Maria Muldaur
Just announced at Blue Frog Studios is an evening with `70s baby boomer favourite Maria Muldaur, featuring two back to back shows on Thursday Sept 24. (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) at the venue, 1328 Johnston Rd.
Still beloved around the world for the 1974 radio hit Midnight At The Oasis, her 50-year career has included 40 albums and six Grammy nominations.
Muldaur promises to perform all her hits and most-requested numbers at the concert.
But she’ll also be sharing her love for – and ongoing exploration of – American roots music, including Blues, Bluegrass, Jazz and Gospel, which dates back to early days as part of the 1960s folk revival.
Another bonus will be her ‘I was there’ stories – with photos and video – of encounters, friendships and collaborations with such legends as Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Joan Baez, John Sebastian and Bonnie Raitt.
Tickets ($48.50) are available from www.bluefrogstudios.ca
Susan Falk
Langley-based artist Susan Falk, well-known from many past shows and conducting classes on the Semiahmoo Peninsula, is bringing art from her most recent exhibit in Japan to the Turnbull Gallery (South Surrey Recreation and Arts Centre, 14601 20 Ave.).
The show RED – Circle of Life, a unique celebration of B.C.’s wildlife focusing on the symbiotic relationship of bears and sockeye salmon, will be at the gallery Sept. 8 to Oct. 7, with an opening reception Sept. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m., presented by Semiahmoo Arts, the Community Arts Council of White Rock and District.
The exhibit has just returned from the art forum at the Jarfo Museum in Kyoto, and, typically, the ever-active and inventive Falk is also including works inspired by her recent Japanese experience.
Expressionist oil paintings and drawings include Falk’s trade-mark colouristic touch, inspired by the modern day kimonos she saw women wearing there – as she describes them, “like wisps in the Kyoto wind, walking through my studio.”
The main show features the uniquely Canadian life-size bears and salmon on large canvases with which she wowed audiences in Japan – her vivid meditation, based on source materials collected on the Adams River, on the mysterious life-cycle of the sockeye, from the rivers of B.C. to ocean life and the ultimate return to the rivers to spawn, where they also provide a pre-hibernation feast for the grizzly population.
Bollard/Heins
Take a tuneful, interpretive vocalist with a natural swing and a man with an internationally-noted flair for piano boogie and you have the makings of another notable show at White Rock’s Blue Frog Studios.
Well-known Semiahmoo Peninsula jazz singer and woman-of-the-theatre Wendy Bollard (Peninsula Productions artistic director) – heading to England to study theatre in a prestigious master’s directing program at the University of Essex – is finding time for one more gig with one of her favourite musicians – boogie jazz piano master Dominik Heins – and his gifted sidemen Sam Schoichet (bass) and Alex Klassen (drums), Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. at the intimate conceret venue (1328 Johnston Rd.)
Heins, a product of the lively Hamburg boogie-woogie scene with an international reputation for his piano and singing chops, has joined forces with Bollard – known for her warm vocal tone and expressive phrasing – numerous times over the past few years, including the 2013 Dapper Dominik Show at Blue Frog.
It’s an evening that will feature a blend of boogie, jazz, bossa nova, and ballads – with even a little country thrown in.
For tickets visit www.bluefrogstudios.ca or call 604-542-3055.
Outside The Box
White Rock’s Outside The Box Festival launch ceremonies have been rescheduled to Sept. 12, at 2:30 p.m. at the White Rock Library – following the wind storm that forced closure of venues on Sept. 29.
They will feature an introduction by festival coordinator Alicia Ballard – noted locally and internationally as a painter and multi-media artist – and an appearance by Kali Bags and Accoutrements’ Katherine Siemens, who is also half of the tribal fusion dance duo The Fusionistas with business partner Stephanie Lafreniere.
The month-long, genre-challenging celebration of art in fibre is returning to the city for a fifth year, running through Sept. 30.
