The Sage Valley Voices are a fun-loving and welcoming community choir that knows how to entertain! They specialize in contemporary arrangements of seasonal music and 20th century standards and classics. 

The choir performs two concerts a year under the directorship of Alice Deroche: a Christmas concert in December, and a spring concert.

Above is a formal picture of the choir in its early days, looking unusually sedate. My how times change! Now the choir rarely stands still long enough for a formal portrait, and is more often found in costume than in uniform!

Members may be all decked out in top hats and satin gowns for a Dickensian Christmas, flouncing in poodle skirts and saddle shoes and lounging in leather jackets for a tribute to hits from the fifties, or wearing cowboy hats, bandanas, and Wranglers  for a country hoedown. 

Check out these choir members dressed for their “High Flying Forties” concert: high society women, Hollywood glamour queens, Rosie the Riveter, soldiers, WACS, dapper Dans, and all.  

Below is the oddest collection of cowboys you will ever see round a campfire. Maybe it’s cowboys and …. mobster guys taking a weekend off at a dude ranch? You never can tell who or what will show up at a Sage Valley Voices concert.

The choral music is often interspersed with readings, jokes, short skits, and special guest appearances.

Audiences are guaranteed to leave with a smile and the warmth of community spirit!

Concert proceeds  are put towards a number of community programs, including the local Sunshine Soup Kitchen.

Rehearsals are on Monday evenings through the fall, winter, and spring.  No audition is required.

Join us at our next concert! 

The Double O Quilters Guild was founded in 1988 and is a non-profit group.  Members are dedicated to pursuing the elusive and challenging art of quilting and related activities. It encompasses people of all skill levels and ages, a wide range of interests, ideas, and techniques. Residents, snowbirds,and visitors are welcome to join and participate.

Guild activities mainly run from September to April on the days specified below, unless they fall on holidays. Activities are held at the Oliver Community Centre.

Annual membership fees are $40, due at the beginning of September or whenever joining the guild.

Special Activities

The South Okanagan Concert Society (SOCS) puts on a series of four concerts per year with a particular focus on classical and world music. They strive for a mix of  well-known established performers, and edgy new talent.  Performances are generally held at the Frank Venables Auditorium (South Okanagan Secondary School) in Oliver, BC.

Tickets for the upcoming 2009-2010 concert series are already available. Flex passes are a great way to maximize the music! Each set earns you four admissions so you can see each concert as a single, or go to two concerts with a friend, or have a special evening out for four. Early bird flex passes are $45 until the end of April ($55 regular price).  Ticket vendor: Miss Molly’s Quilt Shoppe on Oliver’s Main Street. Single concert tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 each.

The 2009-2010 performers are:

DUO AFFINITE

Guy Few on trumpet, corno and piano, and Nadina Mackie Jackson on bassoon create an irresistible combination of muscianship and engaging showmanship. Celebrated internationally as soloists, chamber musicians and recitalists, these two incredible musicians blend their ideas and spirits in this new recital concept. Trumpet and bassoon – the starting point – following the lead of Baroque tradition, the inspiration of 20th century composers and the voices of today. But there is so much more. Programming also includes piano, corno da caccia and voice. Join these two renowned musicians for an evening of musical magic.

“Few and Jackson play with polished tone, immaculate intonation, and infectious high spirits; it’s obvious they’re having a blast.”
All Music Guide, 2007

CALVIN DYCK AND THE GOLDEN VIOLIN

Music and theatre are intertwined in the Golden Violin. The engaging script, costumes, backdrops and music draw the audience into the story. Violinist Cal;vin Dyck and pianist Betty Suderman take the audience on a journey, tracing the history of Calvin’s “golden violin”, a beautiful instrument crafted in 1807 by the Dutch violin maker Johannes Cuypers.

 “The audience was absolutely enraptured by his flawless interpretation…”
“Dyck and Suderman make a splendid ensemble as extraordinarily skilled musicians and actors.”
“He played with great skill and dexterity … sounding pure, crisp tones with a magnificent bowing technique.”
 – Daily News, Nanaimo

EZEADI ONUKWULU AND ONE HUMAN RACE

 Ezeadi’s charismatic presence, versatility and soothing voice have endeared him to audiences. Ezeadi is an innovator, motivator and  instigator in the African and World Music scene.

 Ezeadi’s music, based on traditional Igbo rhythms, evokes the spirit of highlife and afrobeat with a splash of funk, jazz, blues and reggae. The lyrics are prayers and appeals to universal consciousness and our conscience to make the world a better place for all.

His unique mastery of the pennywhistle, other instruments and vocal styling will take you to beautiful new places.

“This music uses gentle African rhythms and bubbling vocals to deliver peaceful idealism emphatically. It is new kind of African roots based world music cooked and ready to be served to the world from British Columbia.”  – The Province

VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR

The Vancouver Chamber Choir is Canada’s outstanding profressional vocal ensemble. The choir impresses audiences with the depth and range of their repertoire and interpretive skills.

“… When it comes to unearthly beauty and awe-inspiring power, they’re a pretty fine mortal approximation of how celestial singers should sound.”  – North  Shore News

“Jon Washburn’s Choir remains at the forefront of Canadian vocal ensembles. ….“Canada’s leading professional vocal ensemble.”  –  Toronto Star

“…the choir’s performance… began with admiration and finally left you in awe.” – Vancouver Sun

The Friends of the Oliver Library believe that libraries play an increasing social role in our communities.  Their goal is to enhance the available funding to make our library a place of great pride in Oliver.  They have raised money most years through a winter book sale and a summer paperback sale.  You can support the work of the FOTOL by taking part in the:

These book sale funds have been supplemented by soliciting donations from community organizations and the general public. Since their inception in May 1998, the Friends of the Library have directed more than $45,000 in funding towards creating an especially welcoming place for children, teens and seniors. They play an important role in stimulating the use of the library’s resources and services by the public.

