This Week In Art/Culture/Entertainment
By John Swartz
The annual Starry Night event in the Arts District happens Saturday evening starting at 7 p.m.
Participating galleries this year are: The Shadow Box, Will McGarvey’s studio, Peter Street Fine Arts, Tiffin’s Creative Centre, Sanderson Monuments and Charles Pachter’s MOFO studio/gallery. There will be many other area artists, including Jimi McKee, and Paul Baxter (who always comes up with some kind of large display), and live music on Peter Street, which s closed to traffic.
DWN Chocolate is also participating, as is the CDC which will have Flux Glass Company and Designs by Kate Henny on display. Mariposa Arts Theatre will be set up on the street and Arts Orillia will have some dancers performing. Streets Alive will be present, with an announcement happening at 7:45 p.m. And there will be food vendors.
This will be the last year for Hibernation Arts because gallery owner Molly Farquharson is retiring and the gallery is closing August 30. Another gallery, The Maker’s Circle, operated by Melissa Van Dam will open in the same space by October 1.
Molly came to Orillia after being the director of a language school and teaching English in Istanbul, Turkey for a number of years, opening Hibernation 7 years ago.
“My sister lives here. I’ve been coming to Orillia for 40 years,” Molly said.
“I thought about it for a long time (retiring) and after awhile I thought, ‘you’ve been thinking about too long, do it.’”
There are currently 13 artists who have their art on the walls and most flat surfaces in the gallery. The featured artists this month is Peter Fyfe, who has a number of pieces in the space reserved for features near the front window. Of course Molly’s own art, stichwork, is on display.
“I’ve enjoyed it. I get to look at art every day and nice people come in; a very interesting couple from Guelph (that day), a few days ago there was a lovely couple from Columbia,” said Molly. She’s even had people in from Turkey.
“I’ve spoken more Turkish in this (place) than I have French. So many international people come in here, or people that live elsewhere and they are on their way. (passing through).”
“It’s a social center in many ways and I’ve enjoyed that. In the old days I used to do parties so I might have to start doing that again. I’ll miss the people part.”
So make sure to stop into Hibernation and wish Molly well on her retirement.
She’s not leaving Orillia.
“Why would I do that? I like it here.” She has bounced around the idea of having popup shows with Patti Campbell, so we could still have the opportunity to see her art.
Pow Wow
The Rama Pow Wow is happening this weekend. This is a colourful event held at the John Snake Memorial Multi-Purpose Grounds on Rama Road. There events and contests happening all afternoon, with a Grand Entry at 7 p.m. and more of the same Sunday after the Grand Entry at noon. Admission is $10, or $15 for the weekend.
Weekend In The Park
This weekend Movies In The Park has Toy Story Saturday, August 23 at dusk (free, collecting donations of food or cash for the Sharing Place) and the Skyliners Big Band plays the Sunday evening band concert August 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Next weekend is the Pirate Party at the Port of Orillia, Centennial Park and various other locations around town.
Downtown merchants will also be participating with a sidewalk sale. There will be a Scavenger Hunt downtown from Friday to Sunday. Dr. Bonkers will be performing at 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. in the downtown on the 30th.
New this year are Pirate Cruises. You can book those online here (just make sure you are on the Orillia page and click the green availability link).
This event has turned into a reenactor’s extravaganza, with mock battles and demonstrations happening at various times during the day.
There will be live music at the Port Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. with, in order, The Connor Brothers, the Fat Tony Band and The Orangemen and on Monday afternoon with the incredibly awesome Run With the Kittens at 1 p.m. Opening for the Kittens is the winner of the Orillia’s Got Talent contest, Evie Johnstone.
Of course the main attraction is the Walk The Plank event Saturday at 4 p.m. This is a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Orillia, specifically for refurbishments to the Aqua Theatre. You can get an entry form by emailing office@orillia.com
There is a full schedule of events here.
That Was Fun
Last weekend I attended a party and they had Grate Northern playing. I’ve heard the band several times, but this time I got three whole sets of them playing the music of The Grateful Dead.
The band (Ian McEwen, Sean Murray, Ryan Smith, Mike Van Dyk, and Dave Hewitt) was tighter than one of Dave’s drums. If you don’t know much about the Dead, they were famous for meandering off to places unknown in the middle of a tune, well, all their tunes. They were the original jam band.
This local crew did the same, with some interesting solos and excursions. The thing is, you can’t be a second string musician in a band like this. Aside from having chops, you need to be listening to the others all the time if everyone is going to arrive at the end together.
It’s another level of musical communication between players. It’s like jazz, but for rock. I like both, so that evening was fantastic.
The next day, Sunday, I was at a house concert organized by Jacob Duquette. He had B A Johnston and Freeman Dre performing.
I was not prepared for Johnston, not at all. Dre I’ve seen a few times, he used to play at the Brownstone as Freeman Dre and the Kitchen Party, which is exactly what you’d think that is, modelled after an East Coast kitchen party. I thought Johnston would be similar.
B A Johnston 
Freeman Dre
Johnston, while singing some songs, originals, trust me they are as original as they come, delivered his show with some lost genes from Carrot Top, Bobcat Goldthwait and Rip Taylor, especially Rip Taylor.
In short he was off the wall, or driveway in this case. He’s part musician and mostly comedian. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in some time. I would definitely go see him perform again. If you are anywhere and find out he is doing a gig, you will not regret making time to see it.
Dre, as mentioned used to do party music, but in the dozen or so years since I last saw him he has evolved into a balladeer. His songs are about the people he crosses paths with, the people in his life, and personal observations. He is such a personable performer it’s like he’s telling each of the stories of the music to you and there is no option but to say the performance was enjoyed very much.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia) Main: 2023 Starry Night