As in previous years, the library is a key location for displays and ongoing programs.
Ballard will also have her own feature as part of the festival and the ongoing Master Artists in the Library program, Sept. 11 and 12, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., showcasing a work-in-progress inspired by the mythological goddess Medusa.
Throughout September, gallery owner Mary Mikelson will host a display of Outside The Box founder Pauline Dutkowski’s fibre art and the fibre-related work of another great local “outside the box” thinker – Elizabeth Carefoot – at the Mind and Matter Gallery (13743 16 Ave.)
White Rock Community Centre (15154 Russell Ave.) will feature a show of Ballard’s photography, as well as Kali Bags creations – including up-cycled art bags and other wearables – designed by Siemens, which utilize vintage and re-purposed fabrics and decorations in one-of-a-kind pieces.
The community is also invited to participate ‘hands on’ in the Interknots II Fibre Installation, Sept. 18, 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Bryant Park (beside the Community Centre), by bringing colourful scarves, knitting or crocheting of flowers and insects to decorate trees in the park.
Displays will be ongoing at the library by the Piece Arch Quilters and the Tuesday Tapestry Group, while the Peace Arch Weavers and Spinners Guild will offer demonstrations Saturday, Sept. 19 (11 a.m. – 3 p.m.) and Monday Sept. 28, (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Also at the library, Fibre Gone Wild, Sept. 22, 3:30-4 p.m., is a children’s workshop (pre-registration required) in which youngsters will create animals from recycled materials, while on Sept. 25 members of the Needlenuts will demonstrate their techniques for applique quilting.
For more information visit outsidetheboxwhiterock.webs.com
Props and costume sale
Currently financially-challenged White Rock Players Club is holding a sale of theatre props, costumes – and more – on Sunday, Sept. 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Coast Capital Playhouse lobby, 1532 Johnston Rd.
Up for grabs are panto costumes, `70s and `80s era women’s clothes, set decoration, set-building and prop items, and Halloween and Christmas decorations.
Donations of good quality saleable items are welcome (photo of items description and value should be emailed in advance) and volunteers are also needed for set-up and supervision (Friday, Sept. 11, 1-5 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 13 from 8:30 a.m.
For more information, details of donations or volunteering, email Andrea Olund, andreaolund@shaw.ca
Davy the Punk
Does Canadian history always have to be dry, indigestible and unrelievedly respectable?
Not according to Bob Bossin.
The author’s lively, humourous, one-man musical play, Davy The Punk will come to Ocean Park Community Hall (1577 128 St.) Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. as a fundraiser for Communities and Coal’s fight to end coal train traffic through White Rock and South Surrey.
A spell-binding entertainer and story-teller (and founder of legendary Canadian folk group Stringband), Bossin has drawn the material for the show and its companion book from his father (the Davy of the title) and his fascinating adventures in Toronto’s gambling underworld of the 1930s and 1940s.
Bossin grew up knowing his dad only as a conservative man who booked acts into Ontario nightclubs.
It was only after his dad died in 1963, when Bossin was 17 years old, that he began to discover the truth of ‘Davy The Punk, ‘ respected statesman of a thriving illicit milieu.
Salty, ribald, down-to-earth, and sprinkled with anecdotes of a Damon Runyon-esque set of characters and their close brushes with the office of the Attorney General of Ontario, and the police, many of whom were ‘on the take,’ the songs and tales are an authentic slice of Canadiana – spiced by the knowledge that while some of it is the stuff of legend, most of it is absolutely true.
For tickets ($25) and further information, email davythepunk@shaw.ca or visit www.davythepunk.com
Jazz Band Ball
It’s the event of the year for fans of the traditional jazz sounds of the `20s, `30s and `40s.
One-day badges are on sale now for the 2015 Jazz Band Ball, hosted by the White Rock Traditional Jazz Society at the Pacific Inn and Resort Centre September 26-27 (Saturday, $40; Sunday $30).
