Had a chance to see Uncle Wiggly’s Tribute to the Blues Songs of Christmas show when it started on tour. If you love the blues, you’ll enjoy the growly tones of Uncle Wiggly plus the stellar musicianship of the band. They reach Gibsons at the Heritage Playhouse on Friday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Uncle Wiggly’s Hot Shoes Blues Band has been around since 1978 and are members of the Victoria Music Hall of Fame. This show is traditional blues Christmas tunes from the ‘20s through ‘60s by the likes of Louis Jordan, Big Joe Turner, BB King, Eric Clapton, Charles Brown and Etta James – not your usual Christmas carols. This show played to a sold-out house and standing ovation at the Heritage Playhouse last season. Tickets are $25 at Laedeli Gifts and Cards (Gibsons) and Sechelt Visitor Centre, and online at share-there.com/heritageplayhouse
JavaJazz
JavaJazz vocal ensemble will be celebrating the holiday season with a JavaJazz Christmas and a carol sing this Friday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church (corner of Trail and Mermaid, Sechelt). Guests are Sacha Fassaert on guitar and vocalists Trudi Diening and Robyn Edgar. Tickets are $15 and include refreshments and the chance of winning some door prizes. Tickets are available at the Sechelt Visitor Centre, Strait Music in Sechelt or from any JavaJazz member. All profits from the show will be donated to the Sunshine Coast Food Bank and the Cold Weather Shelter. Non-perishable food items will also be gratefully received.
Festive sale
The Festive Sale at the Arts Building in Gibsons (464 S. Fletcher) is on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10 and 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring homemade crafts and goodies. This is a friendly sale of unique items and vintage goods.
After the sale, unleash your creative side at the Arts Building for Creative Open Studio on Friday, Dec. 16. Bring your projects, tools and energy, and work beside other creative people who are knitting, writing, scrapbooking, drawing. It’s Open Studio from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Arts Building for a $5 drop-in fee. See www.artsbuilding.org for more.
Music this weekend
The Coast Messiah Choir presents the Christmas section of Handel’s Messiah with a string quartet, harpsichord and two trumpets. Also on the program is Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. The choir will sing the complete work with David Poon at the piano. Two performances will be at St. John’s United Church, 5085 Davis Bay Road, this Friday, Dec. 9 and next Friday, Dec. 16, both at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by contacting Joy at [email protected] or by calling 604-883-9248, at the Sechelt Visitor Centre and Laedeli Gifts in Gibsons.
Also this weekend, join the Pender Harbour Choir for A Special Time of Year – a celebration of the season featuring festive treats, socializing and music, directed by Kenneth Norman Johnson and accompanied by David Poon. Festivities start with a reception at 1 p.m., concert at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden (5941 Mason Road, West Sechelt) and Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Pender Harbour School of Music (Madeira Park). Tickets are $20 and available from choir members, Sechelt Visitor Centre and EarthFair in Madeira Park.
Snow show
The annual Christmas sale and show, Let it Snow, at the Harbour Gallery continues this Saturday, Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A local artist’s co-operative, the gallery funds the Ada Priest Memorial Scholarship awarded to a Pender Harbour student studying fine arts. In addition to the 2016 artwork, there are works created specifically for this show in a snowy theme. The Harbour Gallery is at 12953 Gonzales Road, Madeira Park, across from the School of Music. The last day of the sale will be Dec. 17. Contact June at 604-883-2807 or Gillian at 604-831-3602 for more info.
Gospel Rock gathering
For the Love of Gospel Rock Society is having a Christmas gathering on Dec. 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery in Lower Gibsons. Come and sing Christmas songs, enjoy refreshments, and have a chance to win prizes. Learn about new developments of the plan to protect the treasure of Block 7, Gospel Rock.
No Man’s Land
No Man’s Land by Harold Pinter screens on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. by satellite from London at the Raven’s Cry Theatre, Sechelt. Following their hit run on Broadway, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart return to the West End stage in No Man’s Land, broadcast live to cinemas from Wyndham’s Theatre, London. Two ageing writers, Hirst and Spooner, meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night. As the pair become increasingly inebriated, and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversation soon turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men. See www.ravenscrytheatre.com for ticket information.
Dickens Christmas
The Sechelt library is holding A Dickens Christmas event on Thurs-day, Dec. 15 from 3 to 5 p.m. with a reading of A Christmas Carol by local actor Richard Austin. He has appeared onstage as Morgan in The Drawer Boy and, most recently, as Charles in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. Austin travels internationally to perform the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. The afternoon will include enchanting, live Christmas music and Dickens inspired treats. Folks are encouraged to bring an item for the Food Bank to spread Christmas cheer. Tickets are free at the Sechelt library’s circulation desk. Seating is limited, so please pick up tickets early.
Full cold moon
Sue Girard has a special Christmas edition of her book, In the Light of the Full Cold Moon. This edition has been nicely formatted and freshly edited with special cover graphics. Look for it at Talewind Books in Sechelt and at WOW Gallery in Gibsons. She will also be available between Dec. 10 and 20 for any readings, and will have a table at the Last Chance Christmas Market on Dec. 10 at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre along with Tony Richmond and his book, Silviba. This special edition includes some added chapters and Christmas poems from Rudyard Kipling and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and also an excerpt from Book Two Transcendent Lion Heart: A Journey into the Enchanted Emerald Forest in The Moon Sage Theosophies series (release date early spring 2017.)
Brave Mike
On Thursday, Dec. 15, 7 to 9 p.m. get over to Brave Mike 5 at Junco Jan’s home on the top floor of Gibsons Cinema, up the back stairs of the theatre on the hotel side. Read, sing, dance, play, crack jokes or just listen. There’s a strict five-minute limit for your presentation. Treats are welcome. Call 604-885-8041 if needed. Free admission.
B3 Kings
On Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. the Pender Harbour Music Society presents B3 Kings at the Pender Harbour School of Music (next to the Madeira Park government dock). Combine the great sound of Chris Gestrin on the B3 Hammond organ, the drums and smooth vocal stylings of Denzal Sinclaire, the smoky tones of Cory Weeds’ sax, and round it all out with the legendary Bill Coon on guitar – that’s B3 Kings – back by popular demand after a sold-out concert last year. Tickets for $25 are at Harbour Insurance in Madeira Park, Sechelt Visitor Centre and online at www.penderharbourmusic.ca
Noon deadline
Send your notice of arts events by Tuesday at noon for Friday’s newspaper to [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692.
