Universal Gospel Choir
An upcoming concert scheduled for White Rock Baptist Church represents a coup for the White Rock South Surrey Hospice Society.
The much-admired – but infrequently seen – Universal Gospel Choir will headline a special fundraising concert for the organization Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the church (1657 140 St.) and tickets are already on sale for what promises to be a memorable event for the Semiahmoo Peninsula.
The Vancouver-based group has won praise wherever it has performed it’s wide-ranging repertoire, said organizer and fundraiser Anita Colley, but its schedule of performances is limited.
“They only do about six to eight performances a year,” she said. “We were hoping to get them for 2012, but they had a cancellation in May of this year – and May also happens to be Hospice Month.”
Not only will the concert, underwritten by Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre, be a showpiece for the society, she said – it also happens to be the day before Mother’s Day, making it an ideal family-friendly treat.
The 60-voice choir’s wide-ranging repertoire includes authentically delivered songs from not only African-American, but also Cuban, African, European, Jewish, Asian and First Nations’ musical traditions.
And that makes it widely accessible, Colley said, for anyone who enjoys the uplifting power of music – particularly sacred and social conscience songs presented in an upbeat and joyful manner.
Tickets ($25) are available from 604-531-7484 or purchase online at www.whiterockhospice.org
Celtic evening
The Buffalo Celtic Music Society will present the RCMP Pipe and Drum band, various Celtic entertainers and the Tam O’Shanter Dancers – plus a silent auction – Saturday, May 7 at Star of the Sea Hall, 15262 Pacific Ave.
For tickets and information, call 604-951-7589 or 604-531-3969.
A Murder of Crows
Surrey Little Theatre’s current production, A Murder Of Crows, playwright Ed Graczyk’s serio-comic examination of small town life in rural Ohio, closes Saturday, May 7 at the theatre (7027 184 St.). Directed by Lynne Karey-McKenna, the play softens the hard facts of life and death with infectious warmth and humour, as aging couple Harley and Jenny Woodson (Steven Burridge, Heather Harris) are relocated to a trailer home in the city by their long-estranged son, Corey, and daughter-in-law, Doris (Brad Hammerstrom, Robyn Bradley).
Showtimes are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
To reserve tickets ($15), call 604-576-8451 or email reservations@surreylittletheatre.com
Flamenco for moms
The fifth annual Mother’s Day Tea and Concert with Flamenco del Mar takes place Sunday, May 8, 3-5 p.m. at Ocean Park Community Hall (1577 128 St.).
Artistic director and dancer Jill Tunbridge and her Flamenco del Mar Spanish Dance Studio dancers will perform with special guests Gerardo Alcala and Jafelin Heltin.
Tickets ($13) include coffee or tea and dessert. For tickets, call 604-542-2096 or email flamencotickets@hotmail.com
Mother’s Day dance
The swinging sounds of big band Third Stage will add a classic touch to a dinner dance presented by the White Rock Elks Club, Sunday, May 8, 6-9:30 p.m. at the club (1469 George St.).
The event, open to those 19 and over, takes place in the club’s downstairs hall.
Tickets ($30 for dinner and dance, $10 for dance only) are on sale in the Elks Lounge (cash only).
For more information, call 604-538-4016 or email whiterockelks431@shaw.ca
Waiting For The Parade
The wait is over and the parade is well worth watching.
Strong performances make an enjoyable evening of theatre of 16th Avenue Productions’ inaugural production, the Canadian classic Waiting For The Parade, by John Murrell.
A view of the Second World War through the eyes of five very different women living in Calgary, the show, directed by company founder Wendy Bollard, runs until this Saturday (May 7) at Coast Capital Playhouse, 1532 Johnston Rd.
Cast members Luvia Petersen (Janet), Kim Arklie (Margaret), Becky Hachey (Marta), Ashley Siddals (Catherine), and Elyse Raible (Eve) all contribute telling moments of humour, drama and genuine pathos to the ensemble piece.
Authentic music also adds to the sense of the wartime era, and the evocation of the grim, sometimes absurd, realities of the time.
For ticket information, contact www.16thaveproductions.com or call 604-536-7535.
The Gondoliers
The Fraser Valley Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s latest musical, the classic light opera The Gondoliers, will run May 11 to 21 at the Surrey Arts Centre Studio Theatre.
Producer Reginald Pillay, artistic director Christina Wells Campbell, music director Vashti Fairbairn and choreographer Carol Seitz have gathered a stellar troupe of company favourites and promising newcomers for the show, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s last great success.
Pillay himself stars as Luiz, drummer boy to the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro (Roger Hussen and Jacquollyne Keath), members of the Spanish aristocracy, who have travelled to Venice with their daughter Casilda (Laura Luongo) – summoned by the Grand Inquisitor of Spain, Don Alhambra del Bolero (Robert Newcombe).
A complicated comic plot involving attempts to locate the rightful heir to the throne of Barataria (married in infancy to Casilda, who secretly loves Luiz) draws in two Venetian gondoliers, the brothers Marco (Russell Robson) and Giuseppe (Dann Wilhelm), and their new brides Tessa and Gianetta (Katie Collins and Tamara Wilhelm). Other leads include Clive Ramroop (Giorgio), Croy Jenkins (Annibale), Jackie Block (Vittoria), Samantha Andrews (Giulia) and Mila Yee-Hafer as Inez.
Tickets are available from the Surrey Arts Centre box office (604-501-5566) or online at https://tickets.surrey.ca
For more information, visit the FVGSS website: www.fvgss.org
Haydn concert
The Handel Society of Music will present two late works by Franzw Joseph Haydn Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Good Shepherd Church, 2250 150 St.
The performance of Haydn’s Harmoniemesse (Harmony Mass) and Schopfungmesse (Creation Mass) will feature the Handel Choir with orchestra and soloists, conducted by Johan Louwersheimer.
Soloists include Nancy Washeim (soprano), Sonya Sweeney (mezzo soprano), Mark Da Silva (tenor) and Willy Miles-Grenzberg (bass).
Tickets ($20, $15 seniors, students) available from 604-585-9102 or email@handelsociety.ca
Elks Bluegrass
The foot stomping, banjo, guitar and mandolin-picking, fiddle playing, vocal harmonizing sound of Bluegrass next returns to the White Rock Elks’ Club, 1469 George St., on Saturday, May 14 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15 (non members) and $12.50 (members). For more information, call 604-538-4016 or email whiterockelks431@shaw.ca
Spring flowers
White Rock Gallery will present a new show, April Showers Bring May Flowers, Sunday, May 15, noon to 4 p.m., at the gallery, 1247 Johnston Rd.
Featured will be fresh and vibrant floral paintings by Mickie Acierno, Laura Harris and Linda Thompson, with the artists in attendance to discuss and answer questions about their work.
The event will also feature new works from others represented by the gallery, including Robert Genn, David Langevin, Min Ma, Renato Muccillo, Ray Ward and Donna Zhang, plus new-to-the-venue artists Claudette Castonguay and Gabor Nagy. For information, call 604-538-4452 or visit www.whiterockgallery.com
