Local Arts

This weekend, April 17 and 18, promises great things for both writers and readers. Two groups, independent of one another, have organized two events that should interest anyone who loves to hear stories or write them.

The Coast's longest running festival, now in its 37th year, opens on Monday, April 19, for three weeks.

Musician Miss Berni G has lived in Manitoba she knows how to put on a good "prairie pastime," as she calls it a variety show that makes you feel like you're sitting in someone's living room and you are a big part of the fun.

The annual Gibsons School of the Arts (GSA) is underway with its first class quietly taking place ahead of schedule.

Good show, Driftwood. The Little Shop of Horrors, a comedic story of a giant plant on the rampage, has been wowing full house audiences since opening night. No wonder it's the biggest, most ambitious Driftwood Players' production to date.

ArtWave in Pender Harbour is your best bet if you are hosting out of town visitors this weekend. Ten galleries and studios in the Pender area will welcome you. Phone Cindy at 604-883-0096 for more information.

Take 27 artists, working seven days a week for most of March in a forgotten room underneath the old library building in Gibsons.

It's a story as old as the hills: the battle between good and evil, but the story takes a darkly humorous twist in the latest production from Peninsula Players, Blackpool and Parrish, to be offered during a dinner theatre in Sechelt.

Though Gibsons artist Ursula Bentz has loved textile arts since childhood, her work has stepped up a notch over the past few years.

Story: Local elementary students have taken inspiration from First Nations painter George Littlechild and the theme of "powwow" to create paintings that will be displayed at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery from now until April 22.