A gospel hour at 10:30 a.m. Sunday is open to the public free of charge, but badges are required for the regular program, starting at noon.
As in past years, the two-day event promises a fine sampling of traditional jazz players from the Northwest, as far south as Seattle, and as far east as New York.
Among them are multi-instrumentalist Simon Stribling’s New Orleans Ale Stars who, in addition to appearing through the two-day festival, will host the 7:30 p.m. Friday night kick-off party for the event ($10 at the door).
WRTJS house band Red Beans and Rice (featuring Rice Honeywell Sr. on cornet) is part of the line-up, of course, which also including fellow locals The Square Pegs – including Peg Thomson (piano) and Dave Ayton (vibraphone).
Noted Vancouver-raised reedman Evan Arntzen, currently working in New York, will be flying in to play with and his own group, The Brothers Arntzen, bringing along vocalist Tamar Korn, who is developing an international reputation for reinterpreting jazz standards.
Three other notable U.S. musicians, Ray Skjelbred, Clint Baker and Jeff Hamilton will sit in with Stribling during the course of the weekend. Seattle pianist Skjelbred, who will also front his own Yeti Chasers Jazz Band, revisits the ‘stride’ style of the 1930s, while Californians Baker (a multi-instrumentalist) and Jeff Hamilton (drums) will appear as members of The Grand Dominion Jazz Band, one of the most popular acts on the classic jazz festival circuit.
Also featured in the festival is Seattle’s popular Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band, while a new generation of traditional jazz players will be represented by youth group the Curbside Jazz Band, from Chilliwack.
Both venues at the Pacific Inn have dance floors and a combination of theatre and cabaret-style seating, and music will be continuous, with bands changing every hour. Beverages and food are available on site and parking is free.
A two-day badge to the event is $70. One-day badges (Saturday $40, Sunday $30) will also be offered, if seating is still available.
For tickets or more information visit www.whiterocktradjazz.com or call 604-560-9215 or 604-531-8857.
White Rock Trad Jazz
There will be no Sunday jazz at the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240 (2643 128 St.) until Oct. 4.
That’s when White Rock Traditional Jazz Society’s regular 2 to 5 p.m. sessions of live Dixieland for dancing and listening will resume (19 and up, $10 admission for WRTJS and Legion members, $12 for everybody else).
Fans of Red Beans & Rice – led by trumpeter and vocalist Rice Honeywell Sr. – can still catch its 7 p.m. Friday performances (all ages) at Porter’s Bistro, 21611 48 Ave., in Langley’s historic Murrayville, in (for reservations, call 604-530-5297).
Swing dance classes
Retro Swing Kid & Company are hosting fall swing dance classes at three locations.
White Rock classes take place on Mondays (easy beginner classes at 7 p.m., more advanced swing at 8 p.m.) from Sept. 14 to Nov. 23 at Studio Swing, 14579 16A Ave.
Surrey classes are on Tuesdays from Sept. 15. to Nov. 17 at Unit #110, 12332 Pattullo Pl., also at 7 and 8 p.m.
Langley monthly drop-in classes take place on the third Saturday of each month (Sept. 19, Oct. 17 and Nov. 21) at Trinity Western University Fitness Studio, 7600 Glover Rd. The beginner dance lesson is from 7:45-8:30 p.m. and open dance/watching is from 8:30-11 p.m.
For all classes, for drop-ins, there is no charge for students with ID; it’s $5 for all others. There are also cost options for all five weeks, and partial proceeds will go to the Metro Kids Society.
For more information, email retroswingkid@gmail.com call 604-536-0195 or visit www.jumpjointswing.com
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
White Rock Players’ Club
White Rock Players Club has announced an ambitious season to launch a seventh decade of home-grown little theatre in the city.
The first show scheduled 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 (played by club president Fred Partridge) 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 brilliant 1930s comedy of manners Private Lives (April 13-30).
The announced season closer will offer not one, but 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.
