Local Arts

JESSE TYLO For Jesse Tylo, the world is his oyster. Ask the Port Moody secondary student what he plans to do after graduation next year and he'll respond: "I want to be well known for my art and influence. I want to make a statement.

CLAYTON DOWDELL Clayton Dowdell will be making a mad dash after he and his band, Clayton and the Kracken, open the Port Moody Youth Arts Festival at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

CHRIS GEORGIEV At 13, Chris Georgiev is the youngest participant at the Port Moody Youth Arts Festival - a little bit of trivia the Scott Creek middle student is happy to share. And he's just as eager to perform among his artistic peers.

LIA FALLAH Lia Fallah's eyes light up when she talks about dance. "I think I was born on the stage," the 16-year-old Gleneagle secondary student said. "Dancing is the most precious thing that I have in my life. I feel it. It's my emotions.

George Benson sings, They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway. And Olaf de Shield hopes to recite that very tune - among many others - under bright and sunny skies on Saturday at Coquitlam's Evergreen Cultural Centre.

The room is buzzing as Erika Babins wraps up a musical theatre performance for 30 youth at Coquitlam's Place des Arts.

A lexandria Maillot has plenty on her plate these days. Not only is the Port Coquitlam resident a Top 20 finalist in the Peak Performance Project - an annual radio challenge by 100.

Johnny Gallant, Second Storey and Babe Gurr will perform in Port Coquitlam this weekend as part of the city's summer music series.

It's a week before showtime and Theatrix artistic director Deb Solberg is without a male character and two dogs for her musical Legally Blonde.

The theme of "drawing" continues in the Tri-Cities this summer with another display highlighting the medium, opening next week. Threesome: Drawings - by Yukman Lai, Harold Ma and Arthur Shu-Ren Cheng - will run from July 19 to Aug.