This Week In Art/Culture/Entertainment
By John Swartz
It’s Christmas, almost. Has the panic set in yet? Is your gift list shopping incomplete, or did you forget to put Uncle Jack on it? Maybe you just want some tiny thing for an old, tiny friend.
Well, you’ve come to the right place. The annual Christmas column of things you can get that are different, more thoughtful, and not expensive is here.
Sure you can get a copy of Stephen King’s newest and probably the receiver will enjoy it, but you could also get enjoyable books by authors who are your neighbours.
All these books are available at Manticore Books.
Topping the list of new books is Wendy McQuaig’s Behind the Pickle Jar. She sold her 2,500th copy the night of the Children’s Candlelight Parade. That’s half way to being a Canadian best seller.
Also selling well is Tracy Woodhouse’s Redemption. Some of you might be thinking, ‘is that?’’ Yes, Tracy is Shawn ‘Woody’ Woodhouse’s sister.
Gill Tillmann has, Pour The Wine, talking about adult children – finally someone did an expose about me.
Dave Town has a new one out, Rebellion. There are several other books by Dave about life in Orillia as it used to be.
Chris Tomasini’s Close Your Eyes is a fairy tale, but it’s not specifically a young adult book, though he says older folks should enjoy it too.
Manticore also has Jim Foster’s The Crowning of Miss Mariposa (damn funny), and all of Sherry Lawson’s books (also damn funny, but some tear jerkers too). They also have copies of books by some guy most people have forgotten about. Leacock was his name. I heard they are pretty good too.
Hang In There
OK, so the recipient can’t read. That’s OK; they have company, if judging by online comments is the measure. Of course I’m kidding; comprehension isn’t what it used to be.
That said, art; it’s not just for the rich, or rich in waiting.
Saturday, December 14 (oh no! only two months to Valentine’s Day) from noon to 2 p.m. Streets Alive has their annual ornament giveaway. It’s at Hibernation Arts. Many artists have taken the time to make Christmas balls (hey, I didn’t mean that) and make something of them. Yes they are free. You can also drag along your significant other, or you insignificant other, and get a photo taken by Deb Halbot.
Hibernation also has lots of other pieces for sale that won’t break the pocket book. Can you break a pocket book? You can have a hole in a pocket and lose money, change, and I have heard of money tearing a hole in one’s pocket, but I think that’s more wear than tear.
Down the street at Peter Street Fine Arts their annual 6×6 show is up. All the paintings are small and inexpensive. The gallery also has lots of other artworks by several artists that would make great gifts.
Lee Contemporary Art has their If Only I’d Received Art for Christmas show this week. All the art is by Bewabon and Cal Shilling and Tanya Cunnington and is priced less than $100. Stop by the gallery on Peter Street Saturday December 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Across the street at OMAH, most of the stuff in their gift shop is made locally.
Cloud Gallery at Creative Nomad Studios has a sale on and you can save a significant amount on the selection of paintings they have reduced the price of. You can have a look at what is on sale here.
There’s been a lot of music made too, quite a bit really. I could make a list, but it would be long. A better option is to type Bandcamp into the search box on this website (not your browser’s) and it will return every column I linked a musician’s album to Bandcamp. On Bandcamp you can buy a digital download (and send it to someone else), or in many cases a CD, and in some cases a vinyl record. You can also listen to the music before you buy.
Story Time
It was a dark and stormy night. Wait… that was last night. Friday, December 13 the opening line is, Marley was dead: to begin with.
A reading of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol happens at St. Paul’s Centre beginning at 7 p.m. the readers are Adam Chambers, Carey Moran, Krista Storey and Janell Bartosek. Sean Patrick will be providing the music. You can get tickets online.
The event is a fundraiser for Green Haven Shelter for Women.
Concert Time
The Orillia Silver Band’s annual Christmas concert is Sunday, December 15 at the Opera House
The program is full of arrangements of Christmas music Neil Barlow thinks have not been performed in Orillia before. That said the composers/arrangers Norman Bearcroft, Stephen Bulla, Ken Downie, are not so new. Neil said a new piece, City of David, by Phil Rayment is particularly good. Phil is the nephew of the OSB’s euphonium soloist Paul Rayment.
