden Park. On Sunday, John Ten Bear Thompson will be playing on the Sundial Stage next to the Gibsons Sunday Market with his mesmerizing acoustic and electronic sounds and vocals looping Americana jazz and world music stylings.
Montego and Rocksteady
Monty Montego and the Rocksteady Crew were a big hit at last weekend’s Sunshine Roots MusicFest. Don’t miss them at the Gumboot Café on Aug. 19 at 8 p.m. It’s highly danceable.
Slow Sundays
Have you relaxed at Slow Sundays in the Creek yet? This Sunday catch Bellows and Bows, Anna Lumiere and Noah Ord, from 2 to 2:45 p.m. followed by Fun and Fabulous Rising Stars, a collection of Graham Walker’s prodigies, all on the lawns behind Roberts Creek Library. It’s free or by donation.
Wainwright show
The Sunshine Coast Arts Council presents R.B. Wainwright in a solo show at the Doris Crowston Gallery in the Arts Centre from Aug. 23 to Sept. 17. The title is Drawings, but Dreams and Symbols and What They Mean to Me is perhaps a clearer indicator. Wainwright credits his dreams for inspiration for his works. He began his dream analysis journey with Rolf Loehrich’s Oenerics (the study of dreams) and Psychosomatics (the integration of mind and body). Wainwright believes this journey has “not only altered [his] direction in life, but it became the focus of [his] direction in art.” He is an award winning artist, elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and has exhibited across Canada and internationally. With this exhibition he hopes to put a focus on drawing as a medium, helping to give it a higher profile in the visual arts.
The opening reception is Saturday, Aug. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Arts Centre (Trail and Medusa in Sechelt). On Saturday, Sept. 2 meet Wainwright at the Arts Centre when he’ll be discussing the importance of dreams to his artistic process. For more information, see www.sunshinecoastartscouncil.com.
Arts for kids
Can you Imagine-a-Nation? On Thursday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., kids aged seven to 11 can enjoy one of the last days before school by joining in on a project at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt. Using a watermelon box island, you can create your own world. It will be complete with cardboard homes, rock animal inhabitants, painted scenery, crafty vegetation, life sized kites, and an explosive volcano. All materials provided, $20 for all day. Bring a lunch and snack. To sign up, fill out the form on the website at sunshinecoastartscouncil.com/imagine-a-nation or call 604-885-5412.
Manx returns
Harry Manx is back in town with his next take on the Blues meets Ragas theme that has defined his sound so well, this time with the inclusion of a string quartet into his one-man show. Using an Indian slide guitar, an all-metal National slide guitar, a banjo, a cigar box guitar and a harmonica to lay down his audible vision, the music will carry the audience to a trance-like state. In Sechelt Manx will be joined by the Emily Carr String Quartet for an evening of cross-cultural music filled with Indian and western musical references. This original multi-instrumentalist has entertained audiences for the past 30 years in over 40 countries. He has created his own genre, often referred to as the Mystissippi Blues. The concert is at the Rockwood Pavilion in Sechelt on Saturday, Aug. 26. Show starts at 8 p.m., doors at 7 p.m. Tix are $40 at dogmycatrecords.ca/shows-tickets or at MELOmania, Moorestock, EarthFair, Festival of the Written Arts office and The Kube Studios.
Writing/sailing workshop
Stories on the Salish Sea is a creative writing workshop and sailing adventure in Gibsons on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Join B.C. author and writing/publishing facilitator Sylvia Taylor and world-sailing traveller Gillie Hutchinson of LadySail, for an enchanting and liberating day exploring our watery world in words and sail. The adventure begins in Hutchinson’s peaceful garden with creative writing in guided sessions. Taylor will share readings and discussions from her two marine-themed books. She is an award-winning writer, editor, educator and communications specialist in Vancouver. Hutchinson is owner/operator of LadySail Sailing School in Gibsons and a Sail Canada certified instructor since 2010. She is also an experienced ICC-licensed international skipper and has taken crews to Croatia and Greece. After lunch, explore the stunning waters of Howe Sound on board LadySail’s Catalina sailboat, Illusion, with Hutchinson, as she shares her knowledge of sailing and sea lore. Fee is $100 including three hours of writing and three of sailing. To reserve your spot, connect at [email protected] or Taylor at [email protected].
Keep me posted
Please continue to send me your arts announcements, but note they will run in the newspaper one day to one week ahead only. Deadline is Tuesday at noon for next Friday’s paper. Email [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692.
