Things promise to get a bit wet and wild at Meadow Park this coming Friday night, as the community sport centre plays host to the seventh annual pool party for Late and Unique Nighttime Alternatives (LUNA).
LUNA regularly hosts fun, alcohol-free events that are designed to entertain and engage locals and seasonal workers, and with Moist: The Pool Party, they've done just that. For just $5, folks aged 18 and older can lounge in the pool, hot tub and sauna while enjoying the musical offerings of DJ JimiRay and Canosis, warm rays from the fire, and even enjoy some snacks. But this isn't just any dip in the local swimming hole: this year's event is Bollywood-themed, so expect Indian cuisine, lots of poolside sari style, some good stretching and even massages. All you have to bring is a bathing suit, towel and photo ID (to borrow a bathrobe).
So no excuses - dive right into the Welcome Week festivities with this party, which starts at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 and goes until midnight.
Moist is also the first LUNA event of the season, so even if you can't make it out this time around, stay tuned for other events that this community group has in store during the upcoming months.
Proudly M.A.D.E. in Pemberton
The new Pemberton Community Centre will be packed to the gills with locally produced arts, crafts and other goodies as part of the second annual Pemberton M.A.D.E. show. And the best part? It's a night designed for adults only, with a licensed cash bar and live music from the funk and groove master himself, Papa Josh, who leads the pack of local musicians set to entertain the masses.
Organized by the Pemberton Arts Council, the show features more than 35 local artists, from throughout the northern Sea to Sky corridor, stretching from Pemberton to as far away as Birken and D'Arcy. Music, photography, slide shows, paintings, mixed medium artwork, video, sculpture, fabric art, graffiti, jewelry and stone works are among the many pieces included in the event - something for just about anyone on your Christmas shopping list.
PAC Chair Karen Love is excited about the opportunity to showcase local artists' work under one roof at the community centre.
"I think being at the centre will introduce a lot of residents to the variety of art being created in the valley," Love said in a recent press release. "The evening is going to be great fun for the community. Last year's show was such a big success we had to do it again.
"I believe that shows like Pemberton M.A.D.E. are essential to illustrate the cultural life of the valley and how that culture is interpreted. Hopefully, it will inspire other artists to get involved, put their work out there and take some chances."
M.A.D.E., which stands for Music Art Dance Expression, will fill the centre's foyer, gallery and four meeting rooms with arts, crafts, and music during the evening, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21 and runs until 1 a.m.
Hitting the road with a rock star
There are loads of books written by (and about) famous musicians and their travels, but not many that offer the same perspective as David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries .
The lead singer of Talking Heads has recently released a book that chronicles his exploration of cities around the world while on tour, via his fold-up bike.
A resident of New York City who began riding his bike in the 1980s, Byrne has pedaled the streets, alleys and parks of London, Sydney, Manila, Berlin, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Detroit and New York, just to name a few stops along his many tours. While he was at it, he also managed to keep a diary of the experiences, noting the landscapes, architecture, fashion, culture and artwork he experienced along the way.
This collection of notes, photos and general observations was published last month. Bicycle Diaries also takes a look at issues like urban planning, art, culture and the postmodern society.
As Byrne puts it, "Our values and hopes are sometimes awfully embarrassingly easy to read. They're right there - in the storefronts, museums, temples, shops, and office buildings and in how these structures interrelate, or sometimes don't... Riding a bike through all this is like navigating the collective neural pathways of some vast global mind."
Whistler Reads, the community's local book group, has partnered with Whistler's Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) to host a discussion of Bicycle Diaries at The Westin's FireRock Lounge on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. It isn't mandatory to read the book in advance, though copies will be available for purchase at the event. Admission is a suggested donation of $10.
