If you’re interested, consider these things:

• Are you organized?
• Can you write, spell, and punctuate?
• Can you learn new things?

If you said yes to those questions, then maybe this is the Gabriola volunteer thing for you. Training provided, if you need it. The site is pretty easy to run.

Limitations: the site will not have advertising on it. The site will not exist to promote you or your business. It’s about events, that’s all.

If you’re interested, drop me a note.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The stories of Cougar Annie, who survived in the wilderness by her wily ways, having arrived on these forbidding shores almost 100 years ago, have been the subject of a huge repository of folklore. Katrina has drawn upon many sources as she composed her more than 30 songs and narrative about this colourful character and her unconventional life.

Having won a Rotary Music youth vocalist scholarship at age 9, Katrina has since become a skilled guitarist, songwriter, and has studied piano and banjo to accompany many years of vocal training, which include jazz, musical theater and opera. Her voice has been described as powerful, sweet, and unapologetic. Her debut CD of original songs, Whirlpools, was recorded in Calgary, AB and released independently in 1998. She has since performed in Canada, the USA, Ireland, and England.

Katrina is also working toward producing a recording of the songs on CD entitled Pioneer ballads and Cougar Annie’s tales.

Cougar Annie’s Garden is now owned by the charitable organization, Boat Basin Foundation. The Foundation works to maintain the heritage site where Annie eked out an existence for herself and her family, and stewards the surrounding 117 acres of remote west coast forest that has become the site of an educational retreat facility.

As well as drawing from her more than 30 original songs on this topic, Katrina will show a series of slides, both new and old, of the area, accompanied by narrative drawn from her considerable research on the area and Cougar Annie.

For more about Katrina, see her website at katrinakadoski.com, or her myspace page.

Event details: Location: Agi Hall. The evening’s schedule: 6:30 pm: set-up and jam. 7:00 pm: open stage. 9-10pm: feature. Admission is $5.00.

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!

• 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

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Frostiana has nothing to do with snowmen or ice: It was written by Randall Thompson to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, where the poet Robert Frost had lived for some time. Thompson, who was a friend of Frost’s, chose to compose a suite of seven poems which provide a nostalgic glimpse of rural life. Like the choir in the Gabriola Chamber Ensemble, the chorus which first performed Frostiana was made up of singers from throughout the township. Robert Frost himself attended and, history has it, was so delighted that at the conclusion of the performance, he rose to his feet and shouted, Sing that again!

In addition to music by Steven Chatman, Sonata da Chiesa by harpsichordist/composer Brian Joyce will have its Canadian debut. And the past will join the present when special guest trombonist and former ensemble director, John Capon, plays Halsey Stevens’ Sonatina with current director, Leah Hokanson, on piano.

Tickets to There is Sweet Music Here are $12 at the door. Children under 10 are free if they come with an adult.

• 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.

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

The Islands Trust meeting announcement says:

In the Islands Trust Area, Local Trust Committees have authority to regulate land use. Local Trust Committees and the residents of the islands can significantly influence future greenhouse gas emissions through Official Community Plan policies and actions.

For example, the design and layout of roads, buildings and communitites direclty influence greenhouse gas emissions. Plan policies can encourage green building. The Official Community Plans can also highlight local initiatives and practices that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Because the Islands Trust’s primary responsibility is land use planning, we are committed to creating sustainable island communities through innovative land use planning and advocacy initiatives in partnership with other levels of government and local community groups. The changes proposed to the Official Community Plans will focus actions that can be taken by the Islands Trust and island residents, but we will also make recommendations to other agencies on how they can help our islands achieve our targets. (…)

Gabriolans: you may have heard that the Official Community Plan is soon to be under review. This greenhouse gas emissions reduction project will be integrated into the overall changes to the Official Community Plan and is just one part of the larger review.

Please attend and help to craft locally-based policies and targets that make sense for our island.

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.

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.

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.