Saturday, August 22, 2015

News and notes on a summer Saturday in Niagara

There appears to be plenty of opportunity to get out and enjoy a lovely summer weekend in Niagara, and that includes our incredible St. Catharines Farmer's Market, on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning year-round.

I just returned home with far more than I originally went for, but that is the nice thing about Niagara.  When you grow so much here, you don't have far to go to get the best the world has to offer.  Peaches, corn, eggs, Brazil nuts, early lunch and oh yes, the requisite butter tart...I think I'm done!

Now that I have fed the body, how about feeding the soul?  You can do that today too, as the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre opens up the seating to new members starting now.  The general public can purchase beginning September 12th, but why wait?  In this case, becoming a member certainly does have its privileges.

In addition to advance notice and discounts on tickets to events at the PAC, you will also receive invitations to special events throughout the season and you can also look into having a friend come for free to selected events.  There is lots more available to new members too, including discounts at partnering establishments.

In July, the 2015-16 Inaugural Hot Ticket Season was announced for the PAC, and as was the case at the venue's predecessor, Centre for the Arts at Brock University, there will be a mix of new and old, tried and true and newly-adventurous this season.

The first Hot Ticket performance at the Partridge Hall will be Darlene Love returning to Niagara Saturday evening, November 28th.  Also playing the large hall before the Christmas break will be Louise Pitre December 3rd; Jesse Cook December 4th; Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy's Holiday Celebration December 5th; Ballet Jorgen's The Nutcracker December 8th and 9th; Classic Albums Live Led Zeppelin I December 10th; Molly Johnson's The Billie Holiday Project December 16th; John McDermott's Family Christmas December 17th and The Celtic Tenors December 18th.

The Robertson Theatre will host Fixt Point & Suitcase in Point Theatre Company with The Tale of a Town - St. Catharines from October 8th to the 18th; Essential Collective Theatre's production of Gary Kirkham's Falling:  A Wake from November 18th to the 29th; Edge of the Woods Theatre production of Ralph & Lina December 2nd and 3rd; and the return of Suitcase in Point Theatre Company with Gimme! Gimme! A Holiday Cabaret December 11th to the 13th.

The Cairns Recital Hall will host Fortunate Ones on November 7th.  This pop-folk duo hails from opposite sides of Newfoundland and have come together to make some interesting music together.

That's just what's in store for the fall season as the venues come online and begin to host events at the PAC.  In January the film series will be announced for the film theatre, so we'll wait and see what will be coming to that smaller venue early next year.

Of course, there will be other tenants beyond the Hot Ticket series, including performances by Carousel Players, Chorus Niagara, the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts, The Encore! Professional Concert Series, The Foster Festival, Gallery Players of Niagara, the In The Soil Arts Festival, Niagara Artists Centre's Strutt event, and of course the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.

All those events will be included on the Calendar page of my website at www.finemusic.ca shortly if they are not already there, so you can see everything on my site as well as on the FirstOntarioPAC site.

You can find out more today by going online to www.FirstOntarioPAC.ca or by calling the box office at 905-688-5601, ext. 3700 or 905-688-0722.  You can also email the box office at BoxOffice@FirstOntarioPAC.ca.

This evening, downtown Thorold will come alive with the 27th annual Thorold Street Dance, hosted by the Protection Hose Company #1 Volunteer Firefighters.  The event begins at 7 pm in the parking lot beside the Thorold firefighters station #1 on Towpath.

Music will be provided by the classic rock group Fifteen Stone, and admission is only $3, with proceeds going to Muscular Dystrophy and the Thorold branch of Community Care of St. Catharines & Thorold.  This is an over 19 event, by the way, but should be a fun way to spend a lively and lovely Saturday night in the heart of Niagara.

Finally, this coming Monday evening I will be joining the local arts community attending the Annual General Meeting for Essential Collective Theatre at their present home at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in downtown St. Catharines.  The AGM gets underway at 7 pm, by the way.

I was recently asked to join the ECT board, which is something I have never done before, so I am a little nervous at the prospect of being on a Board of Directors.  I long subscribed to the old adage I would not join any club that would have me as a member, but since it is a board for an arts organization on the cusp of entering the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre this season, I figured why not?  How much trouble can I get into?

We'll see...

Wish me luck!

August 22nd, 2015.

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