Welcome to the long weekend, full as it is with great live music, dance and beer — and lots of it. Be sure to have fun and plan a safe ride home.
Friday, July 29
EXPO 79/16
Travel back in time to 1979 and the opening of Coquitlam Centre mall — do you remember the huge bronze sculpture called Fraydal that was commissioned for the mall’s grand opening? It’s back in Coquitlam, on loan from her Bowen Island owner, for an exhibit at the Evergreen Cultural Centre as part of Coquitlam’s 125th celebrations. Evergreen curator Gregory Elgstrand chose the 79/16 theme to represent 1979, the year Coquitlam’s centre shifted from Maillardville to Town Centre with the mall’s opening, and the current year. Expo 79/16 is at Evergreen until Aug. 21; check it out today when the gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m.
Saturday, July 30
HOP TO IT
Beer lovers, rejoice! This weekend offers up a beer garden mecca in the Coquitlam Kinsmen International Craft Beer Festival at Town Centre Park, running today and tomorrow from 1 to 9 p.m. Do be sure to work up a thirst before you arrive so you’re ready to sample more than 60 local and international craft brews. Your $35 ticket gets you a collectible four-ounce glass and program with food coupons; tokens for beer samples ($1.50 each) are available online or at the venue. Feeling fancy? Get a VIP ticket ($65) for early access, no line-ups and VIP tents. Check out the Safe Ride Home booth for free transit tickets (while supplies last) or call Operation Red Nose at 1-877-604-NOSE (6673). Get more info at www.kinsmencraftbeerfest.com.
PROP-OGRAPHY DANCE
Kyrst Hogan, PoCo’s summer artist-in-residence, hosts Prop-ography, a workshop to explore the innovative ways props and costumes can shape dance and choreography. Students will learn to create their own phrase of choreography with their chosen prop as it becomes a dance partner, an extension of the dancer or an expression of emotion. The workshops run from 12:30 to 2 p.m. for adults (18 and up); cost is $22/$15 (seniors) and from 2:30 to 4 p.m. for youth (13 to 18); cost is $15. Hogan is a multidisciplinary performing artist and instructor and artistic associate with Vancouver’s Dances for a Small Stage. Her program theme in PoCo is Deconstructing Dance, which aims to demystify the art of dance and make it more accessible.
VILLAGE VIBE
PoCo’s performing arts series at Leigh Square features an eclectic mix of musical styles for the 2 to 4 p.m. show. Veteran performer Allie McDonald draws on her prairie and Newfoundland background for a style that combines her love for folk, acoustic and indie pop styles. Also on stage will be Ranj Sing, blending a masala of Indian melodies and rhythms with Western folk in a uniquely Canadian “Indo-folk” genre.
Sunday, July 31
SUMMER SUNDAYS
What state is your soul in? Get some healing of the musical variety at the Summer Sundays concert in Rocky Point Park from 2 to 4 p.m., when Billy Dixon’s Soul Train Express gets fired up on stage. Visit www.summersundays.ca for more info.
MUSIC IN THE PARK
Catch The Circus in Flames at PoCo’s Leigh Square from 2 to 4 p.m. for the latest instalment of Music in the Park. The band, featuring Brian Barr (mandolin and electric guitar), Phil Addington (bass), Brian Thalken (banjitar) and Ed Goodine (drums), has produced two critically acclaimed recordings (The Circus in Flames and A Little Bit of Gasoline) with a sound described as “garage string band,” with original songs rooted in country, folk and blues traditions.
