– by Gillian Crowley –
Literature, music, film and art make February anything but grey.
Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane:
Enjoy readings by two award-winning poets, Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane, who launch this year’s Red Brick Readings series. The series will feature renowned local authors and acts as a fundraiser for the Oct. 2-4, 2015 Sidney & Peninsula Literary Festival. In 2014, Patrick Lane was awarded the Order of Canada recognizing his more than 50 years of contributions to Canadian poetry and literature. He’s been described as “our most essential poet: tough, tender, fearless, and beautifully dangerous.” Lorna Crozier has authored 14 books of poetry, including The Garden Going on Without Us, Angels of Flesh, Angels of Silence and Inventing the Hawk, winner of the 1992
Governor-General’s Award. Her poetry is described as “breathtakingly down-to-earth and reassuringly lyrical.”
Live music and 50-50 draw. Advance tickets at Tanner’s Books, Sidney and Munro’s Books, Victoria. Also at the door at 6.30 p.m. Limited seating.
Fri. Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Red Brick Café, 2423 Beacon, Sidney
James Keelaghan Trio:
JUNO Award-winning Canadian folk singer songwriter James Keelaghan is known for his lilting voice, driving rhythm guitar, and keen sense of scene and narrative. Some songs, like Fires of Calais and Kiri’s Piano weave their way through historical stories with underlying universal themes. Others deal with more recent dramas, such as House of Cards. This is bound to be a memorable evening.
Sun. Feb 8, 8 p.m., Mary Winspear Centre
Film Festival Comes to Sidney:
The Star Cinema will kick off the week-long Festival with feel-good movie Boychoir directed by François Girard. Following a family tragedy, a young boy is uprooted to a musical boarding school where he finds himself in conflict with the Choirmaster (Dustin Hoffman), who hears potential in the boy’s voice. Prefer documentaries? On February 12 see a bit of local history in Seventy-One Years. In October 2013, three forestry engineers outside Port Renfrew stumbled upon the wreckage of a 1940’s war-time aircraft, sparking an investigation into a 71-year-old mystery.
Find Sidney’s full program at www.victoriafilmfestival.com
Starts Feb. 7 at Star Cinema with National Gallery at 3 p.m. and Boychoir at 7 p.m.
Artists at Village Gallery:
BC artist William Phillip Watt has explored various art avenues such as printmaking, photography, serigraphy and drawing. In the last 15 years he has focused more on painting with acrylics and now oils. He expresses a straight forward visual language in his work, responding to what connects us to our feelings of the land. Richard Shaw, originally a stonemason, uses wood and metal that has been re-claimed, re-cycled and re-purposed. He says his goal is to create work that captures the grace, power and beauty of animals.
All February, Village Gallery on Beacon
Robert Bateman Presents:
Special guest speaker and world famous artist, Robert Bateman, will lead a special evening with a book signing, silent auction and dinner. Peninsula Gallery will provide his beautiful artwork for sale in support of the Rest Haven Foundation while Tanner’s Books will bring a wide selection of Bateman books available for signing.
Thursday, Feb. 26, doors open at 5.30 p.m., dinner at 6.30 p.m.
Tickets $75 at Mary Winspear Centre, online or call 250-656-0275
