Hope to see many of you at The Big Read this Saturday in celebration of 50 years of the Sunshine Coast Arts Council. This is going to be an entertaining evening – the writers who are reading, including myself, will have only five minutes to impress you with our wit. No discreet yawns are necessary here. The clever Andreas Schroeder has come up with a new way to part you from your money by auctioning off literary awards. It’s what we’ve all wanted: you can take home the Chief Poobah of the Literary Universe Award or the Trump Award for Really Huge Literchur or maybe the Costco Literary Awards (comes in a six-pack). So join us at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre, Trail and Medusa, Sechelt. Admission is $10, with the proceeds to help the Arts Council carry on serving the arts.
Pottery open house
Laurie Rolland will be hosting her annual open house this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Her address is 4676 Whitaker Rd., Davis Bay. Phone 604-885-0744. There will be an interesting selection of functionally based ceramic work as well as exhibition pieces in a broad price range. As always, there will be new work to view. See www.laurierolland.com for more.
Santa Cause
The third annual Santa Cause dance party is on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Curling Club in Gibsons. This is a fundraising event for the Elves Club and tickets are $15 at Hair We Are, Gibsons Recycling and Mike’s Place. Snack and dance to DJs while wearing your ugly Christmas sweater.
Pottery sale
Creek Clayworks is having their 26th annual Christmas Pottery Sale and Studio Open House on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Elaine Futterman and Mike Allegretti invite you to join them at 1738 Lockyer Rd. in Roberts Creek when the studio will be completely filled with pots. Among the beautifully decorated pieces you’ve used and enjoyed over the years, you’ll find new designs, colours and surface treatments incorporated into new work from the salt kiln. Enjoy cookies and coffee while finding out more about the techniques they use. For more information phone 604-885-2395 or see www.creekclayworks.ca
Landing Gallery
Join the Sunshine Coast Artists Co-operative at their first post-Landing-Gallery event, an exhibition and sale of work at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery (GPAG), Dec 6 to 24. Choose gifts from an array of original art, prints, jewelry, scarves and glass. For this event only, GPAG will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closing at noon Dec. 24) and staffed by the artists. The opening reception is Sunday, Dec. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m.. Former, present and future co-op members are welcome. Email [email protected] for more.
Open studio
Fibre artist Ursula Bentz is hosting her open studio and Christmas sale on Dec. 3 and 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her home at 499 Marine Drive, Gibsons. She opens up to visitors again on Dec. 10 and 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Easier access is from the back of the house on McCall Lane. Call 604-886-0248 for more.
Charming film
The SC Film Society presents Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, an American film. This hit of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival is a charming, comic, yet moving film. Greg, an awkward high school senior, drifts outside the mainstream along with his dour buddy Earl. Everything changes when Greg is forced by his mother to connect with a childhood friend, Rachel, whose health is failing. Along the course of Rachel’s illness, heartfelt lessons are learned and laughter is never far away. Film screens in Sechelt at Raven’s Cry Theatre, Saturday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. In Gibsons, the film is at the Heritage Playhouse on Monday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $5 or $9 for single-event members.
Pet pictures
The SPCA Sunshine Coast branch announces the annual Pet Pictures with Santa on Sunday, Dec. 4 at Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For $10 you get two adorable photos and a nice warm feeling of helping animals in need. Pet Pictures thanks the event sponsors, London Drugs, Eagle Ridge Veterinary Hospital and Sunnycrest Mall, to make this event possible.
Nua nominated
The Celtic trio of Nua that includes Roberts Creek’s James Law (fiddler) and Graeme McGillivray (guitarist), with bodhran player Jacob McCauley, has been told that their new CD Flow has been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award in the Instrumental Group of the Year category. The awards are this weekend. Law and McGillivray are formerly part of the original Coast String Fiddlers, and we can be proud of their musical progress. Their website is www.trionua.com
Kingsbury endowment
Sunshine Coast Community Services and Coast Cultural Alliance are pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for this year’s Daniel Kingsbury Music for Youth Endowment Grant. Applicants may request funding assistance for opportunities such as music lessons, musical instruments, and/or electronic production, e.g. studio time or studio mentoring. With the increase in the endowment returns, there will be more than one $500 grant this year. The grant is open to Sunshine Coast youth ages 13 to 19 requiring financial assistance. Those who applied in the past may apply again. Deadline is Friday, Dec. 16, at 4 p.m. An application may be completed by the youth themselves or by a nominator who would like to recommend a youth, with the consent of the youth. Applications can be found at www.suncoastarts.com
Noon deadline
Send your notice of arts events by Tuesday at noon to [email protected] or phone 604-886-4692.