Sticking with the family theme, Paul’s wife, Marlene, is the aunt of Doug Court, who arranged The Holly and the Ivy, the OSB will be playing.
Of course, before halftime the band will take requests.
Tickets for the 2 p.m. concert are available on online.
The Winners Are
Congratulations to these trophy winners for their participation in the chamber of commerce’s Santa Claus Parade.
- Large Commercial category, Georgian Duct Cleaning and Barrie Harley-Davidson
- Small Commercial category, McCauley Equipment Sales and The Patti Wagon
- Youth Groups category, Mariposa Dance Company and 1st Orillia Scout Group
- Service Clubs, Social Clubs, and Local Organizations category, Mariposa House Hospice and Kiwanis Club of Orillia
- Religious Groups category, Cornerstone Baptist Church Orillia and Salvation Army Orillia
- Walking Groups category, Titanium Arts Lab and Special Olympics Orillia
- Best Overall, Cards and Coasters
- Santa’s Choice Award, ToK Transit
The Shorts
- Belated congratulations to Rick Stephenson for picking up 4 awards at the Red Carpet Award Show in Europe in November. This is an independent artists recognition thing with hundreds of entries in each of the various categories. Rick’s awards were for Tribute Artist of the Year, Extraordinary Musical Voice of the Year for I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Cover Song of the Year for South of the Border, and Easy Listening Song of the Year for My Way. Rick called Orillia home for many years and was back last spring to do a concert with the Orillia Concert Band.
- The Orillia Vocal Ensemble has their concert December 21 at St. Paul’s Centre. Their guests are the Orillia Community Children’s Choir. Their concerts are always admission by donation and function as fundraisers for local charities; this time it’s the Orillia Central Preschool who are beneficiaries.
- OMAH got a $10,000 grant for the Telus Friendly Future Foundation. It’s for the museum’s new Museum in a Box program. Teachers can borrow classroom’s worth of artifacts, and curriculum connected art and language lessons. The program is geared towards Grades 4-8.
- The Orillia Museum of Art and History has three exhibits to see, one is Teachers and Their Enduring Impact, The Legacy of Jose Salas, the annual Carmichael show Tradition Transformed, and Gillian Lowry’s Owl Pen Revisited. 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.
- The Washago monthly jam night is Dec. 18 at the Lions Hall. It starts at 7 p.m. and bring something to donate to the Sharing Place.
- New Year’s Eve Even Steven are at Lake Country Grill; Samantha Windover is at Couchiching Craft Brewing; Mil and the Thrills with Jordan Mathias are at the legion (get tickets. $25, at the bar).
- The Mariposa Folk Festival’s annual February Gospel and Blues concert #13 happens after Valentine’s Day on Feb. 22 at the Opera House. Lance Anderson has Andrew Craig, Jim Bowskill, Brittany Brooks, Selena Evangeline and Emily Burgess lined up to play, so far. Tickets always go fast for this one, and probably make a nice Christmas gift, get them online. And, the applications for artisans and food vendors for the summer festival are open now.
- Couchiching Craft Brewing has James Gray playing Dec. 13; Jeremiah Hill Dec. 14; Shawn Charlebois Dec. 20… Quayle’s Brewery has Chris Lemay playing Dec. 13; Genevieve Cyr Dec. 14; Chris Staig Dec. 15; Ron Whitman Dec. 18; Andrew Walker Dec. 19; and Vince Therrien Dec. 20… the Hog ‘N Penny has a revolving cast of characters lead by Sean Patrick playing music every Saturday evening… B Knox is at Picnic Dec. 15… Dave Shaw is at the Lone Wolf Café Dec. 19… The ANAF Club has Teresa and the Foundation playing Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m.; they have an open mic Sunday at 2 p.m.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia and Images Supplied) Main: Streets Alive’s annual Merry Streets Alive Christmas event is at Hibernation Arts on Saturday.
