alex.browne@peacearchnews.com
The Donnellys
Daughter-father singing duo Colleen and Mark Donnelly invite music-and-food lovers to get a head-start on Canada Day celebrations with a special show this Thursday, June 30, 6:30 p.m. at Crescent Beach Bistro (12251 Beecher St.).
Following up on earlier sold-out events with the Donnellys at the venue, their musical tribute to Canada will complemented by the culinary creations of chef Wayne Warwyk for an evening of tuneful entertainment and a three-course meal.
Price for dinner and show is $60 (plus tax and gratuity).
For reservations, call Linda at 604-531-1882.
Canada Day By The Bay
The White Rock Business Improvement Association presents Vancouver-based six-piece rock-pop band The Boom Booms (featured in last year’s TD Concerts at the Pier series) as 9 p.m. headliners in a Canada Day lineup of free entertainment at the RE/MAX Sea Stage on West Beach.
Many locally-raised or connected bands and singer-songwriters are also highlighted in this year’s lineup, which starts at 11a.m. with Richard Tichelman, followed at 1 p.m. by popular twin-sister duo Fionn.
At 1:45 p.m. it’s the turn of the Pat Chessell Band, leading into Her Brothers (2:30 p.m.), The Halifax Wharf Rats (3:30 p.m.) and Token Rhyme (4:30 p.m.).
At 5:15, Tom Vanderkam and his band Hawking take the stage; followed by Roadhouse Live Youth Talent Search winner Ava Carich (6:10 p.m.), Lydia Hol (7 p.m.) and Terence Jack (8:05 p.m.).
Blue Frog
Coming up at White Rock’s busy performance venue Blue Frog Studios is blues guitar phenomenon Ana Popovic, Saturday, July 2, with shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
When someone like Bruce Springsteen calls an artist “one helluva guitar player” you have to sit up and take notice, and the photogenic, Serbian-born, Memphis-based performer has been making audiences do just that for some 20 years with a blend of what has been described as “smoking electric funk and slide guitar, jazzy instrumentals and a tight blues groove” – to which she adds distinctively soulful vocals.
Among accolades has been being chosen as the only woman to join the all-star Experience Hendrix 2014-2016 touring lineup – playing with the likes of Buddy Guy, Eric Johnston, Zakk Wylde, Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
She’s also a five-time Blues Music Awards nominee, a multiple front cover feature for magazines Vintage Guitar and Guitar Player – and almost all of her albums have made it to the top five of the Billboard blues charts.
The venue is located at 1328 Johnston Rd.; tickets are available at 604-542-3055 or through the website.
Check www.bluefrogstudios.ca for full details and information on other events in Blue Frog’s upcoming concert lineup.
Body Parts
The ever-interesting, challenging and dynamic painting of local legend Elizabeth Hollick will be showcased until July 20 at Semiahmoo Arts’ Turnbull Gallery at the South Surrey Recreation and Arts Centre, 14601 20 Ave.
Titled Body Parts In Unexpected Places, the new show is inspired by the artist’s health-motivated ruminations on human anatomy – which, with typical unconventionality, she relates to physical features of the geography of South Surrey and White Rock.
The artist will also be in attendance at the gallery each Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Red Beans & Rice
While White Rock Traditional Jazz Society has wrapped up its activities for the summer, the society’s house band – Ocean Park-based cornetist/leader Rice Honeywell’s Red Beans & Rice – is keeping Club 240 (the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch) jumping with its own series for listeners and dancers, 2 to 5 p.m. each Sunday during the society’s hiatus.
The next session is July 3.
Red Beans & Rice also includes regular sidemen Ray Batten (trombone and vocals), Gerry Green or Bob Storms (reeds), Peg Thomson (piano), Don Ogilvie (guitar), Casey Tolhurst (bass) and Scott Robertson (drums).
The band can also be caught some Fridays at 6:30 p.m. at Porter’s Bistro, in Langley’s Murrayville district (for more information, call 604-530-5297).
Admission to Sunday shows is $10 for WRTJS and Legion members, $12 for everybody else.
The venue is at 2643 128 St.
Pop-Up art
The Uptown Art Affair, a cross-disciplinary set of local artists, will take over the City of White Rock’s Pop-Up Town space, at 1459B Johnston Rd., from July 6 to July 28.
