Never sculpted in your life? Don’t consider yourself an artist? Let Maureen Walker show you how easy it can be with her step-by-step process and just a few simple tools. Students have already exclaimed about their own creations and how much they enjoy her classes.
Classes are all held at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street, Oliver. Register for one or more or all! Each requires a separate pre-registration deposit. Class size limited. Masks required. All COVID protocols will be followed.
We regret to announce the 2021 Fall Art Show and Sale (FASS) has been cancelled. We began the year with great hope that we would be able to mount a safe, enjoyable show. Recent events have proven otherwise. We are joining an ever-growing list of events that are shuttering this fall.
First, be assured that we are reimbursing everyone who has paid an entry fee, including any membership purchased with a FASS entry. If you wish to remain a member and only have your entry fee reimbursed, let us know. Artwork created for the show will of course be welcome at next year’s event.
Why the cancellation? We did work hard to design a flow-through environment at our smaller venue, and balanced a budget to reflect these changes. However, there are several reasons the event is now less viable:
Closure of “Fall Festival Weekend”, with which we are linked, is announcing today that they are cancelling. That includes the Wine Village Kick-Off, Cask and Keg, Festival of the Grape, and some other events. With that closure comes a significant loss of promotion and audience. We lose advertising, the FFW route map, the wine bus tour, and wine service. We lose potentially hundreds of visitors, the visitors we rely on every year to purchase artwork. While we could mount a much quieter show, this is not the experience we promised nor what our artists have come to expect.
Health Concerns: With a spike in variant cases in the Okanagan projected well into the fall, coinciding with a return to school and the appeal of wine tourism drawing even more people to the area, we have come to believe the timing is poor to encourage visitors to an indoor gathering.
Public relations: We are concerned about running an event when there is uncertainty about fall health orders and mandates. We do not wish to be seen as contributing to the spread of disease or encouraging folks from other regions to come here. We are also concerned about our FASS volunteers. According to guidance from the province, events will be required to ask visitors for proof of vaccination. We are concerned about our volunteers being in this position with no training and little time to prepare. They may face challenging situations and should not be expected to act as security. No one wants to treat our volunteers that way. We have had many new artists express interest in entering. While this is thrilling for us, we also don’t want their first experience of the show to be a pale shadow of what we know we can be.
We know this is a disappointment, and we apologize to those who have already entered, to those busy creating art specifically for this show, and to those audiences who have simply been looking forward to some normalcy.
If you have contacted us as a new artist, we would happily add you to our artist contact list to inform you of any upcoming art show plans.
If you have any questions or concerns we would be happy to address them.
The OCAC Board is already brainstorming safe art activities and other ways to keep our community engaged, and will say more when our ideas become plans. Until then, keep following us, stay safe and keep creating!
Those cunning RipOff Artists are sneaking back to the scene of their last “crime”! The local artist collective returns with a two-fisted exhibit at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre from August 18 – 21, 2021. One display will feature their 2020 challenge: interpretations of Marc Chagall’s “The Blue Circus” in ten different media. Cue the acrobats! For a sneak peek, click HERE. The artists planned this 2020 challenge via Zoom, and each worked in their home studios to complete the project. But there were no witnesses to their 2020 rip-off until now. Their work will finally be exposed to public view this week.
The other part of the exhibit will be a remounting of their A.Y. Jackson challenge from July 2021: “Nellie Lake, Killarney”. In recognition of Oliver’s 100 x 100 Festival, this challenge transplanted Jackson’s Ontario landscape to the south Okanagan. Come see how many Oliver landmarks you can recognize!
Meet all the artists at an opening reception on Wednesday August 18 from 6 – 8 p.m. Live music! The exhibit will remain open daily from Thursday August 19 through Saturday August 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The RipOff Artists also held two workshops earlier in the week, for small pre-registered classes of six each. Jan Kreut taught Intro to Encaustic on Monday, and JoAnn Turner taught Brilliant Colour and the Impressionists on Tuesday of this week. Did you miss out? Those RipOff Artists are sooo sneaky! Stay up-to-date with their shenanigans by following their Facebook page so you can be on their trail and catch them in the act!
Join a FREE workshop to paint vineyard poles for display throughout Oliver, as part of a larger town beautification project. No artistic talent is required! Sign up to simply slather on a base coat. Tools and supplies provided. Feel more adventurous as a pole artist? Paint your pole in bright colours when the base coat dries, or take it home to decorate in your own special way. The Chamber of Commerce will plant completed poles throughout the downtown area.
