An inaugural garden with art tour, the first Port Moody Youth Arts Fest and milestone anniversaries for Place des Arts, Stage 43 Theatrical Society and the Coquitlam District Music Festival.
Last year saw some key activities and events on the Tri-Cities' arts scene - and 2013 promises to offer even more entertainment treats with ambitious high school productions (Riverside secondary's Les Miserables and Gleneagle secondary's Thoroughly Modern Millie), delightful concert sounds (Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble's Vive La France and Quiring Chamber Players' Music for InQUIRING Minds) and thought-provoking art shows (Pierre Coupey's Cutting Out The Tongue and ArtFocus' Centennial mosaic).
Here's a sample of what's in store for the first half of the new year:
JANUARY
Rock the Fox: Dozens of Grade 9 to 12 students at Port Coquitlam's Terry Fox secondary will showcase their musical talents at the 12th annual Rock the Fox under the direction of Rock School and recording arts teacher Steve Sainas. The tribute bands will cover a number of tunes ranging from The Beatles to Tokyo Police Club. The concerts are on Jan. 15, 16 and 17 and start at 7 p.m. Tickets at $5 can be bought from Rock School students, at the school's music office or at the door (1260 Riverwood Gate); proceeds support Rock School operations.
Emerging Talent Festival: Evergreen Cultural Centre will be the place to be on Jan. 27 as Tri-City high school students display their visual art, films and musical and theatrical skills. The multi-disciplinary arts fest includes Emerging Talent XVI, a juried exhibition of paintings, drawings, sculptures and other designs from some of School District 43's leading Grade 12 artists - many of whom go off to study at top art institutions around the world. The fest runs at ECC (1205 Pinetree Way) from 2 to 7 p.m.
FEBRUARY
Louise Pitre: Known for her powerful stage performances, this Tony award-nominated triple threat will take to the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way) on Feb. 7 to sing Broadway hits and Edith Piaf chansons in an intimate solo concert with a piano accompanist. Recently, Pitre was featured in the CBC-TV reality show Over The Rainbow, where she critiqued young Canadian actresses - including Gleneagle secondary's Jennifer Gillis - in their bid to be Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of the Wizard of Oz.
Wearable Arts: The Port Moody Arts Centre Society returns with this awards competition that sees remarkable garment entries from artists around the world. Cash prizes and titles are handed out for submissions based on creativity, originality, construction skills and conceptual ideas. Performances are on Feb. 16 and 17 at Port Moody city hall and are followed by a five-week long exhibit at the Port Moody Arts Centre (2425 St. John's St.), where viewers can vote on the People's Choice.
MARCH
Gleneagle Jazz Dinner: Always a crowd-pleaser, the secondary's fifth annual gala on March 1 will include food from the school's culinary arts program, music from the school bands and choirs as well as guest Alan Matheson and a silent auction to raise funds for the music department's equipment and international trips. Tickets are $40.
The Dal Richards Band: This Vancouver legend and his orchestra will swing out with tunes from the 1930s to today as part of the 14th annual Sunday Coffee Concerts, presented by the city of Port Coquitlam. Richards and his six-piece band will perform on March 24 at 2 p.m. at the Terry Fox Theatre (1260 Riverwood Gate).
APRIL
Oklahoma!: The Royal City Music Theatre, under the artistic direction of Port Coquitlam's Valerie Easton and producer Chad Matchette of Coquitlam's Lindbjerg Academy of the Performing Arts, presents this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic at the Massey Theatre (735 8th Ave., New Westminster).
Ballet Kelowna: This Okanagan-based company wraps up its 10th season with a performance at the Evergreen Cultural Centre on April 14 called Passages, featuring dances in Spanish, Russian, English and Canadian styles. For senior ballet students (aged 15 and up), artistic director David LaHay will lead a workshop earlier in the day.
MAY
Naomi's Road: Based on Joy Kogawa's novel, this show on May 5 at the Evergreen Cultural Centre weaves the story of a young Japanese-Canadian girl's experiences as her family is interned in B.C. during the Second World War. The coming-of-age tale is presented by Vancouver Opera in Schools and is part of Evergreen's Family Series program.
Dale Barltrop: Place des Arts starts to wrap up its 40th season with the last in its Salon Speaker Series, a talk by the concertmaster for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, on May 30 at 7 p.m. An Australian native, this violinist has performed around the world and is a regular at the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and at the Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo.
JUNE
Coastal Sound Music Academy: The Sources, Con Brio, Con Bella, Children's, Youth and Adult choirs with this award-winning Coquitlam-based group perform two shows at the Evergreen Cultural Centre on June 9, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
SHIFT 1-Act Festival 6: This one-act theatre fest from the Port Moody-based Shift Performing Arts Society - under the artistic managing direction of Nick Satore, Kelsey Wood as general manager and Adam Janusz as artistic associate - moves to a new location this year: the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Last year, the annual fest of original short plays had sold-out crowds for its first showing at The Cultch in Vancouver. The event runs June 13 to 15 at The Cultch and June 20 to 22 at 8 p.m. at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam).
