The Venables Theatre’s “Family Showtime Series”, is back, and we’ve added another show. This year we are bringing you five fantastic evenings of family fun!

Kicking off the series this year on Saturday October 5th is beloved Canadian singer songwriter Charlotte Diamond. She will be joined by her equally talented son Matt and the Hug Bug band, (Linnea Good and David Jonsson). Charlotte is best known for favourites like Four Hugs a Day, I am a Pizza (Je suis une pizza), Octopus (Slippery Fish) & All the Nations Like Banana.

Just in time for Christmas, DuffleBag Theatre returns to Oliver Friday December 13th with A Christmas Carol. DuffleBag creates theatrical magic by inviting audience members on stage as stars of the show in this timeless classic.

On Friday January 24th, Samajam kicks it up a notch with Rythmo 2. Drumsticks and musical tubes are distributed to all audience members to give them a unique, rhythmic, powerful and energizing experience. You become the music!

Will’s Jams, (from CBC kids), is a power trio who perform high-energy songs in English and French with fun actions and sing-along choruses. Kids and parents alike will be cheering for libraries, loving their bikes and rallying for vegetables on Friday February 21st.

Rounding out the series is Uzume Taiko on Saturday April 18th. Taiko means “drum” in Japanese and “Uzume” is the Japanese Goddess of Laughter. Uzume Taiko is known around the world for its bold musical collaborations, humour and theatrical stage presence.

Family ShowTime is presented by Venables Theatre with the support of the Community Presenters Assistance program (of the BC Arts Council and BC Touring Council).

All performances are at 6:30pm at Venables Theatre at 6100 Gala Street in Oliver. Tickets to all five shows are on sale now for only $50. Single show tickets are $12.50. For more information visit www.venablestheatre.ca/familyshowtime

Last year’s season ended with a packed house and a jubilant crowd as the reception saw concert goers in deep conversation with the 8 cellists who performed after coming from major European orchestras. It felt like a major cultural event fulfilling the dreams of those who have worked so hard to make Venables Theatre a huge success.

This year, buoyed by the beauty and unique, exceptional sound of the cello, the Concert Society decided the first concert of the new season on October 4th would be cellist, Ofra Harnoy. Harnoy has established herself on the world concert stage, won 5 Juno awards and is a member of the Order of Canada. She is not to be missed.

Then on November 15th, the dynamic Bergmann Piano Duo perform. With a repertoire that encompasses everything from baroque to contemporary music, they have inspired audiences throughout the world for more than two decades.

January 31st, 2020, songwriter, Lizzy Hoyt, will let us hear why she is now known as one of Canada’s most powerful Celtic-folk artists. She plays fiddle, guitar, harp and mandolin, tours with her trio throughout the year and is known for the way she brings history to life with music.

Finally, March 20th, the Montreal Guitar Trio is back by popular demand. Guitarists Sebastien Dufour, Glenn Levesque and Marc Morin win over audiences with their virtuosity, rigour, creativity and engaging stage presence. You can hear them in prestigious venues across the world or you can hear them in Oliver! You choose.

Tickets for the series are available now on line at www.venablestheatre.ca or at the theatre box office Tuesdays to Thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm. Generous sponsors make ticket prices affordable. Any 2 or more tickets in advance are $21/ticket. Single ticket in advance is $23 and at the door $25. Children and youth are only $2.50. Bring kids and grandkids and introduce them to top quality live music.

Talk to friends and join together to get tickets and make winter months a time for extraordinary musical experiences. It is the best way to rise above valley cloud!

Check the brochure for more details:

Oliver Grandmothers for Africa are holding a huge CRAFT SALE of fabric and crafty items on Saturday Sept. 21st. It will be from 9 to 2 pm at Oliver United Church Hall. This sale will include some beautiful fabric, some utilitarian fabric, baskets of yarn, lots of sewing notions, knitting needles, crochet hooks, scissors and a wide variety of craft materials. The group is looking forward to seeing many members of the community who are supportive of the organization and are also looking for some excellent buys.

The proceeds from this fund raiser and others held throughout the year all go to support community based organizations turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation launched the grandmother to grandmother campaign in 2006 and since then hundreds of groups of Canadian grandmothers have taken up the call to action. To date they have raised more than $16.5 million
for African grandmothers and the children in their care.

The situation in sub-Saharan Africa remains pressing. It is impossible to be discouraged when we see projects working with tenacity and sophistication, providing support, solace and hope for the women, children and grandmothers affected by the AIDS pandemic.

The resources we provide help African grandmothers become self sustaining. They don’t want hand outs. They know best what has to be done and how to do it. We are astonished by their reserves of love and emotional resilience and are honoured to stand by them and offer support to programs that reflect their dedication to bringing hope and dignity to the lives of those they reach.

If you would like to join the Oliver Grandmothers for Africa group, please introduce yourself to any of the women at the sale wearing the bright yellow t-shirts. They will be happy to give you information. Together we are strong.

Sage Valley Voices starts its season this Monday! EVERY MONDAY EVENING! If you love to sing, come join us! We are currently preparing for our Christmas concert in early December. Rehearsals for our spring concert begin in January.

