Local Arts

The 27th annual Festival of the Written Arts must have set a record for standing ovations.

If you pass the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in early September and it hums, beeps or rattles at you, don't be alarmed. Stop in to see and hear an ambitious project, Laboratorio, from a trio of Coast artists.

If you managed to get a ticket for their sold-out Mendelssohn Tribute concert last season, you got to watch their new artistic director and conductor in action. Edette Gagné celebrated her first season with the Coast Symphony Orchestra in fine style.

For some it was a return visit. Deer Crossing, the farm near Langdale, held its second annual open house, Return, last weekend and revealed itself once more to be raw nature lightly touched by artists.

When Linda Norris was thinking about writing a fundraising play to be performed at Gibsons United Church, she knew she could draw on material from her own back yard.

Nine galleries in Gibsons Landing are hosting an Art Stroll in the Landing to celebrate the range of visual art on show within walking distance in the picturesque harbour area.

On holiday Monday, Aug. 3, musician Joe Stanton crooned some roots favourites from his latest CD, while the audience gathered under the beer garden tents at Sechelt's Rockwood to beat the heat.

Coast musicians are earning a reputation for excellence on the international stage, writes Heather Cattanach from Scotland.

The Sunshine Coast Arts Council has a full weekend on tap Aug. 15 and 16 with the 22nd annual Hackett Park summer arts and crafts fair. The fair runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Sechelt.

The ninth annual Commotion by the Ocean on Gambier Island was attended by 900 concert-goers on Saturday night, Aug. 1.