The Okanagan Art Gallery celebrates MASTERS OF THE OKANAGAN with its First Friday monthly reception, March 6th from 5 – 7 p.m. The show opens at the Okanagan Art Gallery #5 8302 Main Street, Osoyoos BC. The show will feature three of the OAG’s professional artists, Mike Jordan, Larry Hunter and Anne-Marie Harvey. They will be featuring works done in both oil and acrylic.

This March’s Alive after Five First Friday will feature wine presented by Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery. What better way to celebrate Spring. For information, call 604 308-3995. Or you can go to our website at www.okanaganartgallery.ca

Pastel power suit? Check. Pince-nez? Check. Scottish accent? Check. The Lord is in the building.

Canadian comedian Mike Delamont entertains in his one-man show, God is a Scottish Drag Queen. As the Almighty, he shares God’s trade secrets and pokes gentle fun at humankind’s follies. God is the comedian, not the punchline. Come and hear why God has a soft spot for monkeys, apologizes for creating redheads, and shakes his head over circumcision, Justin Bieber, tacky religious theme parks, and Scientology. In Delamont’s show, God is the comedian, not the punchline.

What elevates the comedy is Delamont’s marvelous delivery. He combines the wacky exuberance of Dame Edna and the razor-sharp wit of Eddie Izzard. With glasses perched on the end of his nose, and the commanding presence and accent of Scottish funnyman Billy Connolly, Delamont’s Deity is feisty, candid, and endearing. Such is his divine comedic power that in only minutes you forget you’re watching an ungainly frump of a man in an ugly dress. Decidedly irreverent but not sacrilegious, this is damned funny stuff.

Delamont’s divine talent has been recognized with 22 “Best of the Fest” awards and 3 Canadian Comedy Award nominations for his Adam’s-rib-tickling hilarious shows that have sold out major theatres from coast to coast. Victoria’s Mike Delamont is easily one of the fastest-rising standup comedians in Canada.

God is a Scottish Drag Queen opens at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday March 14 at the Venables Theatre (6100 Gala Street, Oliver). Tickets are $30. For more information visit www.venablestheatre.ca

God is a Scottish Drag Queen is presented by Venables Theatre with the support of the Community Presenters Assistance program (of the BC Arts Council and BC Touring Council) as well as The Coast Oliver Hotel.

Cold weather and quiet evenings getting you down? Crush your cabin fever by joining us at the Oliver Museum for a board games night for grown-ups!

On Wednesday March 11th from 6 – 8 pm, bring your friends and head to the museum’s galleries to play, chat, and escape from those winter blues. Play our varied selection of board games or bring your own! Warm drinks and snacks will be provided, and gamers will also have the chance to explore our exhibits after hours. RSVP at the Oliver and District Heritage Society’s Facebook page by March 11th to attend. So, come out, test your luck, and game your winter doldrums away!

What a way to end the season!  The Montreal Guitar Trio, described by the CBC as the hottest guitar ensemble in Canada, will be performing Friday, March 20^th at 7:30 pm at Venables Theatre, Oliver.   Presented by the South Okanagan Concert Society,  this Trio is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser and judging by previous performances  a full house is anticipated.

Get your tickets quickly on line at www.venablestheatre.ca or contact the theatre box office Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 to 3 pm at 250-498-1626.  Supported by generous sponsors, tickets are exceptionally affordable.  Two or more tickets in advance are only $21/ticket.  Single Tickets in advance are $23 and at the door if there are any left, $25.  Youth are ‘almost free’ at $2.50 so young people have opportunity to experience really fine live music locally. 

The Montreal Guitar Trio is a “force to be reckoned with”.  For over 20 years, the trio’s virtuosity, rigour, creativity and impressive stage presence has won converts all over the world.   Humour and interacting with the audience go hand in hand with this group in hundreds of concerts in prestigious venues across North America,  Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

The trio is composed of guitarists, Sebastien Dufour, Glenn Levesque and Marc Morin performing on Bruno Boutin guitars.   They first met as classical music students at the University of Montreal.  This year they are marking the 20^th anniversary of their first live concert.   That conservatory background hasn’t stopped them from tackling flamenco and tango, nuances of Indian and Arabic music, hits from Queen and Rush or even Emio Marricone’s music for spaghetti westerns! As a trio, they have released six albums and won an Opus award for concert of the year in the Jazz & World Music category.  In January 2017 the trio launched its 7^th album “Danzas” in Montreal.  It pays tribute to the great composers of Spanish music such as Paco de Lucia and Manuel de Falla.

Even more interesting, is the sextet that has emerged when the Montreal Guitar Trio combined with the California Guitar Trio some ten years ago.  Now each group performs as individual trios but approximately half their gigs are as a sextet together.   This has invigorated both groups and speeds past classical oriented guitar acts to embrace a wider contemporary repertoire and unexpected approaches.  A new album “In a New Landscape” was created together and has recently been released.

You can expect an exceptional concert when you arrive at the Venables Theatre March 20^th.  Don’t forget next year’s SOCS series will be revealed and early bird tickets available for sale in the theatre foyer.