Upcoming Gabriola Events:

The Liberal Government in British Columbia is going to implement a new tax beginning on July 1, 2010. H.S.T. stands for Harmonized Sales Tax, and is the combination of Provincial Sales Tax (P.S.T) of 7%, and Goods and Services Tax (G.S.T.) of 5%, into one new tax, H.S.T. of 12%.

How will this affect the average British Columbian and businesses? Our MP, Ms. Jean Crowder, has agreed to come to Gabriola and answer our questions. Information on fighting the HST in BC will also be provided.

Date: Monday, February 15, 2010, 5:15 – 7:00 PM
Location: Agi Hall – 465 South Road (across from the Post Office), Gabriola, BC
Cost: Donations appreciated to cover event costs

For more information contact: April Gibson of April Mae Office Solutions. 250-325-7378.

Keep Musical Productions presents Doug Cox, followed by Todd Butler. This double-bill concert will be at the Haven’s Phoenix Auditorium on Saturday, February 13th, at 7:30pm.

Doug Cox is an all-round roots renaissance man. The slide guitar and dobro master has carved out an amazingly diverse career as a recording artist and touring musician playing festivals and concerts across Canada, the US and around the world with the likes of Delta blues guitarist, Ken Hamm, American songwriter, Chuck Brodsky, British blues icon, Long John Baldry and the string-bending guitar guru, Amos Garrett to name a few. Doug is the artistic director of the Vancouver Island Music festival held in Comox every summer.

Todd Butler is a veteran performer, guitarist/vocalist and comedian. The popular guest host of Madly Off in All Directions swings easily from lambasting politicians in hilarious political parodies to interpreting the latest news stories with a twist guaranteed to entertain you with a stunning combination of musical parody, whimsical wit, outstanding musicianship and outrageous satire.

Tickets are 15.00. Get your tickets at Artworks, or online at Keep Musical Productions. (If you buy tickets for the Corwin Fox, Jennifer Scott, Rene Worst concert as well, you’ll pay only 25.00 for this concert and that one.)

This event is part of the Tune In and Tune Up weekend.

Keep Musical Productions invites you to hear Corwin Fox, followed by Jennifer Scott with Rene Worst. This double-bill concert will be on Friday, February 12th at 7:30, at the Haven’s Phoenix Auditorium.

Corwin Fox is well-known for his masterful lyric and melody writing, and his unique style of highly contagious personal and political folk songs, Corwin Fox will have you singing along before you realize it. In addition to his own musical career that has spanned four albums, Corwin is a sought-after music producer. With his distinctive knack for ironic juxtaposition and a playful sense of humour, Fox takes another deep cut at Big Business, Government practices and environmental politics, all while warming us with his deeply concerned and heart-felt words of compassion and wisdom.

Jennifer Scott is a Vancouver-born vocalist and jazz pianist who is considered one of the most important jazz artists working in Canada and the US today. From sold-out performances in San Francisco, to exclusive club gigs, Jennifer has appeared with such luminaries as Tommy Banks, Don Thompson, Kenny Wheeler, Skywalk and Hugh Fraser to name a few. … Jennifer Scott has what it takes; a pure and beautiful sound, talent and ‘jazz ears’… – Marian Gilmour, DuMaurier Jazz Festival.

Rene Worst settled on the west coast in 1960 from Ifar, New Guinea, and quickly established himself as a leading bassist, nationally and then internationally. Rene was voted Bassist of the year by the BC CARAS Tribute to West Coast Music for four years in which the awards were given. Worst has toured Canada with jazz legends Chet Baker, Gene Bertoncini and Joe Pass, while on the international scene he toured the former Soviet Union with Paul Horn. Rene is a virtuoso on both string and electric basses.

Tickets are 15.00. Get your tickets at Artworks, or online at Keep Musical Productions. (If you buy tickets for the Doug Cox and Todd Butler concert as well, you’ll pay only 25.00 for this concert and that one.)

This event is part of the Tune In and Tune Up weekend.

Here’s your chance to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti: join Gabriola musicians at the Gabriola Community Hall for a fundraising concert on Sunday, January 24th, at 7:30pm. (Doors open at 6:45pm.)

