The Gibsons Landing Heritage Society, which operates the nearly 100-year-old Heritage Playhouse, is seeking new board members. Three positions are currently vacant on the volunteer board, according to Dianne Evans, its president.
“The pandemic kind of made it difficult for people to get together,” said Evans. “But now it’s like we’re back in business. There are new projects at hand, and there’s plenty of room for people who want to get involved.”
The Playhouse is in the midst of a major lighting upgrade, and is raising money to outfit the theatre with modern LED fixtures.
Meanwhile, with the assistance of the Sunshine Coast Community Solar Association, an energy audit was completed and plans are in place for the acquisition of an energy-efficient heat pump. Rising energy costs make it challenging to keep admission and rental fees competitive, Evans said.
The 146-seat facility opened as a theatre in August 2000, after earlier incarnations as the Howe Sound Women’s Institute Hall and a school district maintenance facility.
“The Playhouse is a terrific treasure,” said Evans. “We have great board members. I’d be very happy to have a conversation with anybody who is interested in serving, because it can be exciting and challenging and it’s a beautiful little theatre.”
Roberts Creek parties for the planet
Earth Day celebrations organized by the Roberts Creek Community Association drew a crowd to the Gumboot Nation’s downtown waterfront for live music, food, and vendors on Sunday, April 23.
Performing at the mandala stage were local bands Monty Montego, Brothers in Farms, The Shapes, Bellows and Strings, SPaDE, and The Gratefully Dead Seagulls.
A number of impromptu dance performances added to the enjoyment of the cotton candy-nibbling onlookers.
Stanzas deliver
The Gibsons Public Library continues its celebration of National Poetry Month with a reading on Saturday, April 30 by British Columbia poets Heidi Greco and Marion Quednau.
Greco most recently published a volume of cultural criticism titled Glorious Birds. Her latest book of poetry, Practical Anxiety, explored climate change, the desecration of habitat and societal inequities.
Quednau, who lives in Gibsons, last year released a novel titled Sunday Drive to Gun Club Road. Her 2018 release Paradise, Later Years is her second book of poetry.
In-person space is limited: contact the Library to register at 604 886-2130 or via [email protected]. The event is also accessible live via Zoom from the Library’s website: gibsons.bc.libraries.coop.
Good grief in Gibsons
The Gibsons Public Art Gallery is presenting a new exhibition starting April 28.
The Nature of Grief will explore works by interdisciplinary artist Amberlie Perkin. Perkin’s diverse practice includes sculpture, installation, printmaking, and painting. She is interested in the interplay of grief and ecology, and nature and the body; her artwork explores the deep relational bonds we share with one another and our non-human kin.
Members of the public are invited to meet the artist during a free drop-in event on Saturday, April 30 from 2 to 4 p.m.
A family accord
Bellows and Strings—a mother and son duo composed of Anna Lumiere and Noah Ord—will perform at the Gibsons Public Market on Saturday, April 30 at 2:30 p.m.
Noah Ord plays the fiddle and percussion and Anna Lumiere plays keys and accordion, with occasional vocals.
The two have been playing gigs together since Ord was 11 years old, starting at farmers’ markets and then local venues, cafes, private parties, and festivals.
The duo promises a “joyous mix” of fiddle tunes, waltzes, jazz, and bluegrass.
For the record
An important correction to last week’s story on nominations for BC and Yukon Book Prizes: Nightwood Editions, which published two volumes of poetry shortlisted for awards, is in fact headquartered in Gibsons. It is not an imprint of Harbour Publishing—in point of fact, Harbour Publishing is the exclusive distributor for Nightwood Editions. We regret the error, and apologize for the misstatement.
