Arts

New water woes add to concerns at the Vernon art gallery

VERNON - The Vernon Public Art Gallery has sprung yet another leak. Water started dripping from the ceiling of the storage and permanent collections area sometime over the night of Jan. 5 to 6, according to executive director Dauna Kennedy Grant. It’s the latest in a string of leaks at the gallery over the past...

Kamloops artists sound off on Syrian conflict through music, spoken word

KAMLOOPS - Local artists are sharing their gifts to provide both commentary and support following ongoing conflict in Syria and the upcoming arrival of refugees to the area. Singers and songwriters Deandra Dey and Timothy Brookbanks recently produced a track, Wait and See, and are hoping to donate funds received from their song toward refugee support....

Great timing for Oyama artist to meet demand for colouring books

OYAMA - This Christmas you will be tempted at some point to browse the latest trend of colouring books for adults but before you buy off the rack, you should see the books from local artist Sarah Marie Thompson. The long-time Okanagan resident has three colouring books for sale both online and at Kelowna’s Mosaic...

Johnny Reid to rock Kamloops’ Sandman Centre this February

KAMLOOPS - Juno award winner and country artist Johnny Reid is set to take the stage at Kamloops’ Sandman Centre this coming February. The What Love Is All About tour is set to highlight Reid’s new album released this month. A dollar from each ticket sold for his tour will go towards buying instruments for...

Creative Chaos craft fair underway

VERNON - A giant Vernon craft show is celebrating 40 years of bringing creative chaos to the North Okanagan. Creative Chaos, a three day craft show and sale held at the Vernon Recreation Centre, will present its 40th annual exhibit starting Friday, June 5. Every year, the craft fair takes over the Vernon Rec Centre,...

Pop-up art gallery, food cart to add vibrancy to downtown Vernon this summer

VERNON - People stepping off Greyhound or public transit buses in downtown Vernon will have a unique shipping container art gallery and at least one food truck waiting for them this summer. Vernon city council approved a request from the Vernon Public Art Gallery to keep a network of steel shipping containers where they are,...

Still no RCMP invoice for Boonstock

PENTICTON - It’s been almost three months since Boonstock weekend and festival organizers still have not received a copy of the RCMP expense report, which outlines additional costs incurred over the four-day festival. Forty officers were scheduled to work the festival weekend and racked up a $200,000 bill paid for by Boonstock. But in September,...

Vernon could host unique pop-up art gallery this spring

VERNON - Vernon could be home to a temporary, pop-up art gallery this spring. To accommodate the 2015 Okanagan Print Triennial, a large, international art show, organizers have come up with the idea of using storage containers as exhibition space.  The Vernon Public Art Gallery, which hosts the show in partnership with UBC Okanagan and...

Hollywood glamour promised for Arts Awards Gala

KAMLOOPS – The short list of nominee’s and the theme have been announced for the Mayor’s Gala for the Arts in January. The Mayor’s Awards for the Arts will be handed out in three categories: Business in the Arts, Emerging Artist and Literary Arts. Business in the Arts 4 Cats Art Studio Academy of Dance...

Penticton’s own Shane Koyczan coming home for a sold out show

PENTICTON - Okanagan sensation Shane Koyczan will return to his hometown of Penticton for an already sold out show at the Dream Cafe in December. Koyczan is one of the Okanagan’s richest artistic talents, most recently performing his show, Stickboy, in Vancouver with the Vancouver Oprea. He is an award-winning spoken-word poet, author and performed...

Complementary enterprise pitched for Vernon visitor centre

VERNON - A local politician wants to bring Vernon’s arts and culture to a main pit stop on any tourist’s jaunt through town. Expressions of interest are being accepted for a vacant section of the new visitor centre on 39 Avenue, and City of Vernon councillor Mary-Jo O’Keefe sees it as an opportunity. “I would...

Penticton artist debuts opera about bullying

VANCOUVER – Penticton spoken word artist Shane Koyczan will be sitting nervously in the audience at the Vancouver Playhouse Thursday night for the world premiere of the opera “Stickboy." The Vancouver Opera production is based on Koyczan’s poem of the same name. The words are by Koyczan and composer Neil Weisensel wrote music. It’s his autobiographical...

Stories from the costume shop, the original Halloween store in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – The first costume Marian Truscott sewed was a Marie Antoinette-inspired dress—she made it out of the old pink curtains hanging in her home. The dress was the first piece in a collection of over 4,000 costumes. Like Marian, the dress has seen many Halloweens come and go and while it is now torn, faded...

Curtain closes on Vernon arts collective

VERNON - The curtains have closed at a venue where many local artists played their debut concerts and presented their first art shows. The Hub Arts Collective, operated by actor and director Matthew Brown, welcomed soap makers, clothing designers, culinary artists, performance artists, comedians, dancers, painters and local bands, among other talents, over its three...