This Week In Art/Culture/Entertainment
By John Swartz
The big event this weekend is the Orillia Youth Centre fundraising concert with Matchedash Parish Saturday evening at St. Paul’s Centre.
This is the second round of concerts for the cause in as many weeks. It promises to be as successful as last weekend’s, reviewed in Part 2 of this week’s arts roundup.
Matchedash Parish is an assembly of 11 musicians with Lance Anderson as the ring leader. They previously played the Mariposa Folk Fest two years in a row in the weekend ending slot.
The music is originally composed for the band, and the players are all top session players in Toronto.
Their album, Saturday Night, was out in 2019 and a new one was supposed to be unveiled this week. As sometimes happens in the music biz, things don’t always follow the schedule and there won’t be copies of the disc to buy. But you’ll hear the music anyway. Lance told me the show will be half from their first album and half new music.
Opening the show is Pennsylvania singer/songwriter Roger Harvey. Roger has played in Orillia several times, all them as fundraisers for the youth center. Last time he added Tim Kehoe to the stage setting to play pedal steel, and that is the case this time around. Roger did a workshop for OSS music students earlier in the week.
He’ll play another concert late Sunday evening at the Youth Center. Joining him is another favourite musician Sky Wallace. Skye has a new album out November 1. It’s produced by Hawksley Workman. Here’s a tune from it.
There will be about a two week break and then there are more concerts for the Youth Centre. Lenny Lashley, an American who travelled in both the punk and country crowds, along with Nixon Boyd and Rebekah Hawker will play Creative Nomad Studios October 10 and the youth center October 11.
It all comes to an end November 9 when Steve Poltz and Danny Michel play at St. Paul’s Centre.
Tickets for any of those concerts are online.
And, the last of the summer’s Coulson Concert Series happens at 2 p.m. September 29 with Blair Packham playing. You might remember him from The Jitters. It’s at the Coulson Church on Horseshoe Valley Road and you can get tickets online.
Look for reviews of all that happened during the last week, and there’s lot, in Part 2.
The Shorts
- Brent Mayhew has a piano recital happening Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. He’ll play pieces by Grieg and Liszt. It’s a house concert and you’ll get directions when you get tickets, which you can do by calling texting 705-326-6999, or by emailing brentmayhew@rogers.com
- The Coldwater Fall Fair is September 28 and 29. They have a midway
- There are only a few spots for Trunkers left and registration for the 5th annual Trunk Or Treat Halloween fundraiser for the Orillia Youth Centre is open. You can get tickets online for your kids starting Oct. 1. The date of the event is Saturday October 26 and it’s at ODAS Park.
- Mariposa Arts Film Night is starting again. All shows (4 and 7 p.m.) are at the Galaxy. Crossing plays Oct. 4; Ghostlight plays Oct. 23. Ticket prices have dropped to $10 this year, and students pay $5 – at the door.
- The City is hosting Culture Days this year at the Orillia Recreation Centre Sept. 28. The day starts at 9:30 and Arts Orillia, Georgian College, the Orillia and Area Black Community Association, ODAC, OMAH and the Orillia Native Women’s Group are participating.
- The Leacock Museum has a new exhibit, Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction and has a Ghost Walk happening opening day, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The walks will also happen Oct. 18, 19, 25 and 26. You can get tickets online. The museum also has author Jeremy John (Robert’s Hill (or the time I pooped my snowsuit) and other Christmas stories, as well as The Strange Grave of Mikey Dunbar, and other stories to make you poop your pants reading from his work Sept. 22 at 1 and 3 p.m.
- Downtown Orillia is putting on a parade. The Monster March is Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. Anyone can enter, but you have to dress up, or if you are like me, come as you are. This one is going up the hill on Mississaga Street. There will be Trick or Treating for the kids at some downtown businesses after the parade.
- There are a few other gigs at the Opera House to be aware of. Mariposa Arts Theatre is doing Gypsy in November, which has Josh Halbot directing for the first time. Get tickets here. Second City is coming Oct. 4 (tickets) and guitarist Johannes Linstead has a concert Oct. 18 (many tunes and albums on various Billboard charts over the years – tickets).
- You can get tickets now for the Mariposa Folk Festival’s Mariposa-In-Concert event Nov. 23 at the Opera House with Matt Weidinger’s Van Morrison show. Matt is a member of Matchedash Parish and has appeared in many of Lance Anderson’s tribute show bands.
- Bonnie Milne has a new tune, Eloquence, she recorded at St. Paul’s Center (by Nixon Boyd) with Dave Hewitt, Alyssa Wright, and Dawn Ellis playing along. You can hear it here. It was #3 on a classical chart in the U.K. at the end of August. Zachary Lucky also has new music to hear. You can listen to Ramblin’ Kind here.
- The Orillia Museum of Art and History has Jeanette Luchese’s solo show, The Process Informs Me: Contemporary Abstract Frescoes; New exhibits include Gillian Lowry’s Owl Pen Revisited; Teachers And Their Enduring Impact: The Legacy Of Jose Salas (includes works by students of the former Park Street art teacher); OMAH’s annual gala is Jan. 18 and is also their 25th anniversary party; it’s at Hawk Ridge and the keynote speaker is Adam Shoalts; get tickets online… St. Paul’s Centre has the Call to Action 83 Art Project in the Ogimaa Miskwaaki Gallery… Hibernation Arts has a display of the art chosen for Sustainable Orillia’s annual calendar… Cloud Gallery still has their Great Big Show up… ODAC artists have a new show in the Green Room at the Opera House.
- Couchiching Craft Brewing has the Sin Bin Comedy Show (with Kyle Brownrigg) happening Sept. 28; Burke Erwin plays Sept. 29; Valerie Burns and Dave Chun play Oct. 4 ; Mr. B and the Band play the afternoon Oct. 5 and Drag-O-Ween (tickets) happens in the evening… Quayle’s Brewery has Jakob Pearce playing Sept. 28; Genevieve Cyr Sept. 29; Vince Therrien plays Oct. 4… The Hog ‘N Penny has Bobby Dove playing Sept. 28; an Open Mic happens Sunday afternoons with Sean Patrick, Michael Martyn John MacDonald, Jessica Martin and whoever else shows up… St. Paul’s Pub Night returns Sept. 28 with Upbeat Groove playing; $10 at the door… the Orillia Big Band plays dance music for a fundraiser for food programs at St. James’ Anglican Church Oct. 5, email orilliabigband@gmail.com for tickets… Vitalogy plays at St. Paul’s Centre Oct. 26 (tickets)… Jakob Pearce plays Picnic Sept. 29.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia and Images Supplied) Main: Lance Anderson and Matt Weidinger of Matchedash Parish at Mariposa 2018.
