Well, what did you think about the weekend just past? Was it not the biggest and best Culture Days yet? Luckily, we have the Thanksgiving long weekend to recover!
Heartiest congratulations to Flin Flon Arts Council cultural coordinator Crystal Kolt and her enormous team of volunteers for a fabulous weekend of arts and culture.
Following said long weekend (whence it is advised you do not over-indulge in turkey gravy) there is a fantastic amount of cultural activity coming along.
On Friday Oct. 14, the Flin Flon Arts Council presents Everything Fitz at the RH Channing Auditorium at 7:30 pm. Some of us were lucky enough to see this family group at the Manitoba Arts Network Showcase last October, right here in Flin Flon, but their 15-minute presentation there only whetted the appetite and now we get to experience the full meal deal!
The group consists of three-time Canadian Grand Master Fiddle champions and Ontario Open Step Dance champions Tom, Kerry and Julie Fitzgerald along with their parents, Pam and Paddy and guitarist and singer, Nate Douglas. They perform a completely Canadian program of music and dancing born of the traditions of the Ottawa Valley.
They have developed their art form in the unique style of Upper Canada, which mixes and melds the traditions of Scots, Irish and French country music and they have added touches of East Coast Celtic, Quebecois, jazz, bluegrass and pop to create a sound that is rich and colourful and not nearly as complicated as it appears, written down. They have also explored other forms of dance and include Irish and tap in their repertoire.
The members of Everything Fitz have created individual careers as well. Julie is completing a degree in jazz and contemporary music at Humber College in Toronto. She has toured with trad bands Leahy and Bowfire and has appeared in Japan and in Ireland.
Middle sister Kerry is also a student, studying kinesiology and foods and nutrition as a double major, at the University of Western Ontario. She teaches fiddle and piano privately and has toured with east coast fiddler Natalie McMaster.
Little brother Tom continues to be competitive on the fiddling contest circuit while he studies jazz violin at Humber College. He lists jazz great Stephane Grappelli as an influence. He has also appeared with other performers, notably in Branson, MO in the US.
They promise to deliver a fantastic show to Flin Flon audiences so please come out and see them. Tickets are now available at Northern Rainbow’s End.
Did you see the exhibition of work by renowned Winnipeg artist Diana Thornycroft at the NorVA Centre yet? If not, don’t worry – it will be there until Oct. 23.
You really must see it. The images are rich and detailed, charming at first glance, then more and more disturbing. A People’s History tells the stories we as Canadians would rather not visit, but if we are to change those narratives, we must look and see.
You can visit the exhibit when you go to NorVA on Sunday, Oct. 16 for the Square Foot Auction. There are over 100 pieces of art by more than 70 artists currently on display and each piece is only 12x12 inches.
Artists from Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach as well as many artists from Winnipeg, rural Manitoba and Saskatchewan have submitted works to auction as a fundraiser for the NorVA Centre.
The talented and very funny Raphael Saray, Flin Flon’s very own Hungarian Heartthrob, will be conducting the auction and will be extolling us all to pay up to support our art gallery.
Mike Spencer, gallery manager at NorVA will be offering “5 at 5” each day the gallery is open between now and the auction date. This means that each day five pieces of art (randomly selected) that have bids through a silent-auction process will be sold at the price the last bidder placed on them.
This means that some incredible deals are possible. Go and see! The date and time of the final auction is Sunday, Oct. 16 at 1:30 pm.
