A Thelma and Louise heart-to-heart
It’s going to be a great show here in Ashcroft on Thursday! Leslie Alexander and Jenny Allen will be sharing their razor-sharp songwriting like a Thelma & Louise heart-to-heart over a load of laundry.
In an interview I did with the pair, Jenny recalls: “We had a connection from day one…just seemed to click, a natural, immediate feel.” Leslie jokes about how the tour has been “like a travelling Thelma & Louise, but instead of gas stations it’s thrift stores we hit at every town. Our songs and our lives share a lot of parallels. (It’s) almost cathartic how we have written songs that share the same exact experience. We also share lots of laughs.”
These two Alberta songbirds are no strangers to the road, the biz or the love of music. The two have been friends for years and have played with many of the same people, but only in the past year have they discovered that their own stage chemistry together is completely undeniable.
Both recently recorded new albums with producer John Ellis, and both are releasing their new masterpieces while touring this spring, on the “Dirty Laundry Dual CD Release 2011 Tour”. Jenny Allen is releasing “Blanket”, a countrified roots album that’ll have you tapping your feet and singing along in no time (trust me, this happened to me) and Leslie Alexander is releasing “Nobody’s Baby”, a gorgeous collection of country rock tracks peppered with beautiful slow ballads.
Both ladies sing like it’s their last day on earth. On stage, the pair are an unstoppable train of catchy and memorable music.
The ‘Dirty Laundry Dual CD Release Tour’ will go ‘Clean Across Canada’ throughout the Spring and into the Summer. The Tour stops in Ashcroft on Thursday, Apr. 28 at St Albans Hall. Doors open at 7 pm, show starts at 7:30 pm with tea/coffee and desserts.
Tickets are available at the door, or phone (250) 453-9100 for reservations.This ‘home coming’ show for Alexander is not be missed!
Jean Griesser book signing
Venables Valley author and photographer Jean Griesser has just published her third book on the Bhagavad-gita. ‘Harmony and the Bhagavad-gita: Lessons from a Life-Changing Move to the Wilderness’ is the story of Jean and her family’s journey ‘off the grid, forging a new life, one free of electric bills, fluoridated water, noise, traffic, bad air, billboards, crime and TV in the isolated community of Saranagati.
Her family’s experience there, as she recalls in her introduction, has not come without a few surprises.
She will be doing a local launch and book signing in Ashcroft on Tuesday, May 2 from 3:30-5:30 pm hosted by Karuna’s Wellness Studio at 405 Railway St.
Jean has been studying and speaking internationally on the teachings of Bhagavad-gita, the spiritual guidebook of the East, for 37 years. Her latest book is available for sale at Ashcroft Work Wear, Nature’s Gifts, and Karuna’s Wellness Studio, as well as Amazon.ca
Find more information on Jean and her books at www.our-spiritual-journey.com.
3rd Annual Fun Fair Fundraiser
Support the 3rd Annual Ashcroft Elementary School Fundraising Fun Fair Thurs., May 5 from 4-8 pm at AES school grounds and gymnasium. Enjoy this year’s inflatable pirate ship slide and bouncer, rat race obstacle course, pirate double slide, bouncy castle, sumo suits, gladiator joust coliseum. Indoor stage with performances from local musicians, inside games (bean bag toss, fish pond, and more).
Kickin’ Country at The Packing House
Don your cowboy boots and hats and check out The Jason Kirkness Band at the Packing House in Spences Bridge on Saturday, May 7.
Growing up in a small farming community in southeast Manitoba, Jason Kirkness found his heart in Country music. Since then, he has been heavily influenced by the new Nashville sound adding his own rockin’ twist.
Dinner starts at 5:30 pm and Show at 7 pm. Phone early for reservations: (250) 458-2256.
Clinton Ball twirls in the 144th
Since 1868, Clinton has hosted the Clinton Annual Ball, earning it the reputation as the oldest annual celebration in Canada. Not even a World War put a dent in this tradition which today lives on as celebration rich in the styles of the 19th century.
The 144th Ball takes place on Saturday, May 21 at the Clinton Memorial Hall. Doors open at 5 pm, dinner (bbq’d roast beef) at 6:30 pm and dancing until 1 am with The Evergreen Drifters Band – includes midnight supper. Tickets for this one of a kind dinner and dance may be purchased at the Clinton Coffee House and the Emporium in Clinton. For more info please call (250) 459-2146
New paintings on display
Recent paintings by students of Teresa Wild’s oil painting class held at the Spences Bridge Seniors Center are now on display. Most of the works are first-time productions by local residents who have had no prior instruction. View the show during regular Post Office hours: Monday to Saturday from 9:30 am-noon and Monday to Friday from 2-4 pm.
