January
Showcase with a story
Jan. 10 – The Showcase Gallery featured a whole host of different mediums through the works of Juanita Corbett. “I’ve been an artist since I was six but that was singing not painting.” That meant she went around with her uncle “Stringbean” meaning that she went around Nashville with him to perform. “Being an artist in the sense that you’re zeroing in on your craft and whatever is in here, you’re trying to get it out,” she says.
Parkside features young artists
Jan. 17 – The Parkside Art Gallery featured the works of Alaynah Buurmeester and Violet Stock. It was titled In the Body of the World and had a mix of Stock’s portrait paintings and Buurmeester’s more architectural works. Buurmeester called it a wonderful collaboration between two young artists. “From Violet’s end extremely beautiful portraits and stuff and from my end lots of architectural building and such.” Her works included a lot of watercolour and acrylic. “Just because it’s a lot of fun and it’s very calming for me and it’s nice to watch the colours move about the page. It’s very relaxing.”
Film series focuses on sustainability and climate change
Jan. 24 – The South Cariboo Sustainability Society showed a screening of the first of three documentaries focussed on sustainability, the first two focusing more on climate change while the third one follows seeds and the people protecting them from extinction. “Our primary mission is to make people aware of sustainability issues. We’re a small organization and we’re on a very small area of the world so we can’t really push the rest of the world very hard but we can be aware of what’s going on,” said Peter Jarvis, a member of the society.
Art show accompanies Youth Zone rebranding
Jan. 31 – The Youth Centre was renamed to the Raven Youth Activity Centre and the rebranding was accompanied by an art show. It went really well with a good turnout from the community and the Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) art class that submitted their work for the opening, said Kira Thomas, a youth support worker for the CFEC. “We wanted to rename the Youth Zone to give a new fresh perspective. A new name that this generation of youth can identify with.”
February
Nature at the heart of Showcase exhibit
Feb. 7 – An assortment of nature-themed acrylic paintings hung at the Showcase section of the South Cariboo Business Centre on Birch Avenue. “Nature inspires me by the breeze that whispers through the trees and the birds chirping high above while out walking or the rippled reflections in the water of a remote lake while kayaking,” said Bobbie Crane, the exhibiting artist. “It is in nature and in design, in colours that can affect our moods or in shapes that we like in a car, in clothing, in our furniture. In paintings, it can transport us to another time, place, tell a story or evoke a feeling or emotion. Art is very sensory.”
Cowboys roll into town
Feb. 21 – A trio of cowboys came bucking into 100 Mile House for the 19th Annual Cowboy Concert in the form of Tim Hus, Hugh McLennan and Jason Ruscheinsky. “Everyone we talked to said it was great so therefore, that makes me think it was great. I know I enjoyed it,” said Mark McMillan, the event’s organizer. “I just thought it was a fun show both times and a great audience.”
Nature exhibited at Parkside
Feb. 28 – For this month’s Parkside Art Gallery exhibit, artist Birgit Bienek has woven together something a little different. Bienek starts out exploring in nature, hoping for treasures to find her. Often this is in the shape of old pieces of wood, stone and other elements. She then adds to the pieces with her weaving skills. “I know people are always a bit confused when you talk about weaving because they think fabric weaving.” Bienek, on the other hand, uses basket weaving skills to create her art, although the finished product often isn’t a basket. “I’ve always been living close to or near the natural work and always went exploring as a kid; it was crafting a lot and stuff like that and it all came together when I got into or had the idea to combine the treasures, like natures art that I find with the basketry weaving techniques, preferably with natural materials.”
March
Showcase focussed on the Divine in art
March 7 – During the month of March, the Showcase Gallery featured 11 unique pieces from members of the artists’ guild with a focus on the theme The Divine In Art. “I think as artists we are all connected to something larger than ourselves,” said Artists’ Guild member, Katie Kidwell. “It (being art) allows us a chance to express that and sometimes that is a challenge. That is why they are all so different because we are different.”
Four Short Threesomes debuts
March 7 – It was a weekend full of comedy for the 100 Mile House Performing Arts Society’s first showing of Four Short Threesomes. The group of performing artists debuted their string of plays to the public at Martin Exeter Hall. There was Apres Opera by Michael Bigelow Dixon and Valerie Smith, Wanda’s Visit by Christopher Durang and Make Believe, written by the director, Gordon Smith. He said the play was about a young author in the works of writing his first play. The author is living with roommates, a long-time friend and a woman who is interested in the young man, but the feelings are not mutual. “I started out by writing about a person who was writing a play, the rest of it kind of just developed by itself one step at a time,” he said.
Vancouver artist plays in Forest Grove
March 21 – East Vancouver based musician Anastasia Schelchtleitner, known as Nasti Weather, stopped in Forest Grove to play a show at the Forest Grove Community Hall during her A Longing Wayside tour. Nasti Weather is a folk, banjo playing, singer and songwriter. As a creative collaborator, Nasti Weather drew up “The False Predictions” for her tour – an ever-changing cast including some of British Columbia’s prolific folk musicians.
Musicians stop in 100 Mile
March 28 – An evening of art, auctions and live music brought the community together. The Critical Mass Gallery’s room filled up for a one-of-a-kind performance from two Canadian touring artists. “Tonight’s event came about after the two artists’ contacted the owner of Critical Mass, Gus [Horn], asking if there was a chance of doing a gig here in 100 Mile,” said the evening’s organizer, Rita Giesbrecht. “So, of course we said yes. We are always game for that.” To start the night was Naomi Kavka, a folk singing woman from Prince George.
