Outdoor movie
Seeing movies projected in the open air has become one of the most popular summertime – and community-building – activities on the Lower Mainland.
Fresh Air Cinema, co-sponsored by Semiahmoo First Nation and White Rock Sea Festival will present a screening of the animated family feature Big Hero 6 at Semiahmoo Park at 8:30 p.m. Friday night (July 31) as a free kick-off festival event.
For best seating, bring your own chairs and blankets and be sure to arrive early.
Sea Fest live
There won’t be any shortage of live entertainment on the Marine Drive waterfront when White Rock Sea Festival returns this weekend.
In addition to the fireworks Saturday night (following a new event, the Lantern Walk, along the pier) and the ever-popular torchlight parade Sunday night, the festival committee and live entertainment co-ordinator Jim Black have made sure both the main stage (at the white rock) and the Spirit Stage (at Semiahmoo Park) are hopping throughout Saturday and Sunday’s schedule of events.
Black is also leader of the funk-jazz band Star Captains which he promises will be back, “at the top of their game, with new material” on Sunday.
Main stage acts Saturday – headlined by a must-see set by the Legendary Powder Blues at 8 p.m. – include a yoga demonstration led by Lauren Roegle (8 a.m.), Sandlanee Gid and the Urban Haida Singers (11 a.m.), Pacific Showtime Men’s Chorus (noon), Kerry O’Donovan (1 p.m.) the Peninsula Arts Foundation Showcase featuring the Palomars (2 p.m.), Air Stranger (3 p.m.), and the Chinese Village Club Dance (4 p.m.).
Next on stage will be a combo featuring Black, Matt Skepasts, Andrew Skepasts and Brandon Lin (5 p.m.); followed by Michelle Schultz (6 p.m.) blues-meister Jason Buie (7 p.m.) and the Legendary Powder Blues
A Zumba demonstration starts the main stage features on Sunday (10 a.m.), followed by Owen Owen (noon), and a group of youth performers from a Sea Festival-sponsored workshop at Camp Alexandra led by Black and Brian Sumner (1 p.m.).
Next up will be Panic Picnic (2 p.m.), Scott Christie (3 p.m.), The Phonosonics (4 p.m.), former Oh Wells front person Sarah Jickling and Her Good Bad Luck (5 p.m.), Black’s funk band the Star Captains (6 p.m.) and Sole Men (a rebranded Blues Brothers Too) at 7 p.m.
Youth and alternative music talents are the focus on the Spirit Stage from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s line-up features performers Kristen and Jenny, Ruby Gawthrop, MG Graveyard, Richard Tichelman, Panic Panic, Ava Carich and Emily Harder. On Sunday, performers are Jada McKenzie-Moore, Antoinette Libelt, Tom Vanderkam and Hawking, Sydney Thorne, and Chasing Strangers.
For information, visit www.whiterockseafestival.com
The Matinee
Alternative band The Matinee will headline the TD Concerts At The Pier stage on White Rock’s waterfront Saturday, Aug. 8 (7-10 p.m.), in a show also featuring opening acts Tonye Aganaba and Blue Moon Marquee.
Like other concerts in the series, presented by the City of White Rock and the White Rock BIA – with major sponsorship from TD Canada Trust, and assistance from the Peak Performance Project – the open-air performance is free.
White Rock Trad Jazz
Except for this holiday Sunday (Aug. 2), classic live Dixieland and retro jazz continues to set the tempo for dancers of all age groups (19 and up) most Sunday afternoons at the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240 (2643 128 St.).
Until regular sessions of the White Rock Traditional Jazz Society return in the fall, the society’s house band – Red Beans & Rice, usually led by trumpeter and vocalist Rice Honeywell Sr. – is filling in with regular 2 to 5 p.m. performances each Sunday. Admission is $10 for WRTJS and Legion members, $12 for everybody else.
Fans of Red Beans & Rice can also catch the band at Porter’s Bistro, 21611 48 Ave., in Langley’s historic Murrayville, in 7 p.m. Friday Friday night performances (for reservations, call 604-530-5297).
Trad jazz enthusiasts should also note that tickets are now available for the Jazz Band Ball festival – this year hosted by the WRTJS – at Pacific Inn and Resort Centre, Sept. 25-27.
For information, visit www.whiterocktradjazz.com
Beach House Theatre
Beach House Theatre’s week-long ‘season’ in Crescent Beach is continuing to sell well for both shows.
Tickets for the evening show – Oscar Wilde’s 1895 comedy of manners The Importance of Being Earnest – are now only available for the first two nights Aug. 11-12) and the last two (Aug. 15-16).
Directed by Beach House founders Candace Radcliffe and Rick Harmon, the elaborately-costumed, farcical comedy features Tom Gage, Patrick Dodd, Bethany Stanley, Marika Stanger, Michelle Collier, Carol Mann, James Walker, Paul Richardson and Paul Rancourt.
