Quail’s Nest celebrates local arts with open house

The big bay doors roll up on Sunday May 15th at Oliver’s newly renovated Quail’s Nest Arts Centre on Airport Street. After two years of near-isolation, Oliver’s arts community is ready to party. Visitors to the Quail’s Nest Open House on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. will be greeted with art displays, demonstrations, live music, an art market, and a BBQ food concession in support of SO Quality Childcare. Information booths will provide opportunity to meet many of the region’s artists or register for upcoming classes. Art groups will be accepting new students and members. Free admission to the public.

Fibre artists, painters, quilters, actors, sculptors, crafters in metal, textiles, and paper, and multimedia artists will all showcase their creativity. Shoppers browsing through the marquees and stalls can purchase art cards, embellished clothing, vintage jewelry, tapestries, pine needle baskets, fabric décor, resin artwork, theatre tickets, or a copy of the brand new One Hundred X One Hundred/ x̌cəcikst X x̌cəcikst local history book. A total of 26 groups, businesses, and individual artists will be represented.

The Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers Guild and GNR Alpaca Boutique will each demonstrate fibre techniques. The Guild’s famous wool yurt will lure the curious into its cozy interior. The RipOff Artists reveal what famous Cubist painter they will be emulating in their upcoming challenge. Grandmothers for Africa will raise funds for relief efforts by selling ethnic jewelry and accessories. SOAP Theatre allows visitors to tiptoe behind the scenes in their rehearsal space. The public can view sets and costumes up close, and meet actors from recent productions.

Folk-rock duo Badgentina (aka Stephen and Lisa Toon) will add an upbeat vibe during the middle of the day. Bounce Radio 1240 will broadcast onsite. Shutterbugs can capture the moment with the set of colourful quirky quail frames and props.

All artists are members of the Oliver Community Arts Council, the organizers behind this colourful re-opening. The arts council will be promoting their CreateAbility program, summer’s Music in the Park, and the Fall Art Show and Sale. Handbills, entry forms, and memberships will be available. Those interested in renting their renovated facility can tour the site’s amenities and view a large-screen slideshow of their many activities. Door prizes include wine, handicrafts, ticket giveaways, and décor items.

The Quail’s Nest Open House welcomes visitors to 5840 Airport Street, Oliver. Public parking is available on the north side of Big Blue.

During the pandemic, the arts council received BC Arts Council funding to bolster arts and culture resilience. Last year, this funding was shared across a dozen community projects. For the Quail’s Nest Open House, the Oliver’s arts council is grateful to the Ross Fitzpatrick Family Fund and the Province of BC.

Okanagan theatre troupes compete in festival

After two years of hiatus because of Covid-19, we are so excited to announce that the Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival is back again; and even more excited that SOAP Theatre is the host club for this year’s event. There will be six different plays presented at the Venables Theatre in Oliver during the week of May 22 to May 27, followed by a public awards banquet at the Oliver Senior Centre on Saturday May 28.

Five of the participating performances will be competing for a range of awards and recognition, to be announced and presented at the awards banquet at the end of the week. The May 25 performance is not part of the competition. It is a new play workshopped with the playwright and the actors. Anyone with a ticket to any one of the competing performances will be able to attend the workshop play free of charge.

The adjudicator for this year’s Okanagan Zone Festival is Nicolle Nattrass. She is an actress (CAEA / UBCP), playwright (Playwrights Guild of Canada) and a Director/Dramaturg. She is a graduate from the University of Victoria (1991) with a BFA in Theatre, Acting Specialization. As an actress, Nicolle has performed for many regional theatres across Canada and worked in film, tv and radio.

Each adjudication will include a “coffee critique” held in the lobby of the Venables Theatre the morning following each competing performance. Ticket holders to each of these competing shows can attend its coffee critique the following morning, free of charge.

Remember, if you buy a show ticket, you can attend its critique by the adjudicator the following morning at no cost. Also, the workshop play scheduled for May 25 is free to anyone who holds a ticket for any of the other plays.

Six Dramatic Days of  Live Theatre, plus a banquet are scheduled as follows. All performances are at Venables Theatre (6100 Gala St. Oliver). The Awards Banquet will be at the Oliver Senior Centre (5876 Airport St. Oliver). 

Ticket pricing will be similar to what local theater patrons are used to paying for SOAP Theatre productions:

  • Single Show Adult Tickets on the day of the show: $25.00/person
  • Single Show Adult Advance Tickets: $22.50
  • Multi-Show Adult Tickets for 3 or more shows: $20.00/person/show
  • Student Tickets, with valid student ID: $15.00/person
  • Banquet Tickets: $45.00/person (Banquet ticket sales end on Thursday, May 26 at 12:00 noon)

​The above ticket prices include all fees and taxes.

Remember, if you buy a show ticket, you can attend its critique by the adjudicator the following morning at no cost. Also, the workshop play scheduled for May 25 is free to anyone who holds a ticket for any of the other plays.

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE OR HERE