Workshops run Monday August 2 – Thursday August 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre (Studio Building) at 5840 Airport Street. Come to one or many! PRE-REGISTER to avoid disappointment by phoning the Chamber of Commerce at 250-535-3335 or clicking the email link above.
The Oliver Community Arts Council is a proud sponsor of this Grow Oliver project.
Summer just isn’t summer until you’ve kicked off your shoes in the cool evening grass and swayed in your lawnchair to some great tunes. Music in the Park brings summer back with local favourites and some new bands too.
NEW this year: Concerts start Thursday August 12 for three Thursday evenings from 6:30 – 8:00 followed by two SUNDAY AFTERNOONS from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Feel like you haven’t had a proper summer yet? Well, we’re going to keep the music going as long as we can!
First up is the sister act, Sister Soul (Thursday August 12), featuring Diane Ball’s sweet singing and piano, and sister Joanne Fauteux with her gutsy rock vocals and guitar. They were a hit duo in 2019 and we’re bringing ’em back. Whether it’s a 70s pop ballad by the Eagles or an 80s rock song by Heart, these ladies have it covered.
Sister Soul: Diane Ball and Joanne Fauteux
Rebel Luv (Thursday August 19) is simply “Mikie and Ken” to locals. They are a constant crowd pleaser and will be sure to get people up dancing and smiling and singing along. Ken on rock guitar is the perfect balance to Mikie’s country leanings. They sing and play their hearts out every time. This year they are the featured “Feed the Valley” concert, sponsored by Valley First. Please bring along an Oliver Food Bank donation.
Double Stop Creek: Sue McEvoy and Denise Soule
Double Stop Creek (Thursday August 26) comes down from Anarchist Mountain bringing great country music with them. Sue McEvoy and Denise Soule, perform the “heart and soule” of country, with big smiles and country charm.
Every year we bring something NEW! This time, it’s Rollin’ Coal (SUNDAY August 29). The band comes to us from Kelowna, performing classic tunes in a number of styles including 50’s/60’s rock, Latin grooves, country and a sprinkle of reggae and blues. NEW day and time for these last two concerts! Start time is 2:00 p.m. so you can linger longer in the late summer afternoon.
Mike Hilliard and Sabrina Weeks
Wrapping things up on the long weekend are Sabrina Weeks & Mike Hilliard (SUNDAY September 5) from Kamloops. Winners of the prestigious Maple Blues Award, Sabrina and Mike are a class act, performing a mix of smooth jazz ballads and blues. Sabrina oozes charisma with her rich sultry voice and stage presence while Mike is a wonder on electric blues guitar.
Please bring a cash donation in support of the Oliver Community Arts Council.
All concerts are at the Oliver Community Park band shell. Concerts move into the community hall in bad weather. A food truck will be on site for suppers, or feel free to bring your own picnic. Watch for pop-up booths of merchandise and community info. All health protocols in place as part of the BC Restart Plan will be observed, especially physical distancing and sanitizing. This keeps it fun for everyone!
We are grateful to our ongoing sponsor, Valley First.
The Ripoff Artists are at it again! This year, the target of their larcenous endeavours is A.Y. Jackson of the Group of Seven, and his “Hills Killarney (Nellie Lake).” See for yourself as the Ripoff Artists use sly skills to interpret this artwork in their own media, every day from July 6 to 10, 9 am to 3 pm, at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre at 5840 Airport Street in Oliver. Saturday will be the big rush to finish their pieces before 3 pm!
In honour of Oliver’s 100×100 celebration, the nefarious gang interpreted Oliver landmarks in the style of A.Y. Jackson, even luring members of the SOSS Art Club into artistic skulduggery. See their efforts on display at the Quail’s Nest, as they warmed up their slippery fingers and artistic wiles for this summer’s shameless exploitation of a Canadian art legend.
Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974) was born in Montreal, worked in a printer’s shop as a boy, and studied fine art there. He later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent time in France. Montreal had no interest in new Canadian art, then a letter from eager young painters about one of his paintings took Jackson to the cultural backwater of Toronto. His knowledge of the art world and the fresh ideas of Tom Thomson and others combined into innovative ways of painting the rugged Canadian landscape. The friends set themselves up in a large studio in downtown Toronto, and made canoeing trips to Algonquin Park and Georgian Bay, sitting on rocks and stumps in all weathers to paint tiny panels they expanded into full sized paintings back in Toronto.
