Local Arts

It's a professional development day away from Sechelt's Chatelech Secondary School, but the halls are not silent.

It's crazy busy around Pender Harbour these days as the second annual Blues Festival boogies along on the May 13 to 15 weekend. Unlike the popular jazz festival held later in the year, there will be no outdoor venues - the weather is too risky.

Muscles that bulge or slack. Flesh that undulates. A group of about 16 artists of all ages meet Tuesdays at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt to draw live figures in their nude glory.

The Tiller's Folly, that most quintessential of Canadian West Coast acoustic bands, combines an amalgam of Celtic, bluegrass and folk laced with a touch of country and rock to become Canadiana roots music saturated in deep Pacific brine.

Coast resident Gwen Abram sought tranquility when she visited friends on the Sunshine Coast in 1963. As a girl, she had lived through the wartime bombing of London and had nearly been killed three times.

Over the past few months, torch singers, jazz-rock groups and blues have dominated the Coast jazz scene. The Bayou Jazz Band with their spontaneous Dixieland style has not been heard from since the Pender Harbour Jazz Festival last September.

When they open the envelope at the Lieutenant Governor's B.C. Book Prizes gala in Vancouver tomorrow night (April 30), there are two excellent chances that Sunshine Coast authors will take home honours.

Robert Silverman is a consummate communicator, entertainer and educator - and he's no slouch as a pianist either.Montreal-born Silverman first played in Elphinstone Secondary School's cafeteria Oct. 18, 1979.

Unsolved mysteries - writers love them. There's something kind of sexy and intense about the idea of a train robber, Bill Miner, having a secret love affair with an iconic poet and performer, Pauline Johnson.

Ever wonder what's the deal with young people in B.C.? If so, an exciting and entertaining film festival is coming to the Coast to help answer those questions. The B.C.