This Island to Island benefit includes Victory Anthony & friends, Bob & Gee Bossin, John & Ken Capon & Saburo Murata, Gary Fjellgaard, Tim Harrison, Heartsong Choir, Anthony Holland, The Island Singers, Corbin Keep, Penny Sidor, Ssvelte, Take Five and more. In addition to fine music, this event will feature a silent auction and snacks.

All proceeds to Haitian relief (with matching aid from the Canadian Government.)

Tickets are 20.00, and are available at Artworks. For more information, see gabriolans.com.

The legendary Cougar Annie (see www.boatbasin.org) will be brought to life on Friday, January 29th at the Gabriola Coffeehouse (see event time, place, price) as Katrina Kadoski brings her original songs, stories and pictures of the person and place to us.

As caretaker at Cougar Annie’s Garden, in its spectacular setting of coastal rainforest in Clayoquot Sound, Katrina has in some ways inhabited the persona of Cougar Annie since she arrived there almost 3 years ago. She has connected with the land in a reflective way to Annie, and has a personal experience to what it might have felt like to be a young woman, in a remote place, with all the work, in all kinds of weather. Her show will provide a deeper sense of both the land and the pioneers who lived there.

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Gabriola Museum will have its annual general meeting and election of officers on Tuesday, February 16th at 7pm. This event will be at the Gabriola Women’s Institute Hall. You’re invited to attend. If you want to vote, you must first renew your museum membership.

Valentine’s Day is coming! Celebrate at Cupid’s Clinic on Sunday, February 14th, from 7 to 11pm. (Address: Dragon’s Lodge, 2950 Dragon’s Lane.)

You’ll enjoy The Martini Foursome, finger food and cash bar, door prizes, raffles and more. Tickets are $25, and raffle tickets $5. Both are available at Artworks.

This event is brought to you by the Gabriola Health Care Auxiliary’s campaign, 2010, The Year of the
Clinic. Proceeds go to the Gabriola Health Care Foundation.

Bring a flashlight!

Gabriola’s Winter Solstice Celebration will be held at the Gabriola Commons on Sunday, December 20th. The Commons says:

• All events are indoors, except a possible bonfire.
• 4:30 pm: circle dancing and chanting
• 5:30 pm: potluck supper
• 6:00 pm: music and merriment (bring your musical instruments)
• evening: bonfire outside depending on interest and the weather

Sarah Tradewell will play at the Roxy on Saturday, January 30th, with special guest Victor Anthony. Sarah is a dazzling young fiddler from Victoria. She plays traditional Irish tunes (and whatever else strikes her fancy) with a few vocal numbers in the mix as well. Victor will play a short set of trad material to open the show.

The show starts at 7:30; doors open at 7pm. Tickets are 12.00 and are available at Artworks.

The Haints, with the Fiddlesniffers opening, will play at at The Roxy on Thursday, January 21st at 7:30pm.

The Haints play old-time stringband music, both songs and tunes. These are four world-class musicians in this traditional style (Pharis Romero, Jason Romero, Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones). The Fiddlesniffers (Victor Anthony and Alison Humphries) play hillbilly chamber music which is traditional fiddle tunes arranged for two acoustic guitars, one fingerpicked and the other flatpicked.

Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are 15.00, and are available at Artworks.

Tune In and Tune Up will happen on the weekend of February 12th to 14th at the Haven. The invitation says:

This weekend includes workshops, concerts and merriment. With guest instructors: Jennifer Scott (Vocal Technique/VocalHarmony/Vocal Improv), Doug Cox (Slide in D, Fingerstyle Picking, Dobro), Corwin Fox (Mando, Clawhammer banjo, Songwriting), Todd Butler (Flat picking, Performance Skills, Licks & Tricks) and Rene Worst (Beginner bass, Intermediate bass, Music Theory/Jam) it’s a dream team of musical talent leading the way for some great magic. Over the course of two days, at the beautiful waterfront gulf island location of Haven-by-the-Sea, we’ll kick off the weekend Friday night with a double feature concert (with Corwin Fox and Jennifer Scott & Rene Worst), have 3 workshops Saturday followed by another double feature concert (with Doug Cox and Todd Butler) and still more workshop time Sunday to pick up where we left off the day before. Your fingers may be sore, your voice may be too, but you’ll be singing and smiling all the way home…I promise.