Jackson shared a studio with Thomson, then served as a war artist in the First World War. In 1920, the “Algonquin” painters exhibited for the first time as the Group of Seven.
Jackson was often seen as the spokesman of the Group. Another member, Arthur Lismer, wrote that “Jackson has done more than any other writer or artist to bind us to our own environment and make us vitally aware of the significance, beauty and character of the land.” Jackson was the last surviving member of the Group of Seven and is buried in the grounds of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario.
Art is definitely not “for the birds” – except in this one instance. The Oliver Community Arts Council and the Fibre Art Network (FAN) are excited to be sponsoring “For the Birds”, a travelling art exhibit featuring a flock of 88 feathered friends. This colourful display of fibre art from across Western Canada comes to roost briefly at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre in Oliver before taking flight on a three-year tour.
Using birds as their theme, 62 members of FAN created personal interpretations of all aspects of a bird’s life, interests and interactions with the world it inhabits. The exhibit features eight-inch square pieces of artwork in a wide variety of fibre mediums, styles and innovative techniques. Each miniature, like the birds they represent, is a tiny marvel of ingenuity and beauty.
The exhibit will be open July 16 and 17, Friday and Saturday, from 10 am – 4 pm both days, in the smaller Studio Building at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre (5840 Airport Street, Oliver). Admission is free and everyone is welcome. Any current COVID-19 restrictions will apply. Weather permitting, the Studio bay doors will be rolled open for maximum ventilation.
FAN is a 90+ member co-operative network of fibre artists from across Western Canada. Every year, FAN produces a large format exhibition for galleries, and a small format exhibit designed to be loaned to guilds, art groups and libraries throughout Canada for a three-year tour.
For the Birds is the group’s current small exhibit, which begins extensive touring in September. The Arts Council and FAN are pleased to preview this exhibit before it migrates to other parts of Canada. See it before it flies away! Binoculars not required.
To learn more about this exhibit or other FAN exhibitions and artists, go to fibreartnetwork.com.
Editor: The Fall Art Show and Sale has been cancelled. Please visit HERE for details.
The Oliver Community Arts Council announces a SMALL FALL Art Show & Sale (Small FASS) on Friday October 1 to Sunday October 3, 2021. The show and sale runs concurrently with Oliver’s Fall Festival Weekend including Cask & Keg (Saturday) and the Festival of the Grape (Sunday). It’s a great time to showcase (and sell) your artwork! YES, you read it right, we are expanding to THREE days of exhibit and sales.
There are many changes this year, both to the fall festival events and to the Fall Art Show & Sale, to comply with COVID-19 restrictions that may still be in place in October. Change #1: The venue will be the STUDIO at our very own Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street, Oliver BC. (The usual venue at the community hall will be closed that weekend.) However, FASS will be on the fall festival weekend map route, and included in all the usual festival promotions, so we do expect to have lots of visitors.
See below for other ways this show will differ, yet still be awesome!
Visual artists in all media are encouraged to enter. New artists are always welcome. Because we have limited space this year (50 – 60 works of art, instead of 100 – 120) we are limiting entries to:
one work of art per person
adult entries (no Budding or Emerging artists this year) We may open up the entries late summer for two per artist but only if there is still room available, so be sure to get your ONE entry in early so you don’t miss your chance to have a second spot!
There will be NO THEME, just “Artist’s Choice”. This is to make it easier for you to enter any new work. We will delay the theme year until 2022, when we hope to be back in our usual venue with a really big show.
Categories include Photography, Oils, Acrylics, Watercolours, Three-Dimensional, (including pottery, sculpting, jewelry, wood, iron, glasswork) Mixed/Other Media, and Fibre Arts (including quilting, weaving, fashion design, and more). See the attached sheet for some category definitions. See the entry terms and guidelines for restrictions on size. We will be unable to accommodate oversize pieces. It is a SMALL FALL Art Show & Sale, after all!
To limit contact points and congestion, we are spreading out the times for artwork delivery and pickup. No standing in line!! No crowding!! See the entry form to choose your preferred dates and times for art drop-off and return.
Janice Goodman with her award-winning acrylic entry “Yuh Lookin’ at Me???”
We are honoured to present some special awards this year. While there will not be the usual crowded reception, live entertainment and awards ceremony, we will present the “Janice Goodman awards”, three quail trophies to commemorate this dedicated FASS volunteer (pictured above). These awards will be “people’s choice”, using a simple ballot.
