Here we are in the height of summer. Trout Festival is over for another year, graduation is all wrapped up and families are heading for the lakes to try to stay cool, but there is still oodles of stuff happening in the arts and cultural hub we call home.
The Fish Fry of 2018, “Fish and Chips,” was a magnificent affair thanks to the hard work and partnership of Crystal Kolt and the Trout Festival Committee. The bands were wonderful and people had so much fun in the Grand Casino, spending all that not so hard-earned cash.
A Northern Juried Art Exhibition was spectacular, with 41 pieces by 22 artists, from all over the north, spreading beauty and joy. Lots of people visited NorVA Centre, both hometown crowds and tourists, to marvel at the talent on display.
Now for coming events. On Saturday, July 7, Mike Spencer will be firing up the Raku pottery kiln for the magic that happens every time. The clay artists who built and then decorated their creations with glazes two weeks ago will gather for the final piece of the process. It really is worth seeing. It will be behind 81 Green Street, off the back lane. Bring a chair. Spencer’s new pottery class on building items on a wheel begins tonight at the pottery club in the community hall. This course is $250 for six weeks of instruction on brand new pottery wheels that the pottery club purchased with a grant from the Northern Neighbours Foundation. There are still spaces left so if you have ever dreamed of trying your hand at a mug or a bowl, this is your chance
On Sunday and Monday, July 8 and 9, the Flin Flon Flutist Series wraps up for the season with a concert at the Lutheran Church, uptown. It is going to be very special as audience members will be invited to choose their favourite movements from several different concerti, which will then be combined into two new concerti that have never been heard before. The extraordinary Mikylo Odut will perform with Susan Fulford on piano and Kari Rutherford, soprano. Tickets are $25 at the door.
This may be our last opportunity to hear Mikylo this year as he is heading to University of Ottawa to continue his musical education in September. Kari Rutherford is likewise headed back to Brandon University to continue her voice studies but it has come to our attention that she will be singing at Blueberry Jam Music Gathering (more on that, closer to the time).
On Saturday, July 14 at Johnny’s Social Club, 177 Green Street, Jenn McLean will grace us with a full concert of new material, several pieces of which will be original. If you have not heard her before, you are in for a delicious treat. If you have, just hold your horses because you have never heard anything quite like the variety you will get on Saturday night. Tickets are available at The Orange Toad for $20 and you may bring your own edible treats to the club. There is a bar (of course).
NorVA Centre is hosting the annual Artists’ Retreat at the Denareplex from Monday, July 16 to Saturday, July 21. They have 25 or so artists from the Flin Flon, Creighton, and Denare Beach area and much farther away coming to work on new projects. They will have an open house show on the last day of the retreat. More about that in the next column.
Lastly, here is a quick heads up about another performance at Johnny’s Social Club, on July 22. Wax Mannequin is the stage name of Christopher Adeney, a singer-songwriter originally from Hamilton, Ont. He will be performing in Flin Flon right on the heels of his gig at the Brandon Folk Festival, at the behest of our own drummer extraordinaire, Dean Martin. Run to The Orange Toad and get your tickets now, they are only $20. There will be more information in the next column about Wax Mannequin.