April
Local author discusses book
April 4 – Lac la Hache-based author Sherree Dee published her debut non-fiction children’s book on Jan. 7 of this year. Titled Shine, she makes a good argument on why people should read the introduction book about meditation and yoga. “With all the fast pace and stress of our world today, I think it’s important to give young children some coping mechanisms as young as possible. I think that’s what Shine will offer them. It’s one tool they can use to help create that peace and calm within themselves that will allow kids to adapt and grow with the ever-changing environment today.”
Showcase focused on landscapes
April 11 – A new collection of paintings were on display at the South Cariboo Business Centre. For the month of April, The Cariboo Artists’ Guild featured the work of Katalin Kovacs. Kovacs uses a variety of techniques for her paintings, such as acrylics and pastels but her favourite medium to work with is watercolour. “I am not much of a portrait painter, I paint a lot of landscapes,” said Kovacs.
A passion for pow wow regalia
April 18 – Louise Alphonse started her artistic career with an act of selflessness. Her daughter was a pow wow dancer and they went to a pow wow in Alberta where everybody was wearing beadwork and impressive regalia. Her daughter was upset and wouldn’t dance, so Alphonse asked why. “She said it was because she didn’t look as good as the other people,” Alphonse said. “So I took it upon myself to learn how to bead and how to make regalia so she could dance.”
Woodworker makes unique furniture
April 25 – There is a man who lives remotely on a ranch in the woods off Spring Lake Road who embodies the spirit of the west. His name is Norm West and he is an artist working with wood, the material behind Spirit of the West Log Furniture. West has been peeling logs for more than 35 years. In 1978, when West moved to the Cariboo, wood peeling was the first job he could secure. Working outside at his own pace and reaping the benefits of physical labour — he was drawn to it. “The more I did it, the more I liked it.”
May
Paint fundraiser at Stemete7uw’I Friendship Centre
May 2 – Lac la Hache artist Bobbie Crane was set to lead a second annual painting party at the Stemete7uw’i Friendship Centre. This year participants would paint a stag on a grassy knoll, silhouetted in the moonlight. Crane said she designed the scene with the Indigenous community and spirituality in mind, and she was also influenced by the 2017 wildfires. “Alluring Twilight depicted, in my mind, a little bit of the trauma that we went through in 2017 in regard to the forest fires, the wildfires.”
From an Etch A sketch to Showcase
May 9 – The thick grey screen and bright red frame of an Etch A Sketch is what did it for local artist, Penny Bailey, who was next to be featured in the Showcase Gallery. “That’s how it all started,” said Bailey. “Ever since I could remember, I was drawing.” After countless mechanical drawings, shaking and then erasing, Bailey took her skills to a canvas by learning how to paint with oils. Later, earning a degree in fine arts. “My dad really wanted an artist in the family. I don’t know if it was luck, but that artist ended up being me.”
Phoenix Tour performs in 100 Mile
May 16 – The Phoenix Tour came to Martin Exeter Hall. Mrs. McGinley’s Gold Rush Variety Show presented an evening of live music, poetry and tap-dancing while raising funds for 100 Mile’s Performing Arts Society. The production included plenty of history, coupled with an abundance of comedy. The show was inspired by the fire of September 16, 1868, which destroyed both the original Theatre Royal and much of the historic town of Barkerville, leading to the formation of the Williams Creek Fire Brigade and the new Theatre Royal.
Visitor Centre brings BeadTrails
May 23 – The South Cariboo Visitor Centre (SCVC) helped the community of 100 Mile House get on the BeadTrails map with its very own stagecoach charm. Participants start by getting their map and bracelet from participating visitor info centres and businesses. Next, participants set off to collect beads from each community they visit, exploring new landscapes and neighbourhoods in the process via their brochure or the interactive online map. Eventually, a participant will have created their own Memory Bracelet full of meaningful beads collected from over 20 communities throughout the province.
June
Hess family performs in 100 Mile
June 6 – Kenny Hess and daughter, Becca stopped in 100 Mile House for their ‘The Songs That Wrote Country Music’ tour at the 100 Mile House Community Hall. Becca opened the show with a variety of songs written and performed by an array of well-known female country musicians such as Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. “I’m excited to honour [Dolly] and others tonight,” she said.
Show and Shine raises funds
June 13 – The 100 Mile House Cruzers Car Club held a Show and Shine at Central GM to help fundraise for young hockey players. The event featured over 40 vintage cars and was well-attended by people of all ages. Tom Bachynski, owner of Central GM in 100 Mile House and president of the 100 Mile House Wranglers, said the event went very well. “Everything equates to a meal or a trip or whatever,” said Bachynski. “For fundraising, we have to raise money for probably 30 postgame meals and as many pre-game meals.”
Vibrant day for Art Crawl opening
June 27 – The Parkside Art Gallery saw a lively attendance for the opening ceremony for the first-of-its-kind Art Crawl. To kick things off, outside of the gallery, a drumming ceremony was held. “It went over very nicely, the speeches were good and the art crawlers who attended the ceremony found their way over to the Stemete7uw’i Friendship Centre for lunch,” said organizer Bobby Crane.”It was a full house over there and the opening ceremony was very well attended.”
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