DEADLINE:Entry forms must be received by Friday, September 10, 2021. Early bird draw! Submit your form and fee before that date for a chance to win back your entry fee OR enter a second piece for free.
Artwork need not be completed by the entry deadline. Artwork is delivered to the venue the day before the show, Thursday September 30. This gives artists up to three extra weeks to complete their piece.
Membership in the Oliver Community Arts Council is not required but does reduce the entry fee for submissions. If you ARE a current member, your entry fee is $20 instead of $25. If you become an OCAC member when submitting your FASS entry form in 2021 FASS, your membership remains current to the end of 2022 and can be applied again for your 2022 FASS entry. If you are uncertain of your current membership status, please contact us.
Check out our ENTRY FORMS page and scroll down to the FASS section. EMAIL us if you have questions not answered by the FASS Artist FAQ.
Hard copies of the entry forms will also become available at the Oliver Visitors Information Centre on Station Street and the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre on Airport Street.
We are really excited about showcasing art in our very own studio space! The arts centre has undergone many renovations in the last year, and we look forward to you enjoying the venue as well as the art!
Good news! The Quail’s Nest Arts Centre has reopened just in time for Summer Studio bookings!
OCAC memberscan book the Studio Building for weekly summer rentals at the unbelievably low price of a $75 flat fee. Weeks are still available in July and August. BOOK SOON before the remaining weeks are gone!
A “week” is a minimum of three consecutive days to a maximum of six consecutive days within the Sunday to Saturday weekly calendar. e.g. Tuesday to Thursday, Monday to Saturday. The same $75 fee applies regardless how many days in the week you use.
Offer a small workshop, open a temporary studio, hold a series of demonstrations, advertise a sale, teach classes – any event of an artistic nature. Or book the space for your own personal artistic time, especially if you need a larger space for “messy” work or uninterrupted quiet: do some painting, spinning or dyeing, practicing music or recording a video.
Everyone must comply with our COVID Safety Plan when using the building, including compliance with occupancy limits, contact tracing, and sanitizing.
The Quail’s Nest Arts Centre is located at 5840 Airport Street, Oliver BC. The smaller of the two buildings, the STUDIO building (pictured), is available for rent. It has undergone several small renovations in the past year.
While the space is not air-conditioned, the bays and doors open up for a nice breeze. There is a full kitchen to make your lunch and chill some bevvies. There is WiFi to support your digital media. If you anticipate a lot of kitchen use (cooking meals, running the dishwasher) or a liquor event, add a $10 surcharge.
Renting for consecutive days means you also have exclusive use during evenings and overnight, so you can store your supplies without interruption. Of course, you are also responsible for your own “no-trace” cleanup at the end. We have cleaning supplies to help you with that!
Contact the rental agent by EMAIL for information and bookings. When your dates are confirmed, you can use the Rental form HERE to complete the rental contract and submit your payment.
Call for Artistic Instructors! Please share this message with arts group members and creative friends. Feel free to post the attached poster along with this message on social media.
Do you have a teachable artistic skill? Leading music, simple dance moves, sketching, zen doodling, theatre sports, painting, fibre or fabric arts, sculpting? Some simple project that can be taught in an hour-long class? An hour of dance, stretch, movement, theatre, or singing that you can lead?
The Desert Sun Counselling Centre is contracting art instructors to teach small groups of isolated seniors in Oliver and Osoyoos in their Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors (TAPS). Their goal is to help seniors who have been most impacted by COVID lockdowns to socialize and become more active. Classes will be held outdoors and in groups of no more than ten total, until health guidelines change.
The Oliver Community Arts Council is a proud sponsor of the TAPS program! We have been acting in an advisory capacity to help with the program’s rollout.
The TAPS program schedules art classes for an hour in the late morning from Monday – Thursday, for a total of four hours. Each group has a maximum of eight clients. The first round of TAPS classes begins in June and July, with a second and third phase of the program extending into the fall. See the attachment for the full schedule of TAPS activities.
Art instructors could be hired for one set of classes, or for repeated classes depending on interest, availability, and the variety of instruction offered.
Desert Sun will pay all art instructors $30/hr through a fee-for-service contract, and supply some mileage assistance if travelling between Oliver and Osoyoos. All instructors must complete a criminal record check, permitting them to work with vulnerable seniors. All instructors, staff and clients will abide by all health protocols. Instructors are responsible for reporting taxable income.
Complete the application form (download the PDF below):
This is a terrific way to bring joy and companionship – as well as a sense of accomplishment and creativity – back into seniors’ lives.