There are still good chances to get in on the all-ages fun of Munsch Upon A Time (Aug. 12-15), the morning show at Beach House’s state-of-the-art tent auditorium, next to the beach on Blackie Spit.
Directed by Elgin Park Players alumnus Courtney Shields, it’s a delightful collage of stories by popular children’s author Robert Munsch, featuring Aaron Holt, Claire Pollock and Matt Falletta.
For tickets and information, call 604-594-5888, visit beachhousetheatre.org or email tickets@beachhousetheatre.org
Kal David
The act the folks at Blue Frog Studios refer to as ‘the sleeper hit of 2014’ is back.
Blues guitar master Kal David and dynamic vocalist Lauri Bono will return to the venue’s intimate stage Friday, Aug. 21 and Saturday, Aug. 22.
Those lucky enough to catch one of their Blue Frog concerts last year know that wild-fire word-of-mouth after the first performance rapidly sold out the second.
Widely regarded as ‘the real thing,’ guitarist-singer David has played with a who’s who of greats over the years (including John Mayall, The Fabulous Rhinestones, Johnny Rivers and Peter Cetera, to drop a few names) and Bono, his singing, writing and production partner (whose past credits include Bette Midler’s Harlettes) has a distinctively sassy, soulful sound that commands equal attention.
For tickets visit www.bluefrogstudios.ca or call 604-542-3055.
White Rock Community Centre
The Art On Display summer series at White Rock Community Centre (15154 Russell Ave.) continues with Being Human, by Langley artist Gina Kling.
The show will run at White Rock Community Centre until Aug. 28.
Voja Morosan
A special summer retrospective of Vojislav (Voja) Morosan’s work at Seventh Heaven Art and Beauty Salon (12185 Beecher St., Crescent Beach) illustrates Morosan’s skill in capturing the light and moods of the Peninsula and the physical characteristics of heritage buildings and stands of trees that are all too rapidly disappearing.
The late artist, born in Belgrade,Yugoslavia, made White Rock and the Semiahmoo Peninsula his second home in the 1990s and his paintings became an ongoing tribute to the area through detailed, highly evocative plein-air pieces.
His glowing colours and architectural details – also the focus of a Tourism White Rock calendar last year and preserved among White Rock Museum and Archives’ collection – offer a nostalgic legacy, sure to bring pangs to those who recall the way the area used to be.
The paintings can be viewed Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to Aug. 30, by appointment.
For more information, call 778-292-0687, or visit the Vojislav Morosan Facebook page.
White Rock Players’ Club
White Rock Players Club is promising an ambitious season to start its seventh decade of home-grown little theatre in the city.
The first show announced for the 2015-16 season will be a bold attempt to stage a theatrical legend – Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman (Oct. 7-24) a tragic study of the unravelling of tired commercial traveler Willy Loman in the late 1940s.
The club’s annual audience-pleaser, the Christmas pantomime, will return Dec. 4 – Jan. 2, updating Charlotte Johnson’s 1960 script of Cinderella under the guidance of director Lisa Pavilionis.
Marc Camoletti’s 1960s door-slammer farce Boeing, Boeing is set to hit the stage March 2-19 followed by Noel Coward’s 1930s comedy of manners Private Lives (April 13-30).
The announced season closer will offer two versions of a classic comedy – a staging, on alternate nights, of both the male and female versions of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.
Coast Capital Playhouse is located at 1532 Johnston Rd. Individual tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for students and seniors.
To inquire about season ticket options, call 604-536-7535.
Symphonists sought
Now celebrating its 30th concert season, the Fraser Valley Symphony is seeking new members in the violin, viola and percussion sections, but also welcomes inquiries from other interested professional-calibre musicians.
Performing alongside world class instrumental and vocal soloists, the orchestra provides an opportunity for auditioned musicians to present a variety of music to audiences throughout the region.
Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings, in Abbotsford.
Contact info@fraservalleysymphony.org or call 604-859-3877.
Singers wanted
Pacific Showtime Men’s Chorus, based in Ocean Park, rehearses Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church, 12953 20 Ave.
The small community chorus of experienced singers is currently seeking new members for all vocal ranges: lead, tenor, baritone and bass.
Offering a big sound in a variety of musical styles, Pacific Showtime has been featured at a many different Lower Mainland events, including show productions, concerts and private functions.
The repertoire is designed to include songs and a singing style that appeal to a wide variety of music preferences, with emphasis on entertainment value, and chance to develop singing skills while having fun and enjoying camaraderie.
Male singers are invited to attend rehearsals to check out the group and, hopefully, join in.
For more information, call 604-536-5292 or email leighand@shaw.ca
