Lots of music coming up this weekend and next: The Burying Ground plays dance music, country blues and the embellishments and energy of ragtime and jazz. They will be at the Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons, this Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.) Tickets for $25 are at the door.
Five Alarm Funk heats up the Roberts Creek Hall this Saturday night with genre-crossing music. This is a hot ticket – see if they are still available by going to: www.share-there.com
Right to die
Author and Activist Gary Bauslaugh will speak on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Gibsons Public Library. Bauslaugh is the author of three books related to assisted death in Canada; his most recent (The Right to Die, April 2016) tells the stories of the courageous Canadians, from the 1940s to the present, whose often heroic actions help create a climate of acceptance of the idea that assisted death should be legalized in Canada. Bauslaugh discusses how, even after the ground-breaking Supreme Court ruling in Feb. 2015 declared the law prohibiting assisted death as unconstitutional, a flawed Bill was passed in June negating efforts to protect the right of grievously ill and suffering Canadians to have a dignified and peaceful death. He will discuss why this happened and look at where we go from here. To register for this free talk, call Heather at the Library, 604-886-2130. The talk is sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Secular Humanist Association.
Writers’ night
Let your writing take centre stage at the Arts Building. Join a group of writing enthusiasts for Writers’ Open Mic night on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.
Come listen to inspirational speeches on your lunch hour on Friday, Jan. 20 at the Arts Building, 464 South Fletcher, Gibsons. This month’s event features three great speakers from the Sunshine Coast community on the theme Visioning for the Future. Talk runs from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. and it’s free. Lots more activities take place at this centre – you can learn ukulele or enjoy fun creative stuff for kids. See www.artsbuilding.org for more.
Driftwood Theatre
Sunshine Coast Driftwood Players has sent out their notice of Annual General Meeting for Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m., at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Gibsons. All are invited. Even if you are not a member, Driftwood’s AGMs are a lot of fun. Come to hear what is happening in community theatre on the Sunshine Coast and learn about opportunities for you to perform or volunteer with productions. There will be performances and vignettes from Theatre School students, from Story Theatre, future and past Driftwood productions along with the usual meeting agenda. Call Sandi at 604-886-0143 for further information.
Coffee House
The Artesia Coffee House hosted by the Coast Cultural Alliance is starting its new year of monthly coffeehouses on Friday, Jan. 27 at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt. The performers for the evening will include singer/songwriter Shadi Toloui-Wallace on tour performing from her new album. The band Back Porch Reunion is back with their line-up of Dale Stavroff, vocals, guitars, Allan Dionee, vocals, accordion, Al Burns, drums, Michelle Bruce, violin, and Gord Beynon, bass. Poet for the evening will be Nina Haedrich. Tickets are $10 at the door which opens at 7 p.m. with showtime at 8 p.m. Come early and enjoy the FOG exhibition in the gallery, a slideshow of past performers and treats by Trish.
Lonesome Ace
Chris Coole is well known on the Coast for his role in the bluegrass Foggy Hogtown Boys who have been popular performers on the Coast. On Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. he performs with the Lonesome Ace Stringband at Roberts Creek Hall. The Stringband brings grit, skill and abandon to old-time, Appalachian folk songs and fiddle/banjo tunes. These are songs and tunes for life and all of its occasions: festivals, dances, wars, parties and funerals. The music comes from a tradition that has inspired and brought together generations of people. The themes of love, loss, hard work and hardship, faith and everyday life speak to everyone. The members are Chris Coole on banjo, John Showman on fiddle and Max Heineman on bass. Tickets are $15 and can be bought online at www.lonesomeace.com
Reischman and The Jaybirds
Heritage Playhouse Pro-ductions is pleased to welcome back John Reischman and The Jaybirds on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons. Years of European and North American tours, five critically acclaimed albums, two Juno nominations and two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations – the buzz around this group continues to grow. Like the mandolinist at its helm, the group fashions a stylish, elegant take on bluegrass that is at once innovative and unadorned, sophisticated and stripped-down, happily old-fashioned, yet unselfconsciously new. A genial blend of story-telling and side-show humour provides the backdrop to their studied performance of original songs, instrumentals and newly arranged traditional material. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 at the door, available at Laedeli Gifts and Cards, Sechelt Visitor Centre or online at share-there.com/heritageplayhouse
Coopers Green concert
The Halfmoon Bay Community Association is presenting the Coopers Green concert series, kicking off on Friday, Feb. 3 with smooth folk country soul from Tube Radio at the Coopers Green Hall. It features Boyd Norman, Gary McGuire, Brent Fitzsimmons, Ian McLatchie and Andrew Bate with special guest Simon Paradis. Tickets are $20, available at Welcome Woods Market and Halfmoon Bay General Store.
Musicians wanted
CBC Music’s annual contest to find Canada’s next big music act kicked off this week. Submissions for Searchlight 2017 are officially open, with the deadline for entry Feb. 7. Musicians of all types including solo artists, duos and groups from all genres are encouraged to enter via cbcmusic.ca/searchlight. Similar to last year, the competition will come to life on CBC, as the top four finalists compete on a live broadcast for the Searchlight title. For information about how to enter and a list of career-making prizes, see cbcmusic.ca/searchlight
Noon deadline
Send your notice of arts events by Tuesday at noon for Friday’s newspaper to [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692. Please include a contact person’s phone number or email in your notice.
