There's a new band for a new festival.
Blame the Weekend, the brainchild of Whistler musician Matt King, will launch during the Great Outdoors Festival (GO Fest), which takes place over the upcoming May long weekend.
Their big reveal takes place at the GO Fest free stage in Village Square on Monday, May 19, at 5:15 p.m. Blame the Weekend performs "all sorts of tunes" but adds a rock and roll edge, King says.
"I was very fortunate to be able to approach the people who were on my A-list for who I wanted to play, and everybody was available," King says.
The A-listers joining King are Rjan Das, Jason Chaulk, Rachel Thom and Gary Yoshida.
King has performed with the duo Big Mountain Rhythm in Whistler for several years, and it is still going strong, but he wanted to give "a polished five-piece" a try.
"There have been more full bands performing in the market and they're sounding awesome... I wanted to get back to the full-band sound," he says.
"All of us bring something different. We've got a very diverse musical background."
For more information visit the band's Facebook page: blametheweekend
WFF Adventure Films series needs volunteers
The Whistler Film Festival is looking for volunteers to help during its Adventure Film Series at Millennium Place on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18.
The film series is part of the long weekend's Great Outdoors Festival. In exchange for their time, each volunteer will receive a ticket to a screening of their choice.
Saturday shifts are 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., Sunday shifts are 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. To volunteer go to volunteer@whistlerfilmfestival.com or call 604-938-3203.
Between Shifts Theatre brings back awards
Squamish's Between Shifts Theatres placed second at the North Shore Zone Festival Awards on May 10, for its production of The Glass Menagerie.
Michael Hewitt, who directed the Tennessee Williams play, won best director, while Kathy Daniels won Best Actor (Female) – the fifth time she has won, and the play's backstage crew won Best Backstage Crew.
Honourable mentions included Best Production, Todd Weitzl winning Best Actor and Maclean Falkins winning Best Supporting Actor.
Daniels, Between Shifts' artistic director, said they were pleased about the awards but sorry to no longer perform the play.
"The two main awards are great, the honourable mentions are fantastic," Daniels says. "We're sad to say goodbye to this beautiful play. We wanted to show it to more people. It's hard to say goodbye to the characters and the experience."
Between Shift's next production is Noises Off, a farce by British playwright Michael Frayn. It will be performed in November.
Doc Fingers fundraiser tickets go on sale
Tickets for the Point Artist-Run Centre's annual fundraiser Boom! Whistler's Boomers and Echoes Recall the Bad Old Days are going on sale this weekend.
Whistler piano man Doc Fingers, who has played alongside legends Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Rita Coolidge and Stevie Winwood, will be performing along with his trio.
The event is the Point's major fundraiser for the year and will include a multi-course Chinese dinner by Michele Bush, inspired by the Alta Lake Inn in the 1970s and '80s.
Tickets are $30 including dinner, available at www.thepointartists.com and at Armchair Books in Whistler Village.
Kids learn moviemaking at WFF Summer Film Camp
The Whistler Film Festival Summer Film Camps for Kids offer campers a unique opportunity to learn how to write, shoot, act, direct and edit a short film.
The participants will spend five days putting together a film from beginning to end with a fun.
Camp 1 — Lego Stop Motion Animation — will run July 7 to 11 for kids aged seven to 10. Camp 2 —- Digital Film Production — will run July 14 to 18 for kids aged 11-14.
The camps take place at Millennium Place in Whistler and cost $595. For more visit www.whistlerfilmfestival.com.