Among the assemblage of talents will be artists-in-residence Sherron Fairbairn and Georgina Johnstone; photographers Geoff Milne and Joci Sirak; balloon and party embellishment artist Heather Crawford; and singer-songwriter Ron Fairbairn (with special guest guitarist Craig McGregor).
The Uptown Art Affair’s tenure will also include a workshop on creating a leather-bound journal by artist Jess Rice.
Opening reception is July 6 from 7 to 9 p.m.
For full information on upcoming demos and workshops, visit www.facebook.com/uptownartaffairwhiterock/
Volunteers needed
There’s an immediate opportunity for those seeking volunteer work – and valuable experience – in the arts throughout the summer, as Outside the Box, ‘A Celebration of Fibre – Plus’ gears up for its 2016 citywide festival in September.
Artistic director Alicia Ballard says OTB is looking forward to expanding the festival this year to include all forms of artistic expression – including mixed-media, 3-D and the culinary arts.
Volunteers are needed for positions in public relations and marketing, acquisitions and sponsorships, media and information technology and videography, as well as volunteers at large, she said.
Organizers are also extending an invitation to all local eateries, cafes, and other businesses in the city to get involved, and encouraging new participants.
Those with appropriate qualifications are asked to contact Ballard at studiogaleria@gmail.com
Artists interested in being involved should visit http://outsidetheboxwhiterock.blogspot.ca
Swing City
Peninsula-based band Swing City – in partnership with Legion 240 Crescent Branch – is presenting a series of summer dances for ballroom enthusiasts.
Upcoming dates are July 22, Aug. 12 and Aug. 26 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Formerly known as the Blue Echoes, Swing City boasts a wide repertoire of fox trots, waltzes and Latin numbers and has built up a following of ballroom-style dancers over the last 20 years.
Admission (at the door) is $15 per couple and $8 for single participants.
The venue is located at 2643 128 St.
The Odd Couple
Neil Simon’s 1965 comedy The Odd Couple, depicting the conflict between neurotic neat-freak writer Felix Ungar and slovenly newly divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison – who become mismatched roommates after Felix’s wife throws him out – has become an enduring theatrical favourite (as well as the source of a popular movie and several TV series).
Some 20 years after the original premiered, Simon created a revision tailored for a female cast, in which Felix became Florence and Oscar became Olive, but the clash of personality types was much the same.
Continuing until July 2, White Rock Players Club is presenting both versions of the play in alternating performances with separate casts and crews; the female version (starring Sarah Green as Florence and Launie Bowie as Olive) directed by club veteran Susanne de Pencier, the male version (starring Herry Pering as Felix and Chris Carver as Oscar) by well-known farceur Pat McDermott.
For audiences, it’s not only a chance to see a bonafide comedy classic, but also an opportunity to catch two shows for the price of one-and-a-half – those who have seen one version can buy a ticket for the other at a 50 per cent discount.
The playhouse is located at 1532 Johnston Rd.
Tickets are available at the boxoffice, 604-536-7535 or online at whiterockplayers.ca/tickets
Sunshine at night
There’s something special about open mic evenings – not only are you likely to hear a variety of music that most venue programmers can’t present, but you might just catch an early performance by a rising star, or a surprise appearance by an established performer trying some new material.
Semiahmoo Peninsula open mic king Dennis Peterson – a man with a good eye for White Rock and South Surrey’s growing pool of experienced and developing talents – is offering a regular show, 6-9 p.m. most Saturdays at The Good Day Sunshine Cafe, 100-2950 King George Blvd.
With dinner, drinks and dessert also on the menu, it’s a good venue to settle in for an evening of unexpected musical treats.
Morrison Music Nights
Morrison Cafe’s Morrison Music Nights is a new regular monthly dinner/concert series in Ocean Park, offering a three-course fine-dining-with-music experience in the licensed venue.
On music nights, dinner is served from 5 p.m., followed by the concert, from 7-9 p.m.
Tickets for the monthly presentations ($40) are available at the cafe, at 12855 16 Ave.
For more information on the monthly series, call 604-531-3636 or 604-721-0872.
