Entertainment

The West Kootenay Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is celebrating its 10th anniversary with “Decadence” — an exhibit of paintings by 11 of its members at the VISAC Gallery from May 20 to June 21.

By now, Calgary singer/songwriter Chris Gheran has the touring thing down.

On Friday, May 27 Nelson based singer-songwriter Aspen Switzer will perform at the Kootenay Gallery in Castlegar with her musical collective For the Birds. The three musicians met through a competition to play in Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair Tour, each ranking in the top six. Words to best describe this trio are soulful, gutsy, witty and magical. This highly entertaining concert combining folk, traditional and roots music will be held on May 27 at 7 p.m.

Canadian comic Derek Edwards, once described by Rick Mercer as “the funniest man in Canada,” will be wrapping up a two-year, cross-country tour with a pair of shows in the West Kootenay in mid-May.

The Rougemusic series that began last fall at the new Rouge Gallery location in the historic BMO building will celebrate the finale of a successful first season with back-to-back female vocalists — the haunting Eastern European voice and accordion of Bessie Wapp accompanied by Ben Johnson on the oud, santoor, and percussion on May 14, and the joyful soul jazz roots of Rossland favourite, Coco Love Alcorn, on May 17.

Lowry Olafson, a singer-songwriter with nine CDs and a tour of the globe under his belt, will be back in Rossland and performing at Terry and Janet Marshall’s house on May 10 at 7 p.m.

The June Bugs from Alberta and Rossland’s own Glee Club led by Nadine Tremblay entertained an audience at the Miners’ Hall last Thursday with beautiful harmonies. The multi-instrumentalist Bugs got down with the folky tunes on spoons, double bass, guitars, banjos and more. They were brought to Rossland on their CD release tour by the Rossland Council for Arts and Culture.

From hit TV shows like The Simpsons and Glee to classic movies like Hot Tub Time Machine, Ivan Doroschuk welcomes all the recent pop-culture references to his band’s most famous song, The Safety Dance.

The Turning Pointe Performance Company presented their annual spring repertoire at the Brilliant Cultural Centre Saturday night. The company is made up of dedicated dancers who train in ballet, modern dance, tap, jazz, lyrical, musical theatre and hip hop.

Sue Port views the work of artist Tom Lynn while attending the opening of the exhibition ‘Connections Materialized’ at the Kootenay Gallery.