 A new initiative to boost library use is the

The Friends of the Oliver Library assist the work of library staff by supporting or hosting special events  usch as book readings by well-known authors and storytellers, book prizes for summer reading programs,  and demonstrations of new information technologies.

Show your support of the library by becoming a member!

Kindly contact the Friends if you would like information about making a contribution, leaving a bequest or an endowed fund to the Oliver Library  in your will, or donating a memorial gift in the name of a loved one. The friends of the oliver Library is a registered society and, as a charitable institution,  can issue receipts for income tax purposes.

Mailing Address:

The Oliver Sagebrushers, a fine art club, meet regularly for painting and drawing classes and workshops in many media (charcoal, pen and ink, watercolours, and oils). They also organize exhibits and contribute their talents towards many community projects. Outside of designated classes and workshops, the club meets weekly for idea and technique sharing, socializing, and simply painting together.   Both beginners and advanced artists are welcome, as are drop in visitors and snowbirds. Classes are taught at all levels, and seasoned painters teach and encourage newcomers. Formerly known as the Oliver Art Club, this organization is one of Oliver’s oldest arts  groups.

Oliver Sagebrushers 

Club activities run from September to June. In October, members participate in the Oliver Community Arts Council’s Fall Art Show , run in conjunction with Oliver’s Festival of the Grape.  Sagebrushers host a booth in November at the Arts and Crafts Sale. During Arts and Culture Week (third week of April) and the Meadowlark Festival (mid-May), the club holds exhibits and open house.  Weekly classes conclude with a plein air painting picnic in June. Sally (above) and Hazel (left) enjoy the warm sunshine and lovely views in Val’s peaceful garden retreat at last year’s picnic. One week of every summer , the Sagebrushers  display and demonstrate their artwork at the Oliver Community Arts Council’s Summer Studio at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre. 

 Register now for an upcoming workshop with Calgary-based oil painter, Robert E. Wood. Robert is inspired by the South Okanagan, and visits here yearly to paint. He is known for capturing the Okanagan’s distinctive light and heat on canvas. Here, Robert poses with his painting “Ponderosa Shadows” and Sagebrushers president Sally Franks.

“Tromp as writ”, “Overshot”, “Throw the shuttle” “Tabby”, “Pickup” — these unusual expressions are just a few phrases to be heard in the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers Guild. Weaving is an age-old art of forming lengths of yarn into cloth.  In early human society, weaving satisfied the need for clothing and shelter. Garments and dwellings were constructed from woven animal hair or plant materials.  Today, the possibilities are endless with an array of  threads, yarns,  fabrics, dyes, animal hair, plants, and synthetics – and centuries of creative techniques to draw from.  

Desert Sage members practice a number of skills including felting, spinning, dyeing, weaving, and knitting to create works of art. Anyone who likes to work with fibres is welcome to join! The Guild’s sixty members span the South Okanagan and the adjoining Thompson valley.

The Guild holds regular drop-in sessions every Thursday, September to June, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oliver Community Centre.  The monthly business meeting  is on the second Thursday of each month beginning at 10 a.m. (same location). There are frequent workshops, demonstrations, exhibits, and sales.

We’re growing! Currently our membership sits at between 65 and 70 artisans. Between four and six new fabric art lovers join the guild per year. You might be one of them!

 

Our guild is a mixture of ages, backgrounds, lifestyles, skill levels, and artistic preferences. Our common thread is our keen interest in an unusual and somewhat obscure pursuit of yarn and fibre craft. Our crafts are an expression of human ingenuity, a sense of continuity with our past, and linkage with other cultures and generations. The pursuit of excellence in our projects forces us to slow down, pay attention to detail, and allow our creativity to flourish.

 Photos by Penelope Johnson

Coming up for the Desert Sage Guild:

Visit us at

SOAP has just come off a successful run of The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein in November – December 2008.  They broke box office sales records, and had some of the largest audiences in 20 years. Take a look at some photos from the show!

Sister Margaretta, Sister Sophia and the Mother Abbess wonder “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?”

Maria listens to the wisdom of the Mother Abbess.

 Maria teaches the von Trapp children “Doe-A Deer” (Do Re Mi). Initially, they are reluctant pupils – that is, until Maria’s charm and gaiety inspires them to sing!    Photo by Silvia Badger

Brigitta and Gretl von Trapp in their sailor suits.

So, what’s next for this busy troupe?

The South Okanagan Amateur Players hold auditions for the comedy Sand Mountain by Romulus Linney, a set of two Appalachian folk tales. Auditions will be on Wednesday April 22 at the Sonora Centre in Osoyoos and Thursday April 23 in “Big Blue” at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre in Oliver. Auditions run 7 – 9 p.m. both evenings. Newcomers welcome. No audition piece required. Parts are available for men and women 20 – 60+ years and for one or two children aged 8 – 12 years. Backstage volunteers also required. The production runs during the third week of July at the Tinhorn Creek Winery Amphitheatre. Directors: Penelope Johnson and Diane Gludovatz. For audition information or advance copies of the script: 250-498-0183.  

Photos by Penelope Johnson (except where noted above)