Instructors need not be members of the arts council or any arts group, just able to teach something fun and artistic. Please pass this message far and wide to your creative friends in the visual and performance arts!
For more information, please contact either Bonnie Dancey at Desert Sun or the Oliver Community Arts Council.
One Hundred X One Hundred (x̌cəcikst X x̌cəcikst) Project Call for Logo Design Submissions
What is the One Hundred X One Hundred project? The year 2021 marks 100 years of the Oliver community, a community formed on and shaped by the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, whose history stretches back 10,000 years. The One Hundred X One Hundred (x̌cəcikst X x̌cəcikst) project provides an opportunity to explore our roots and share wisdom to build a stronger shared community, a deeper connection to the land, and to grow our future together for generations to follow. The project Planning Committee, coordinated by the Oliver Parks and Recreation Society, is seeking submissions from local artists of all ages to assist in the development of the primary design/logo for all promotions throughout 2021 to create recognition and pride for the project. We are looking for graphic designs that reflects the rich history of our community as a whole, acknowledges the land and water on which we live, work and play, and that inspires us to grow together.
What kind of artwork can I submit? While the Committee will be promoting ways throughout 2021 to engage artists from all art categories, the immediate outcome is to develop a design or logo to brand the project for marketing purposes. This first opportunity is a call to local visual and graphic artists to submit original designs/concepts for consideration as the primary logo for the One Hundred X One Hundred project. Key themes or words brought forward through community engagement to date include: the Okanagan River, the land, Sockeye Salmon, Bighorn Sheep, California Quail, agriculture, ranching, the Valley, desert grasslands, Nylintin (McIntyre Bluff), mountains, lakes, Ponderosa Pine, orchards, wineries, Sagebrush, Bitterroot, Saskatoon berry, the sun, dry hot climate. Simple designs with few elements, strong lines and bold colours are recommended. Keep in mind the design needs to work in a small format, such as a poster logo or a badge. Designs that incorporate the text “100 x 100” or “One Hundred X One Hundred” are welcomed, but not required.
How and where do I submit my artwork? Starting January 11th, 2020, you can submit designs/art by mail, electronically via email or social media, or drop it off in person. In all cases, please ensure you include contact information including name, email address and phone number for follow up by the Committee. Please submit your artwork between Monday January 11 and Friday, February 5th to be considered as the primary design for the project.
One Hundred X One Hundred Committee c/o Oliver Parks and Recreation PO Box 627, Oliver BC V0H 1T0 info @ oliverrecreation.ca (Please indicate “100X100 Project Logo Design” in the subject line) Administration Office (Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm) 6359 Park Drive in the Community Centre complex Phone 250-498-4985
What will happen to my artwork once submitted? Once submitted designs for the project have been received, artists will be contacted to complete an entry form providing consent for the work to a) become the property of the One Hundred X One Hundred Committee and b) shared publicly within and beyond the community for project purposes and to be archived. The Committee will reserve the right to choose which design to use for project purposes, may use submissions in part or in whole, and concepts may be digitized and/or re-worked for meet the needs of the project. Not all artwork received by the committee will be used for the project. The artist/s whose work is chosen by the committee to be used as the project design/logo will be acknowledged in the media and future promotions and receive a $250.00 honorarium and framed copy of the final design.
Oliver’s arts council is going “retro” to celebrate its 50th anniversary and kicks off the occasion with a fun contest called “RETRO-spective”, awarding prizes at summer’s end.
On June 24, 1970, the Oliver Community Arts Council was incorporated as a BC society, and has been “running” ever since, just like its quirky quail logo. The council represents all visual and performing arts: dance, theatre, choirs, instrumental groups, mixed media, textile and fibre arts groups, graphic design, painters, photographers, and culinary arts. The council produces several events each year: the Fall Art Show & Sale, Music in the Park, Holly Jolly Oliver, Showcase of Talent, CreateAbility, and the Wine Capital Art Walk. The council includes twenty member groups, fifteen member businesses and roughly eighty individual members.
The council invites the public to submit their favourite memories of the Oliver arts scene any time from the last 50 years. Entries can take the form of funny anecdotes, sentimental stories, old photos, or memorabilia from an arts event. Submissions can also be fresh creations: a collage, commemorative poem or song, celebratory dance, sculpture or painting. Entries are accepted from the general public, whether audience members, artists, performers, arts event organizers, or volunteers, whether last year or last century.
