Linda Williams reports that she and Verna Chan will be working together this year to bring the popular Music in the Landing summer music series to Gibsons with the first show this weekend on Sunday, July 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Winegarden bus stop stage. The seven-woman marimba band, the Knotty Dotters, will be playing uplifting joyous tunes from Zimbabwe.
The following weekend, July 7, will see a full slate of musicians at the Gazebo at the end of the wharf in Gibsons with Luci Herder on keys and vocals joined by Steven Schwabl, vocals and harmonica.
On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Pioneer Square outside the Visitors Centre, singer/songwriter Bonar Harris will entertain, followed by Jim Gregor on guitar and vocals busking on Gower Point Road across from the Pink House. Bring your lawn chairs and picnic blankets for the first Saturday evening concert in Winegarden Waterfront Park at 7 to 8:45 p.m., featuring original tunes from Heavy Mellow with Susann Richter, Ray Fulber, Matt Watson and Steven Jack.
On Sunday the music is back at the Sun Dial Stage next to Gibsons Sunday Market with a vocalist and guitarist new to the Coast, Michael Friedman, who tours Europe and Canada with his three-octave voice and eclectic acoustic playing.
Get more info from Facebook: music.landing.
Sechelt’s Got Talent
On Canada Day, 18 young talented singers and musicians will gather at the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre to show their stuff from 1 to 4 p.m. in the annual Sechelt’s Got Talent contest. Adjudicators from Powell River will give feedback to the pre-teens (nine to 12) and the teens (13 to 19). The prizes are good: $400 for first place for the teens and $250 second place, and for the pre-teens: $250 for first place and $125 for second place. Gracelyn Mailey, 8, will lead the proceedings by singing O Canada. Audience is welcome at this event with a requested donation to cover expenses.
Gigi Open House
From July 1 to 3, artist Gigi Hoeller holds an official weekend opening of her newly renovated gallery. Visit her from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for art viewing and artisanal snacks. She’s at 8000 Birch Way, Halfmoon Bay. Look for signs on the highway or phone 604-883-6659 for directions.
Exquisite Corpse
Things with Wings, featuring the paintings of Melissa Tulloch, and Exquisite Corpse, a collaboration of artists Donna Balma and Nadina Tandy, opens at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre on July 5 and runs to July 30. Tulloch has worked as an artist for the past 32 years in pursuits that range from tattoos to album covers to her whimsical oil paintings. Her works are realistic in nature and follow a classical style. Things with Wings features paintings of birds, fairies and angels, blending the artist’s love of nature and the human form.
Balma, a member of the West Coast Surrealist Group, has had her work described as everything from fantasy to classical to cosmic pop. She has teamed with Tandy, an artist whose interest is in “uncovering raw truth and unforeseen allure by taking a surrealist approach to concept, mark-making and presentation.”
Their exhibition, Exquisite Corpse, is based on the surrealist parlour game – a collaboration in which each has added to the other’s images sent back and forth through the mail to one other.
The opening reception is on Saturday, July 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. There will be a Meet the Artist event on Saturday, July 15 at 1 p.m., including a demonstration by Balma and a discussion with the other artists. For more, see www.sunshinecoastartscouncil.com
Adventure
A children’s book, Adventure on Whalebone Island, by Mike (M.A.) Wilson was recently short-listed for the BC Reader’s Choice Children’s Book Award (Chocolate Lily Awards). A Gibsons resident, Wilson wrote his first book about four children in search of sunken treasure while on vacation in Maple Harbour, a town not unlike Gibsons. The story is available from Rainy Bay Press or at local bookstores.
Pender Harbour Days
A weekend of festivities celebrating maritime heritage gets underway in Pender Harbour July 7 through 9. A boat parade, Friday evening musical coffee house, a Saturday junior fishing derby and other fun for kids, displays, demos, sailboat races, oyster shucking and the arrival of the heritage rowboat, Buttercup. Dance to The Relics on Saturday night at the Pender Legion. See www.penderharbour.ca
Keep me posted
Please continue to send your arts announcements, but note that they will run in the newspaper one day to one week ahead only. Email [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692.
