The second-annual Art and Words Festival launches this week and is due to continue until Sunday.
The festival is organized by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society. Earlier this year, local artists and writers were paired at random. Over the course of the four-day festival, each duo will present original artwork and poetry or prose that stemmed from several months of collaboration.
Presentations take place in the atrium of the Gibsons Public Market, starting at 10:30 a.m. each day.
During the festival, the society will announce winners of the first-annual Sunshine Coast Book Awards for BC authors. The ceremony takes place Aug. 12 at 1 p.m. The event will be emceed by former Spirit of the West drummer (and now acclaimed author of The Liquor Vicar and The Vicar’s Knickers) Vince Ditrich.
Fifteen of the book awards finalists are scheduled to attend and read selections from their works over the weekend. In addition to Ditrich, they include Heather Conn (No Letter in Your Pocket), Michael Kluckner (The Rooming House), Vicky Earle (Exploring Vancouver Naturehoods), Catherine McNeil (emily & elspeth), Barbara Black (Music from a Strange Planet), Michelle Poirier Brown (You Might Be Sorry You Read This), Lyn Baldwin (Drawing Botany Home), Sharon Easton (Beach Moose & Amber), Cynthia Sharp (Ordinary Light), Mary-Anne Neal (Under the Midnight Sun), David Phillips and Maggie Guzzi (Poems), Esmeralda Cabral (How to Clean A Fish), and Dr. Chris Honey (The Tenth Nerve).
Some festival events require reservations, including the free concert by the Sunshine Trio Aug. 13 at noon. The trio features Jane Ogborne on flute, Alan Ogborne on keyboard, and Ward Tinney on bass guitar.
Find a full schedule and reservation instructions at scwes.ca.
Onstage in Sechelt this weekend
The Sechelt Summer Music series continues this weekend with a double bill at the Hackett Park Stage on Saturday, Aug. 12.
Starting at noon, the Budge & Karen Duo appears. Karen Graves (sax, flute, vocals) and Budge Schachte (guitars) have been performing together as a duo and in larger groups for more than 30 years. Their music is joyful, heartfelt, and playful.
Their collaborative forces include original compositions, arrangements well rooted in the jazz tradition alongside a myriad of influences from folk, pop, and world music.
At 1 p.m., Definitely Diva performs, reuniting three vocalists who first came together in 2004 for a one-time project. Lynne Dickson, Wendy Hibberd, and Patrice Pollack — all of whom admit to being addicted to adoration and applause — decided to nurture each other’s quirks, egos and eccentricities, and Definitely Diva was born. These women share a common passion and gift for music. They have combined their individual styles and together they deliver tight vocal harmonies and upbeat arrangements.
Canoe family paddles back to Gibsons
The Music in the Landing series features three groups this weekend in Gibsons. On Friday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. in the breakwater gazebo, Karen Graves and Budge Schachte share their unique blend of musical stylings.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, in Winegarden Park, the visiting Squamish Ocean Canoe Family presents traditional stories and songs to celebrate a special anniversary of their annual coastal journey.
Later that day, at 6:30 p.m. on the Winegarden amphitheater stage, the Captain Fantasy Band performs. Captain Fantasy is self-described as xwesam’s own and only Ween tribute band, paying homage to American rockers Gene and Dean Ween.
Creek Daze meets Slow Sundays
Annual Roberts Creek Daze festivities take place this Sunday, Aug. 13. Celebrations begin at the Roberts Creek School at 10:15 a.m. as participants gather for the Higgely Piggely Parade that will wend its way to the pier.
Vendors will be set up at the mandala, offering information, crafts, food and activities.
A kids’ zone will feature facepainting and games. Artist Emily Picard plans to paint a piece throughout the day that will be auctioned off at the end of the event by the Roberts Creek Community Association.
Slow Sundays in the Creek — the Roberts Creek summer music series — features a lineup of performers at the mandala, starting at 11:30 a.m. Performers will include Monty Montego, Estelle and the Honeydews, Mr. Doug, Matt Hughes and the Shapes We’re In, Jankyy Tyygr, the Driftwood Players Story Theatre, and more.
The full Creek Daze rundown is available online at robertscreekcommunity.com.
