Local Arts

Next week, while many families are winding down their school programs and preparing for the Christmas break, 60 kids from a Coquitlam-based choir will be hunkered into front of their televisions to catch themselves perform with an international super

More public art is gracing civic institutions in the Tri-Cities after two major pieces were installed last week.

For the past two decades, Coquitlam's Barry and Merle Rector have sung a holiday classic with the Vancouver Bach Choir (VBC). This year is no exception. On Saturday, the tenor and alto will perform The Messiah with the 130-voice symphonic group.

Mary Hatch (playing the role of Cari Andrews) and Blaine Halina (George Bailey) appear in Farside Theatre's It's A Wonderful Life - The Radio Play, running Wednesday to Saturday at Northside Church (1460 Lansdowne Dr., at David Avenue, in Coquitlam).

If you're looking to treat the kids to a Christmas show before Santa Claus arrives, the Tri-Cities has three concerts to keep the young - and the young-at-heart - happy.

Seventeen young Tri-City dancers are cast in Motus O's A Christmas Carol, on stage next week at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam.

Three youth bands will rock a Port Moody high school next week for Project Theo. The Student Enterprise Club, a philanthropy and business group at Heritage Woods secondary, will raise funds for HeritageForHumanity and Project 24.

PAINTER'S WORKSHOP Port Coquitlam's artist-in-residence will host a two-hour workshop next week for the public. On Dec. 11, from 1 to 3 p.m., Adrian Walker will show his unique skill of using dry paint pigment to create a city scene.

About three years ago, when Port Coquitlam resident Michael King was in France, all he wanted to do was paint the picturesque surroundings.

For its show at the Evergreen Cultural Centre on Saturday, the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble (PSWE) will give the audience what it wants.