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Arts briefs

A cross-Canada cultural experience

A cross-Canada cultural experience

 

Squamish is getting in on the ground floor of a brand-new national movement that aims to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their community.

The volunteer-driven, grassroots initiative, dubbed Culture Days, will feature free, interactive activities that allow members of the public to get "hands-on" artistic experience and discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators and designers that are hard at work in their own community.

In Squamish, the creative minds behind Homebase Studios have taken on the task of coordinating a series of activities for local residents. They're planning to host a weekend-long block party starting on Friday, Sept. 24 and running until Sunday, Sept. 26. Activities include an acoustic rooftop performance by Kaylee Johnston and opening of A Day In The Life art show featuring work by resident artists, open door studio sessions, artist talks, a live mural jam session, BBQ and a closing rooftop soiree hosted by DJ Praiz.

Anyone interested in helping out with the block party activities should contact Stan Matwychuk at info@homebasestudios.ca. For more information on Squamish's schedule of activities for Culture Days, visit www.homebasestudios.ca, and for background on Culture Days, check out www.culturedays.ca.

 

Fun with Foote

 

Norman Foote is much more than a children's entertainer, he's an experienced performer who blends elements of puppetry, physical comedy and music into each and every show, enthralling audiences both young and old.

He's known around the world for his hilarious performances (he's played an incredible range of symphonies and festivals throughout North America, including the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, London Symphony, Montreal Comedy Festival and the Galway Festival in Ireland), entertaining crowds of all ages with larger-than-life puppets and songs from his many albums, including his most recent, the 2010 Juno award-winning tune, Love My New Shirt.

Next up, he's returning to the Sea to Sky corridor for a show at the Pemberton Community Centre on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. He'll be performing with the Pemberton Children's Choir, a group that is open to all elementary-aged children regardless of singing experience.

Tickets to the event are $4 for children, $10 for adults and $20 for a family of four, and all are available for purchase at the door.

 

The Way I See It this winter

 

Matchstick Productions (MSP), a world leader action sport filmmaking, is set to roll back into town this weekend to unveil their 20 th feature-length film to the legions of passionate skiers and snowboarders who call Whistler home.

Dubbed The Way I See It , MSP's latest project is "a modern take on the extreme sports genre featuring state of the art high definition cinematography." It was shot on location in Alaska, Japan, British Columbia, Colorado, Switzerland, and many other locations around the world, featuring an impressive roster of athletes that includes Mark Abma, Sean Pettit, Eric Hjorleifson, Henrik Windstedt, Bobby Brown, Colby West, James Heim, Richard Permin, Cody Townsend, Rory Bushfield, Ingrid Backstrom, Gus Kenworthy, Jacob Wester and Russ Henshaw.

"I definitely had some all-time moments shooting for The Way I See It ," executive producer Steve Winter said in a recent release. "One that really stood out for me was the night of May 9th - we filmed for two hours on a jump at Alyeska with Bobby Brown, Gus Kenworthy, Russ Henshaw and Richard Permin. It was a throw-down session like I have never seen before; Bobby did a few triple-flip variations and everyone stomped a ton of amazing tricks."

The film debuted to crowds in Boulder, Colorado on Sept. 18. The same evening, a panel of judges in Montreal awarded MSP with several of the top honors at the International Freeski Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Editing and the coveted People's Choice award. The 2010-2011 MSP Movie Tour will visit over 200 locations around the world this season, including Whistler this weekend. Screenings will take place at Millennium Place on Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. each night. The evenings also feature athlete appearances, poster signings, after parties, live entertainment and prize giveaways. Tickets are $16.50, and are available at the Helly Hansen stores or Millennium Place box office.

 

Skin is in as artistic canvas

 

Whistler resident Nina Moore placed second at Bodessy, the Canadian National Body Painting Championships, which was held in downtown Calgary on Saturday, Aug. 29. The Ottawa native wowed the crowds with her winning piece, an impressive Toy Soldier, painted straight onto the skin of a volunteer model over the course of the five-hour competition. In addition to winning the title of runner-up for her efforts, Moore also walked away with $1,500 of photography prizes sponsored by Inner Spirit Photography.

Though Moore only recently moved to Canada, she's already made quite a name for herself on the country's alternative body painting scene: in addition to her win at Bodessy last month, she also won the "Best Newcomer 2010" prize for FACE, the international face painting organization and came in the top three at the Brussels International Body Painting Contest in February. Last year, she placed 14th in her category at the World Body Painting championships held in Austria.

Moore offers a range of services including creative make up, face and body painting, casualty simulation and special effects make up, airbrush and glitter temporary tattoos. To see more of her designs, visit www.popartz.com. Or, visit the Whistler Farmers Market on Sunday, where she runs her booth "Paint on People: Face & Body Arts!" every weekend.