ArtaFact: Anna Jacyszyn highlights week’s entertainment
I’m saddened to hear about the passing of a fellow column writer and friend Jeanette Dunagan. It’s been a few years since we last spoke and that is what makes me sad. I always thought there would be more time.
Jeanette was full of life and culture who always dressed like a woman and always had an opinion of quality to share.
Her life and what she created around her is a testament to how she will be remembered and it reminds me of my own mortality and makes me wonder what kind of garden my own existence has created. Have I planted enough seeds of creativity and kindness to create an Eden of my own?
As aging follows me on this path I am forging, I will value the times I spend in thought, with family, in front of an audience and in the mental embrace of the like-minded people I get inspired from.
—————— Tonight, the Kelowna Actors Studio premieres George Orwell’s 1984 as part of its On The Edge series at their WorkRoom venue on Enterprise Way.
This dark but poignant play is set in an imagined future, the year 1984, when much of the world has fallen victim to perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and endless propaganda.
Written as a warning of the dangers of totalitarian government, I am looking forward to watching this play and examining its relevance to today’s political atmosphere.
Directed by Randy Leslie and with a stellar cast of actors, shows run nightly from Wednesday to Sunday until Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinees at 1 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased through Kelowna Tickets and cost between $24 and $29 (plus fees).
The WorkRoom is at 100 – 2600 Enterprise Way. Audience members must be age 14 years or older to attend. Once the play has commenced no one may leave the theatre.
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Let’s face the fact that December will always be an expensive month, but staying at home all January to save a few bucks will just create cabin fever or an online shopping overload of stuff you don’t really need.
Getting out is key and Dine Around Okanagan opens the door of possibilities to affordable dining.
This popular event runs until Feb. 2. Participating restaurants have created special menus of three courses paired with BC VQA wines, B.C. spirits and B.C. beer and with more than 50 restaurants participating, which you can view by visiting their website at dinearound.ca/restaurants.
View the menus and book your party as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
It’s a great chance to eat out with friends without having to cook and clean up or, like me, take my mom out for lunch and then have my husband take me out for a date night.
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While on the subject of dining out experiences, The Paisley Notebook created by Aman Dosanj is a pop-up dining experience which takes the diner on an adventure through the food they are about to eat before them and the connections that are made as a result.
On Jan. 19 it’s the East Coast Kitchen Party, inspired by a trip across the Maritimes. The feast is based on four East Coast-inspired courses, with entertainment by singer/songwriter, Chloe Davidson.
Award-winning bartender Harry Dosanj will be on hand with his pop-up cash bar to keep you in good spirits. The venue location is Courtney Ungaro Space + Design, at 986 Laurel Ave. Tickets are $112, available from PaisleyNotebook.com and the whole thing begins at 5 p.m.
—————— Tomorrow, creative thinking is at its best when The Okanagan Institute, Express Series presents: Discovering Regenerativity and the remaking of form and function with guest speaker Trevor Butler, an archineer.
An archineer was established in 2000 to bridge the gap between architecture and engineering and champion the cause of sustainability in the design of the built environment.
Butler has been at the forefront of green design practices since 1994.
Having established and developed the Construction Ecology Unit at U.K. company Fulcrum Consulting its mission is to explore and bring sustainable design practice into the mainstream.
These weekly Thursday events will be held at downtown library on Ellis Street at 5:30 p.m. You are asked to register your attendance through okanist.com/signup.
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This weekend, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra is performing classic rock in Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon. The Orchestral Rock Odyssey is musical journey through classic rock hits of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s and will feature the Gary Cable Project and the Spectrum Singers.
Hits from Queen, Supertramp, Moody Blues, Toto and The Beatles will be enriched by orchestral colour. “The merging of rock band and symphony orchestra is epic and elevates classic rock to a whole new level,” says OSO Music Director Rosemary Thomson. “I am so excited to share the stage with Gary Cable and the incredible band that he has assembled, with musicians who have played for the greatest rock icons of Canada and beyond.
“I invite you to discover a whole new side of your Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.”
This not-to-be missed event is taking place in Kelowna on Friday at the community theatre at 7:30 p.m., in Penticton on Saturday at the Cleland Theatre at 7:30 p.m., and in Vernon on Sunday at the performing arts centre beginning at 7 p.m.
For tickets and information, check the OSO website or go through Kelowna Tickets for the Kelowna and Penticton shows and Ticket Seller for the Vernon show.
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Bring a little warmth to the temperature on Sunday with the Fiddlers Afternoon Dance and its Hawaiianthemed dress code. It’s only $5 at the door, includes coffee and tea. All ages are welcome and there will be door and costume prizes to be won. Held at the Rutland Activity Centre at 765 Dodd Rd., from 2:30-4:30 p.m. More info at bcfiddlers.org Anna Jacyszyn is an award-winning jazz singer. For interviews, arts news and Valley events list to Listen to Around the Valley with Anna each Saturday at 10.45 a.m. on OkanaganValleyRadio.com Email: artafactevent@gmail.com.