Classical concert series
Surrey Arts Centre continues their Classical Coffee Concerts series with a joint performance by pianist – and series host – Sarah Hagen and violinist Martin Chalifour on Feb. 7. The two musicians will be performing music by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Stravinsky. Highlights will include Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, a charming arrangment of several movements from his ballet Pulicinelle, Mozart’s beautifully haunting Sonata K.304, and Mendelssohn’s Sonata in F major.
Refreshments from 9:30 a.m., followed by the concert at 10:30 a.m. in the 129-seat Studio Theatre at the Surrey Arts Centre, 13750 88 Ave. Tickets are available at Surrey Arts Centre Box Office. Cost: $22.50, including all fees, or online at https:/tickets.surrey.ca
Kiwanis festival
The entry deadline for the 14th Annual Kiwanis Fraser Valley Music Festival and the 3rd Annual Kiwanis Fraser Valley Speech and Drama Festival is Feb. 8. The musical festival, slated for April 1 to May 24 in Langley, and the speech and drama festival, set for April 8-13 in White Rock, are open to all ages. The festival will offer classes for students of piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, voice, guitar, harp, speech arts and public speaking. Entry forms and further information, available at www.kfv.ca
Crescent Moon Coffee
A special fundraiser for the more than three decades-old Crescent Moon Coffee House – the fertile soil from which many local groups and performers have sprung – will take place Saturday Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240, (2643 128 St.).
For $10 (tickets at the legion or Tapestry Music) audience members will see a line-up of five different acts that have benefited from the coffee house’s friendly informality in developing performing skills.
Well-known local musicians Dennis Peterson, Joady Bell, Jason Mitchell and Big Back Yard will be joined by a Randy Schultz side-project, Comfortably Numb, paying tribute to the music of Pink Floyd.
Blue Frog Valentine
What could be more appropriate for a pre-Valentine’s Day musical treat than a salute to famed rockers Heart?
That’s what’s coming up at the intimate venue of White Rock’s Blue Frog Studios, 1328 Johnston Rd., Saturday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. as tribute band Barracuda (featuring Donna Caruk and Rachael Chatoor) take the stage to present the group’s hits with style and presence.
Caruk and Chatoor’s evocation of the sound of Anne and Nancy Wilson, backed by a group of world-class musicians, is an invitation to fans to immerse themselves in the music of Heart.
Also coming up at Blue Frog – which is offering a wide range of entertainment on a weekly basis – is Eric Samuels’ Acts of Astonishment (Feb. 15, 8 p.m.) in which the mentalist blends intuition, psychology, suggestion and stagecraft for an evening full of inspiration and plenty of laughs.
Jazz fans won’t want to miss the recording of another Live From Blue Frog event, an evening with the Oliver Gannon Quartet (Feb. 23, 8 p.m.).
The well-known guitarist, who was for many years a Peninsula resident, will be joined by three of the best go-to talents on the West Coast jazz scene: Miles Black on piano, Blaine Wikjord on drums and Jodi Proznick on bass.
For tickets or more information on the shows, call 604-542-3055, or visit www.bluefrogstudios.ca
Traditional Jazz
The danceable rhythms of retro jazz continue each Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240 (2643 128 St.).
While the Feb. 10 band is still to be announced, upcoming groups include The Phoenix Five (Plus One) on Feb. 17, The Hellions of Jazz on Feb. 24 and Ray Skjelbred’s First Thursday Band on March 3.
Admission is $8 (members) and $10 (non-members).
Memberships ($15) are available at the door.
Film Festival
The White Rock Social Justice Film Festival returns Feb. 22 and 23 with a ninth annual series of thought-provoking documentaries, screened at First United Church (Buena Vista Avenue and Centre Street, White Rock).
The seven films have have been chosen to help inform the community, and provide support for neighbourhood action on important issues facing Canadians today.
In Four Horsemen (Feb. 22, 7 p.m.), 23 international thinkers talk about how the world really works and why there is still hope in re-establishing a moral and just society, while David Versus Monsanto (Feb. 23, 10 a.m.) shows how one farmer stood up against a massive multi-national.
Haiti: Where Did The Money Go? (Feb. 23, 11: 30 a.m) asks the key question of why so much money bought so little relief from a disaster, while The Future of Medicare (Feb. 23, 2 p.m) documents a now-famous town hall meeting calling for a renewed and strengthened federal-provincial health accord. On The Line, (Feb. 23, 3:30 p.m.) offers unmatched eco-adventure through the wilderness, following the route of the proposed $5.5-billion Enbridge oil pipeline and Oil In Eden (Feb. 23, 4:35 p.m.) chronicles the Enbridge proposal in detail.
Wrapping up the festival on an inspiring and upbeat note is the the musical documentary Harry Belafonte: Sing Your Song (Feb. 23, 7 p.m.) tracing the social activism of the world-famous performer.
Admission is by donation. For more information, visit whiterocksocialjusticefilmfestival.ca or email Herb at spsi@shaw.ca