Beginning this Monday, September 9, 2019 7 to 9 pm. (We will continue to accept new members throughout September.)
Oliver United Church, 358 Okanagan Ave., Oliver, BC
Contact: Lois lbzdel @ shaw.ca
or Lori lmartine @ sd53.bc.ca

Okanagan Art Gallery presents
“Our Town”
the artists’ view
Friday August 30
4:00 – 7:00 pm
Okanagan Art Gallery #5 8302 Main St., Osoyoos, BC

The Artists of the Okanagan Art Gallery are proud and excited to present “OUR TOWN”, a celebration of the town of Osoyoos as seen through artists’ eyes. The exhibit is one evening only! Each artist has painted Osoyoos from their own point of view, including some of the most iconic views of this beautiful oasis in the South Okanagan. Some artists have chosen Main Street others have featured the lake or buildings.

The show will feature professional artists from all media including oils, acrylics, lithography specialists, photographers and fiber artists each showing their favorite view of the Town. We are also featuring the wine of south Okanagan favorite Quinta Ferreira Estate Wines. Join us for an evening of true South Okanagan art and wine.

For information about the August 30th OUR TOWN show at the Okanagan Art Gallery call 604 308-3995.

MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: The Concert Tour
the beloved music of Andrew Llloyd Webber
Tuesday September 24
7:30 p.m.
Venables Theatre
6100 Gala Street Oliver, BC

TICKETS: $45, Senior/ Student $35

This concert celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 70th Birthday and his acclaim as the most successful musical theatre composer of all time will feature his most iconic theatrical music including selections from Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Blvd, and more! With a fully professional cast, many of whom have performed throughout Canada and Australia, we are sure this parade of musical offerings will overwhelm the musical senses. Sound the Alarm’s ‘Music of the Night’ tour will remind eighteen BC audiences, from Courtenay to Cranbrook, why Andrew Lloyd Webber is the musical phenomenon he is known to be.

The fully professional cast performed the first leg of their tour to
packed houses in Whistler, Salt Spring and across Vancouver Island last month. Audiences were enchanted with the beauty of
Music of the Night, praising the quality and talent of the performers.

Rave reviews included:
“Such an amazing concert. DON’T MISS THIS SHOW if it comes to your area. “ “The concert was fantastic!! What talent!”
“The whole cast is so talented bringing this music to life.”

The cast is comprised of both musical theatre veterans and emerging artists. Baritone Zander Felton and Mezzo Amy Gartner
are two of the province’s most promising young theatre artists and musicians. Soprano Melina Schein and Tenor Nic Kyle are
both familiar with the stage and the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Schein is a New York native, now residing in the
Okanagan, who has numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway credits, including Phantom of the Opera. Kyle is an internationally
acclaimed tenor – now living in Abbotsford – who has performed in London’s West End and played Jesus in Jesus Christ
Superstar in Australia and New Zealand Tours.
Renowned Canadian music impresario Frederik Robert will serve as musical director on this project. Robert toured across Canada with the Canadian Tenors and Romanza Tenors, and is delighted to return to these communities as Music of the Night’s musical director.

Music of the Night will remind BC audiences why Andrew Lloyd Webber is the musical phenomenon he is known to be.

Select your seats now at www.venablestheatre.ca

Musaic Vocal Ensemble is looking for more singers!

Musaic Vocal Ensemble is a Summerland-based adult choir that is currently preparing for its 25^th Anniversary season. This is a significant milestone for a group which started as a group of friends wanting to make music together on a regular basis. Over the past 25 years, the choir has developed a reputation for interesting programing, fine attention to detail, and high quality musical performances.

Musaic Vocal Ensemble is looking for singers with good music reading ability and a wish to share in the joy of making music together.  If this describes you, Musaic’s Artistic Director, Frances Chiasson, can be reached via
 director @ musaicvocalensemble.ca the choir website www.musaicvocalensemble.ca or by phone 250-869-6817. Please contact her if you have any questions about our group or would like to be part of Musaic.  Auditions will take place in Oliver, Summerland, and Penticton during the first week in September.

Next performances for Musaic Vocal Ensemble will be in December 2019 and April 2020.

Tentative Winter 2019 Performance dates:
Penticton: Friday, December 13th, 2019, 7:30pm
Summerland: Saturday, December 14th, 2019, 2:30pm

Tentative Spring 2020 Performance dates:
Penticton: April 17th, 2020
Oliver: April 18th, 2020
Summerland: April 19th, 2020

“Come and join us.  We have an exciting and challenging year ahead.”

Firehall Brewery presents the last of their Back Alley Concert series: HEATSEEKER. This one is for all of you who love 80s rock! Even if you don’t have the leather pants anymore and your bandana is a little faded, the tunes withstand the test of time. Heatseeker performs songs by AC/DC, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, Bon Jovi, Journey, Bryan Adams and many more — and in full 80s rocker costume!

As a bonus, visual arts lovers can take a look at the work of Dave Brewin while at the concert. https://artisbrewin.com/

AUDITION for FAMILY-FRIENDLY COMEDY!
SOAP Theatre presents
BOB’S YOUR ELF
by Norm Foster

Bob is one miserable and incompetent Elf who needs to learn a lesson or two about the Christmas spirit. Santa sends him on a mission. Lots of laughs in this Canadian comedy.