Tune In and Tune Up has lived on Bowen Island for the last 4 years. With its dearth of space, and the producer’s move to Gabriola, it seemed only natural to move the workshop event to Gabriola too. And The Haven offers the perfect setting for the event. With so much musical talent on this island, it’s sure to be a popular and well-attended weekend. Registrations are rolling in.

It’s all happening Valentine’s weekend (hint! hint!) 2010 but there’s an early bird registration deadline of January 3rd (what a great Christmas gift!) so act soon. Go to www.keepmusical.com and find out more details, including youth rates and early bird registration specials. Spread the word!

Poetry Gabriola presents Veda Hille and Her Band: Do You Want What I Have Got?. This concert will be at the Haven on Saturday, January 9th at 7pm. Tickets are 20.00 and are available at Artworks and through the Poetry Gabriola website.

Here’s more about the music from Poetry Gabriola:

A smash hit at the 2009 PUSH festival in Vancouver, this Craigslist Cantata is a collaboration between composer Veda Hille and librettist Bill Richardson. It’s also based on real online ad postings, such as I have a backhoe that needs minor fixing, sluts for lease, and I have a willing PC. Veda plays the piano and sings, with bandmates Ford Pier, Patsy Klein, Barry Mirochnick, and Sam Newton stepping up to the microphone to play various buyers and sellers in this series of poignant and hilarious vignettes. The cantata will be followed by a set of tunes from Veda’s latest release, This Riot Life—an art-rock masterpiece that runs the gamut from cabaret numbers set in a Japanese bathhouse to a stunning remake of Paul Hindemith’s The Moon.

See Veda Hille’s website for more information about her music, and for sound samples.

No Impact Man is showing at the Roxy on Tuesday, December 15th at 7pm. Admission by donation (2.00 minimum).

Here’s a bit bout the project and film from the No Impact Man website:

Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year.

It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, busses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage.

No problem –- at least for Colin -– but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own.

Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein’s film provides an intriguing inside look into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, while examining the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with their radical lifestyle change.

You can watch the film’s trailer on the No Impact Man site or the trailer on Youtube. See also: The No Impact Project website.

On Friday, January 1st, join Gabriola Co-op Radio for one or both of these two shows:

Tickets are available at Artworks: $15 for either show or $25 for both. Admittance to Under the Covers is restricted to people 19 and older.

For more information, see the events page on the Gabriola Co-op Radio site.

The Gabriola Chamber Ensemble presents Music and Poetry of Place. Performances will be at the Gabriola United Church on Sunday, December 13th at 3 pm and 7:30 pm.

This is the first performance of the Gabriola Chamber Ensemble under its new director, Leah Hokanson. The ensemble will present a collection of musical works by various composers, with Frostiana: Seven Country Songs heading up the marquee.

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Set aside Sunday, December 20th for Christmas stories. Then stop by the Island Book Shoppe (Twin Beaches Shopping Centre) at 2pm for Christmas Story Time, with Susan Yates. Come and be enchanted, the invitation says.

Radio After Dark presents Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at the Surf Lodge. Performances will be:

• Sunday, December 13th, 2 pm and 7:30 pm
• Thursday, December 17th at 7:30 pm

Tickets are at Gabriola Artworks — 12.00 for adults, 5.00 for kids under 12.

The Gabriola Women’s Institute invites you to their Bake and Craft Sale, which will be on Saturday, December 5th from 10 am to 1pm at the Women’s Institute Hall. There will be delicious homemade goodies and exquisite knitting.

Come help count the birds on Gabriola! This event will take place on Sunday, December 27th, and you can help. If you’re new to birdwatching, you’ll be paired with somebody who knows what to look for, so you’ll have all the help you need.

There’s also a training session on Saturday, December 19th, starting at 9:50 am at the Agi Hall.

