The big news in the arts scene in northern Manitoba this week is the opening of the Northern Juried Art Show (NJAS) being held in The Pas.
There is a new location for this year’s show: the University College of the North gymnasium, at the UCN site, 436 - 7th Street East. This is the 40th anniversary of the show, north of the 53rd parallel. This year’s theme is Call of The North. The show opens on Thursday, April 7 and runs until Saturday, April 9.
Historically the Northern Juried Art Show has provided the opportunity for northern artists to display their art and to receive written critiques of the work from established professional artists.
Artists don’t compete per se, but there are small monetary awards presented to the artists who submit the best examples of work in each of many disciplines, from oil painting to fibre art to three-dimensional works.
Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach artists generally do very well at the NJAS. There are often more than 30 area artists represented. The list of awards will be included in my next Elly on the Arts column.
The NJAS is sponsored by the Manitoba Arts Network and rotates year by year among several northern communities. Last year the show was in Gillam and next year, in Canada’s sesquicentennial year, the NJAS will be back in Flin Flon.
The final Home Routes concert for the season is The Young Novelists,
a folk/roots duo from Toronto. As usual, there are two Flin Flon shows. On Sunday, April 10, there is a home concert at 183 Murton Blvd. Contact Ann and Doug at [email protected] to attend. Or see the duo at a show at Johnny’s Social Club on Tuesday, April 12. Tickets for that show are available at the door and seating will be rush. Doors open at 7 pm and the show starts at 7:30 pm. This young couple, Graydon James and Laura Spink, are so good. You really must see them!
Ham Sandwich Theatre and the Flin Flon Arts Council are proud to present a production of Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro.
The play ran in the John Houseman Theatre in New York for over 800 performances. It is the story of an Italian-American family coming to grips with a son who wants to leave the family fold and move from Brooklyn to Seattle to spread his wings. It’s a funny play and we have it on good authority that the local theatre troupe is brilliant.
DiPietro has many awards under his belt. He co-wrote The Toxic Avenger, which won the Outer Circle Critics Award for best musical in 2009. (Saw this, LOVED it!)
He won two Tony Awards in 2010 - best book of a musical and best original score for Memphis (only saw this one on PBS but again, LOVED it) and was nominated for the Tony Award for best book of a musical again in 2012 for Nice Work If You Can Get It. This guy is the real deal.
There are tickets left for all shows so get down to Northern Rainbow’s End and pick up yours for the whole family. The production is at RH Channing Auditorium on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 pm. On Saturday, April 16, there is a matinee at 1:30 pm and an evening performance at 7:30 pm.
