The singing group Vocal Intent is working on some luscious new a cappella pieces in Songs for a New Day, that they will share, along with some personal favourites from their eclectic repertoire, on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt at 4:30 p.m. Admission is by donation. Liz, Jen, Tina, Tom, Sylvain and Jon are celebrating 10-plus years of singing together, and hope you will be able to come to this informal concert at the Arts Centre.
FOG Blows In
The Sunshine Coast Arts Council starts off 2018 with their annual Friends of the Gallery (FOG) Exhibit. The exhibition runs from Wednesday, Jan. 3 to 28. The opening reception is on Sunday, Jan. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Arts Centre, 5714 Medusa St., Sechelt, and all are invited. Contact 604-885-5412 or check out the website: www.suncoastartscouncil.com
Saturday Metal
Metal in the Creek with Blackwater Burial from Vancouver and Heofon from Roberts Creek is at the Roberts Creek Legion on Saturday, Jan. 6 starting at 9 p.m.
Writers Group
The Writers Group, a group for all writers with no experience necessary is offered by local writer and instructor Shelley Harrison Rae. It runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 11, 18, 25 and Feb. 1 at the Sechelt Library. To register, call 604-885-3260 or email [email protected]. If you have questions about library events, contact Sherryl Latimer, Adult Program and Outreach Coordinator at [email protected]
Films Begin
The Sunshine Coast Film Society starts their 2018 season at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons on Monday, Jan. 8. The Big Sick, a U.S. comedy/romance, is a funny, heartfelt, intelligent semi-autobiographical story that explores the challenging interracial courtship of a Pakistani comedian, Kumail, and a grad student, Emily Kazan, beyond the usual confines of romantic comedy. When a mysterious illness puts Emily into a coma and reveals their relationship, Kumail must face her feisty family, the disapproval of his Muslim parents, and the full depth of his own feelings. Film starts at 7:30 p.m. See www.scfs.ca.
Collage Art
The Arts Building, 464 S. Fletcher, Gibsons, has a few new workshops lined up for the coming year. Art of 3D Collage is offered on Jan. 13 and 14. Learn how to transform old things into beautiful, functional works of art. In this two-day workshop, you will create collage art objects using natural surfaces (e.g. glass, crystal, ceramic, wood, shell, stone, potpourri) and various hand-made papers from Asia.
Using the basic principles of découpage, explore ways of “painting with paper.” Some possible results are vases for succulents and dried flowers and desktop storage containers. Bring along pre-loved or unloved objects made of natural materials to work on. Dates are Jan. 13 and 14 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. with instructor Zaffi Green. See www.artsbuilding.org for more.
Joy of Ukuleles
Jill Shatford and Mark Trevis launch another round of their ever popular Beginners Ukulele on Jan. 8, titled Expanding the Joy of Beginners Ukulele. They welcome anyone who feels they might benefit from this ongoing drop-in class. This course expands on beginner ukulele playing by exploring exercises that allow for greater ease, comfort and facility of style. It will expand on chord repertoire and take time to really learn how to feel the song and translate that into strumming. It will give an understanding of tablature reading, simple finger picking and greater fluidity in the transition of chord changes. It is advisable that you either have already taken the Beginners Course or have some experience with ukulele playing. The classes are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every second and fourth Monday of the month from Jan. 8 to May 28. Cost is $10 per class paid to the instructors. See artsbuilding.org for more.
Festival Prep
New this term for the Driftwood Theatre School is a one-on-one class with instructor Sandi McGinnis to prepare aspiring thespians for the 45th Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts. Sessions take place on Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The presentation date for the Speech and Dramatic Arts discipline in the 2018 Festival is Monday, April 16 at 9 a.m. at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt. Your entry may be in any Speech or Dramatic Arts category (poetry, prose or drama from published or self-written work) and is adjudicated by an off-Coast professional adjudicator. The presentation may be by one performer or a group. Contact [email protected] or www.driftwoodplayers.ca/dts.htm
Banner Auction
The banners that decorated the Town of Gibsons will be auctioned off in a silent auction format. This is your last chance to own an original hand-painted banner, or one of the Canada 150 banners from this past year. Note that banner artists had first dibs on keeping their own banners, but there is still a good selection to choose from, including a lovely Greta Guzek design. Viewing will be Jan. 12 to Jan. 14 (final day of the auction) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at Gibsons Public Art Gallery, 431 Marine Drive. Proceeds from this event will go towards the purchase of new silk-screened banners to be hung in the spring. The Town of Gibsons is having a banner design contest (see www.gibsons.ca under Community, Arts and Culture for details). Deadline for submissions is Feb. 1.
Pender Jazz
The Pender Harbour Music Society regrets to announce that it will not present its annual September Jazz Festival for the foreseeable future. Despite best efforts, they were unable to find the right team to run the Festival, which has been a great celebration in Pender Harbour for two decades. The Festival was started in 1997 and heartfelt thanks go to the hard-working and visionary past artistic directors and the many volunteers who have produced such wonderful events over the years. The Society promises to keep jazz alive in Pender Harbour by continuing to bring great jazz musicians to the Coast as part of the ongoing annual concert series. This will include starting the series one month earlier each year with a jazz concert in September. They also thank all the community members and businesses that have supported the festival over the years and continue to do so, in seeking to fulfil the mandate to nurture, promote and enhance music in general in our community. Please see the website for a closer look at all the Music Society’s programs: www.penderharbourmusic.ca.
Rogue Fest 2018
The Rogue Arts Festival is gearing up for its third annual festival and would love to hear from you. Think you’re a great fit for Rogue Fest? Then head to the website (www.roguefest.ca) and drop them a Musician Application Form. Applications have a deadline of Feb. 26. Although the Rogue Festival is a pretty new event, they receive many applications from awesome artists. While they would love to be able to have each and every one of you join in, unfortunately space is limited. Only acts being considered for performance will be contacted.
Message Me
Send notice of your arts and entertainment events to [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692. Items go into the Art Beat column one day to one week ahead only, depending on space.