Interested? Phone (name and number removed)

Update: this event is now all organized, so there’s no more room for volunteers this year. Gabriola’s Christmas Bird Count will happen again next December, though, so watch this site for the announcement in December 2010.

Here’s information from Wikipedia about Christmas Bird Counts, which happen throughout North America:

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer birders. The purpose is to provide population data for use in science, especially conservation biology, though many people participate for recreation. [continue]

The Islands Trust is hosting a Community Information Meeting on Thursday, November 26, 2009 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, at the Gabriola Women’s Institute Hall. There will be an open house before the meeting starts, from 7pm to 7:30pm.

The topic of the meeting is Climate Change on Gabriola, DeCourcy, and Mudge Islands.

The Islands Trust meeting announcement says:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Gabriola Island Agricultural Association will have its anual Christmas Fair on Saturday November 21st (10 am to 4pm) and Sunday November 22nd (11 am to 3 pm). The fair will be at the Gabriola Community Hall: 2200 South Road.

There will be over 30 vendors with made-on-Gabriola products. Santa will be there, too. Bring your own camera/kids/pets. Donations to PALS will be gratefully accepted for your visit with Santa.

This event features comfort food from Anna’s kitchen.

Are you a vegetarian or a vegan, or interested in becoming one? If so, come to the first meeting of the Gabriola vegetarian/vegan support group, Saturday, December 12th, 1 pm at the Gabriola Commons.

At this first gathering, we hope to discuss all sorts of ideas for building a continuing group. Bring your thoughts and inspirations! If you would also like to bring along some finger food to celebrate our launch, that would be lovely! For further info, call Sheila at 247-8482.

Victor Anthony’s 3rd annual Concert For The Commons is set for Saturday, December 5th (and Sunday, December 6th) at The Roxy. All ticket proceeds will go to funding the many various projects both planned and ongoing at the Gabriola Commons.

Last year, Victor was joined onstage by Gabriola favourites Kathy McIntyre and Nathan Tinkham and this time around, there’s a host of special guests. Nathan will be back, adding dobro, guitar, vocals and whatever else he pleases to the mix. Alison Humphries is an underappreciated master (or is that mistress?) of fingerstyle acoustic guitar and she and Victor (a/k/a The Fiddlesniffers) will present a few instrumental duets of traditional tunes arranged for two guitars. And speaking of fiddle tunes, Sarah Tradewell will be coming up from Victoria to join the festivities. She’s one of BC’s bright and shining young musical stars and once you’ve heard her play, you’ll know why. And she can sing too! Victor is especially pleased to be sharing the stage with one of Canada’s best-known Dixieland jazz musicians, Lloyd Arntzen. Lloyd and bassist Ken Capon will add some serious swing to the proceedings. All in all, it’s an outstanding lineup.

Tickets are $15 and available at Artworks. Doors will open at 7pm on Saturday; downbeat 7:30. See you there!

UPDATE: The Saturday concert is sold out, so another show has been added: Sunday, Dec 6 at 2pm, The Roxy. Victor says: There are about 20 seats left so tell your pals. Sign-up is at Artworks and tix will be sold at the door (opens at 1:30) with those signed up in advance receiving priority.

You’re invited to join GabriolaRadio.com’s Free Internet Cultural Radio project. Interested? Come to the meeting on Thursday, November 19th Thursday, December 3rd at 7:30pm. For meeting details or more information about the project, call Peggy Richardson (250-247-2055 or -866-907-4084), or send her a note (info@gabriolaradio.com).

Peggy notes that

This is not affiliated with the Co-Op Gabriola FM project (which is traditional radio), but rather, a more grass-roots and immediate approach.

Initial information about the proposed project can be found at gabriolaradio.com, although much on that site is not yet working, as the project is pre-launch.

Gabriola Island Recycling Organization (GIRO) invites you to the GIRO Christmas Sale. It will be at the Rollo Seniors Centre (685 North Road) on Satuday November 28th from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. GIRO says you’ll find

Loads of gently used and new Christmas gifts, decorations, trees and more.