All ages and skill levels, both locals and non-locals, arts council members and non-members are welcome to enter. Now is the time to dig out the old photo album or box of souvenirs, recall your favourite memories, or simply to reflect on what Oliver’s arts scene means to you. Perhaps Agnes Sutherland taught you piano in the 70s, or you performed in a musical on the old Venables stage. Maybe you strolled through a Summer Studio exhibit in the CPR station in the 90s, took an art class, won an award at the Fall Art Show or rocked out last summer at a concert in the park.
Submit entries by email, attached as a photo, document, or video. Send to OliverCAC @ gmail.com with the subject line “RETRO-spective”. For more information, call 250-498-0183. RETRO-spective runs from June 24 to August 24. A committee will select three winners, each receiving their choice of $50 gift certificate from one of the arts council’s many member groups and businesses.
The Oliver Community Arts Council regrets to announce the cancellation of its 37th annual Fall Art Show and Sale which was set for October 3 – 4, 2020. For the last 14 years, this large multimedia art show has appeared in the same venue and on the same weekend as Cask and Keg (Saturday) and the Festival of the Grape (Sunday). Both these Oliver Tourism events were cancelled in mid-June.
While the Fall Art Show and Sale (FASS) ran for more than two decades independently, it would be very difficult to maintain the distancing and sanitization necessary to mount this flagship event in a comparable format. The FASS requires 300 person-hours just during the one-day set-up and two-day show, with large crews working closely together to move display materials and furnishings, receive and return artwork, display the art, and providing services during the show. Maintaining distance between visitors viewing artwork poses many challenges, as would sanitizing between visits. Extending the length of the show to allow a prolonged set-up and public viewing in smaller numbers would increase expenses, especially rental; and the lack of other drivers that draw audiences would seriously compromise revenue. We are also aware that many participants and volunteers fall into a high-risk category for COVID-19.
The arts council is rescheduling the Fall Art Show and Sale for Saturday October 2 and Sunday October 3rd in 2021, in conjunction with the Fall Festival weekend. The theme of the show will remain the same as planned for this year: “Seasons of Life”. Any artwork already begun or considered for this year using that theme will be welcomed next year. As is usual, art with other subject matter will also be accepted. Updated entry forms for 2021 will be made available by the fall. Click the hyperlink or email us for your form. We look forward to displaying beautiful artwork next year!
In the meantime, arts council members are warmly encouraged to share photos and video of any ongoing art projects by emailing them to us. We would be happy to share them on our website, Facebook page, and newsletter.
The executive of the South Okanagan Concert Society met June 15th and is sad to announce that the concert season for 2020/2021 is cancelled as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. A variety of conditions forced this decision.
First, musicians already booked to come from Quebec and points East simply cannot know whether travel will be possible or not. Their concerts in B.C. are only financially viable with pre-arranged tours because of the high expense involved in travel. The uncertainty has led agents to reluctantly propose postponing for the following season.
The SOCS executive looked at the possibility of trying to book only B.C. musicians. A number of considerations, should this be possible, still stood in the way. The small numbers allowed to gather for performances providing sufficient distancing make it impossible to cover the costs. “We are not prepared to sacrifice the quality of our performances,” said SOCS President Janet Marcotte (pictured onstage at right). That would likely happen if much reduced artist fees had to be part of the budget requirements.
Other considerations also came into play. With only a small number spread throughout the concert hall it would greatly affect the atmosphere of those who did attend. The regular patrons love the strong sense of community, the meeting with friends, the conviviality around the concerts and not just the performance. Providing this atmosphere has been a big part of the SOCS mission and success.
The possibility of doing 2 concerts in one evening to bring more regular patrons in and also increase income would involve a huge amount of fast cleaning between concerts by extra paid staff, no receptions and no mingling with friends in the lobby.
Live streaming was also considered as a possible solution. Again, the executive spoke to the needs of our patrons. Most are passionate for top quality LIVE music and many are of an age where live streaming has little appeal. The age factor also means our patrons are particularly vulnerable to the virus.
Although the Venables Theatre staff have literally bent over backwards to try and accommodate the SOCS needs and their efforts are much appreciated, the SOCS executive reluctantly decided to cancel the concert season. As Covid19 conditions change, all efforts will go into planning for another concert season in the future and a possible lone concert or two in the new year.
The AGM of the South Okanagan Concert Society will take place at 10:30 am Wednesday, July 8th, at Venables Theatre. All members welcome.
SOUTH OKANAGAN CONCERT SOCIETY Submitted by Marion Boyd
