Local Arts

Life has sure changed for Joe Hatherill. Just 11 months after moving his family from London, England, the versatile musician is still gathering first impressions of the Sunshine Coast.

The Coast Academy of Dance and Performing Arts recently presented four sold-out performances of the show Timeless Dance at the Raven's Cry Theatre in Sechelt. The enthusiastic audiences responded with standing ovations.

Two high energy performers, John Conway and Jean Pierre Makosso, captured the children's attention from their first moment on stage.

The Twisted String project is about to blow Vancouver away. The local group of nine fiddlers that calls itself NYWP is a select group of the Coast String Fiddlers, all-youthful and all of whom play at about the same level.

Poet, artist and novelist Heather Spears will be in Sechelt to give a reading as part of a promotional tour for her new novel. She will be at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre on Friday, June 25, at 8 p.m.

Local author Heather Conn comes by her interest in streetcars honestly. She once worked as communications manager for B.C. Transit where she edited the company newsletter and embellished it with articles and images from the archives.

The inaugural Sechelt Family Arts Festival (July 31, Aug. 1) is pleased to announce the addition to the festival of a one-week juried exhibition of art works by Sunshine Coast artists in the Seaside Centre.

A chance to see inside six of the Coast's finest homes drew 175 ticket holders June 6 for the Coastal Home Tour and Tea event, a fund-raiser for the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden Society.

Two years ago, the Suncoast Writers' Forge made a generous gesture. During their 20 years of existence, the organization that helped found the Festival of the Written Arts had also helped many new and experienced writers with their projects.

The Sunshine Coast Arts Council presents local painter Sheryl McDougald and Vancouver Island sculptor Frances Semple at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt, June 9 to July 4.