Local Arts

Remember the Drew Camp Band that won the Battle of the Bands two years ago? Drew often performs with his musician father, Roger Camp, who is mounting a benefit for St. Mary's Hospital on his beachfront property in Roberts Creek.

The popularity of the seventh annual Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival was easy to gauge in May when tickets for the August event went on sale. They sold out immediately.

On Wednesday evenings, about 35 singers from across the Coast have been coming together at St. Hilda's Anglican Church to work on the Fauré Requiem directed by Sara Douglas with David Millard at the piano.

The Sunshine Coast Arts Council presents two exhibitions of photographs during the month of Sept-ember -Marina Craw-ford's still life in Vancouver and Mario Traina's Naturally in Infra-red.

Award winning Sechelt entrepreneur and author Cathrine Ann, whose compelling memoir Beautiful Buttons describes her triumph over a troubled and shocking past, has been slated to participate in the 2011 Brisbane Writers Festival.

After an exciting spring, including a run in The Fox Seeds Competition and a tour of B.C., Mindil Beach Markets are home on the Sunshine Coast for a pair of performances this weekend.

Dancer Emilie Bland, who studies in the pre professional program offered through the schools and the Coast Academy of Dance (CAD), has passed her associate degree at the age of 17 to become a qualified teacher.

She's known simply as Grandma and she's been serving the women of the Downtown Eastside for many years now, on the streets of Vancouver and on the Sunshine Coast through the retreat space offered by Linwood House Ministries (LHM).

One of the fun things about the Festival of the Written Arts (FOWA) is that with its incredible popularity - almost 9,000 visitors this year for 21 events - you might be sitting at Rockwood Pavilion next to notables such as Margaret Trudeau (an invit

Although the Gibsons Landing Fibre Arts Festival wrapped up its annual show last year, there is still a significant quilt and fibre fest series of events being held in Gibsons and Pender Harbour during August.