Two open auditions:
Wednesday, September 4 at 7:00 pm:
Quail’s Nest Arts Centre (Big Blue Building)
5840 Airport St. Oliver
Thursday. September 5 at 7:00 pm:
Osoyoos Art Gallery, Upstairs – 8713 Main St. Osoyoos

4 men ~ 2 women

No preparation required. Cold read from script.
More about the plot and production is here:
https://www.soplayers.ca/elf.html

Terry Irvine, Marion Trimble and JoAnn Turner (known to many from the Ripoff Artists) will be showing and selling their own work, and teaching workshops this August at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre! You can learn to make a needle-felted Garden Fairy Doll with Terry, create a Van Gogh-inspired impasto painting with Marion, or learn how to create fun and relaxing Zen Doodles, or make elastic bracelets with gemstone beads with JoAnn.

Art Show, Sale and Workshops
​Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street, Oliver, BC
Monday August 19 to Friday August 23
Opening Reception Monday 6 to 8 pm. Tuesday through Friday, open 10 am to 2 pm. Workshops:
Tues. Wed. Thurs. 10 am
Tues evening 6 pm.

Details of all the workshops, including dates and prices as well as online payment and registration, are available by clicking this link: The Late Bloomers

Martyn Jones bears a striking resemblance to Tom Petty and has the voice to bring these songs to life in any sized venue or stage. He is a seasoned veteran performer who has ultimate respect for the Man and his songs, and the people who love them.
“Don’t Come Around Here No More” 
“Free Fallin'” 
“Learning to Fly” 
“Don’t Do Me Like That” 
“American Girl”
“Refugee”
“I Won’t Back Down” 
“You Don’t Know How It Feels”

Jimmy Leguilloux is a dream guitarist for any group. Hugely talented, Jimmy dazzles concert crowds with his fiery playing and fearless presence. His wonderful voice is the perfect harmony match for Martyn Jones’s delivery of these great Tom Petty classics.

Jimmy has a rich history playing guitar around Western Canada and elsewhere and is highly respected for his community work including his annual benefit concert for children.

A shared love of the music and the desire to represent it properly moved Marty and Jimmy to create

REMEMBER TOM PETTY
A Sincere Tribute
Tuesday July 30
7:30 p.m.
Frank Venables Theatre
Tickets $39.50
250-498-1626
www.venablestheatre.ca

They have assembled a solid band of veteran players and bring all the elements necessary to play this dream setlist properly and really connect Tom Petty’s songs to fans everywhere.

Did you know that Oliver’s irrigation system, also known as the Ditch, turns 100 this year?

The Oliver Museum will be holding a Water Appreciation Day on July 27th from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm to recognize the historical role of water in Oliver and its continued importance in this area.

Come learn about the Ditch’s history and water conservation in the main Museum gallery, try your hand at a coloring sheet, share your thoughts on a comment wall, or attend one of the demonstrations and talks occurring every half-hour throughout the morning. Water walls built by the Museum’s “Splash from the Past” campers will be on display in the Museum yard throughout the day.

The event schedule is as follows:
10:00 am: Welcome and display viewing in main gallery
10:30 am: Garden tour about plants and animals in riparian environments
11:30 am: Gold panning in the Museum yard and talk on placer vs. hard rock mining
12:30 pm: Water wall demonstration in Museum yard
1:00 pm: Event ends, but Museum remains open

We welcome you to explore the ways in which we interact with this most important natural resource and its history in our area. For more information, please contact the Oliver Archives at 250-498-4027 or info @ oliverheritage.ca

Instructors Janet, Lorraine, Kim, and Bev reflect on the final session of this lively art programme for differently-abled adults.

We had a good attendance with 17 special needs adults and 7 care staff present. Bev was working on painting adult hands and having them make one stamp onto a large fabric banner which we will add to in the fall. Her concept is to have a banner available for special events which draws attention to the group.
Here is a picture of Wayne giggling away while applying paint to his hand.

Lorraine had prepared small books which each adult decorated. Her theme was eggs to chicks to chickens. Here is a photo from Lorraine’s group:

Kim had prepared spray dyes for t-shirt printing. The care staff really got into helping with tying off parts of the white t-shirts to prepare them for dye application.Once the t-shirts were bound up with elastics then they were hung and our special needs adults chose the colors of dye and sprayed the shirts while hanging outdoors. Some really gorgeous t-shirts were created.

Janet worked with adults applying paint to foam stamps. Terry just kept stamping away (once he figured out which side to put down) even after all of the paint was gone!

The mood was very positive and relaxed. It was lovely to be able to open one of the bay doors. In the end a great deal of art was produced.

So a big thank you to all of you instructors for you contributions over the past 9 months. We will now take a break until the third week of September.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Aline who is one of our original instructors. Please help us to find new instructors for the fall as we will need more wonderfully creative instructors to be part of our fall 2019 and spring 2020 programs. Hope you all have a wonderful summer!