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A dance floor feast for the senses What does sensual mean to you? Is it something you see or taste or hear or feel? Or perhaps it’s all of the above, an overload of the senses.

A dance floor feast for the senses

What does sensual mean to you? Is it something you see or taste or hear or feel? Or perhaps it’s all of the above, an overload of the senses. Tommy Africa’s is looking to be a feast for all the five senses with a Latin laced love-in house party Wednesday, June 25. Dress in theme for what organizers promise will be a "wicked" night out.

Spinning the sexy sounds all night will be Washington’s DJ Hebegebe, whose popular style can best be described as souflul and sexy. Expect anything that will touch your heart and get you on the dance floor. Jazzy breaks and bossa nova-type sounds, flamenco fused and bongo based, expect anything to get your booty moving.

Hebegebe has had residencies for years in both Seattle and Vancouver, and he jet-sets regularly to playgrounds like Ibizia, Prague, Vienna, Naples, Athens and Mykonos.

Sensual is $8 in advance or $10 at the door from Tommy Africa’s.

Rudd Image is in production folder

Xavier Rudd returns

Who: Xavier Rudd

Where: Boot Pub

When: Friday and Saturday, July 4-5

Whistler seems to be almost the fantastic Mr. Rudd’s second home these days. Wasn’t it less than six months ago he was here sending the village into a frenzy? Considering he had two sell-out shows with many X fans attending both shows, it clearly wasn’t enough.

His Whistler cousins will be super pumped to learn the thunder from down under, tagged in the Canadian press as the "Jack Johnson" of Australia, will be back to perform for two nights at the Boot Pub – armed with a new album and new experiences to reflect on.

The one-man-multi-instrumentalist-singer-songwriter-didgeridooistic talent has gone from strength to strength, thanks in part he says, to his loyal supporters in the northern hemisphere (yes, that’s us). One minute he's playing tiny bars in his native Australia and adopted Canada, the next he has major artists and festival agents clamouring for his services all over the world.

Xavier Rudd combines incredible compositions with crafted guitar displays, a wonderful voice and an extra added twist of the didgeridoo, foot drum and other tribal instruments. His Whistler stop is a special bonus addition to his current North American tour with artists such as Ani Di Franco, Dan Bern, and possibly Michael Franti and Spearhead back in Australia later this year.

Tickets are $12 in advance from the Boot Pub front desk or Ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 8 p.m., show starts at 10 p.m.

Punk Nite is back with a difference

What: The Anti Club Nite

Where: Boot Pub

When: every Sunday from June 22

Are you tired of crappy chick tunes pumping out of the venues around town? Sick of hanging out with show-offs, snobs and city slickers? Then get out of the village and into the Boot Pub on Sundays for the Anti-Club Nite.

Their slogan is "No Strippers, No Hippies", meaning just tear it down to basic good fun.

"This night will be all about the music and the culture of skating mainly," said Anti-Club Nite organizer, Morgan Blake.

The event is a reincarnation of the popular punk nights at the Boot Pub during winter, with a new skateboarding twist. Blake, along with local punk guru, Chris Jones, and local punk night promoter Lindsay Sheddon, will be bringing the best live bands from the west each week. Expect S.T.R.E.E.T.S, Side-67, Exithiside and many more, including End This Week With Knives for the June 22 opening.

"We thought the old punk night was great," said Blake. "But we want to add some action sport product releases, skate video premieres, big name punk band CD releases and keep it as fresh as possible every week."

For more information go to www.mountainpromotions.com

Outrageous fun at ARTrageous

What: ARTrageous

Who: Whistler Arts Council

Where: Fairmont Chateau Whistler

When: Saturday, July 5

Expect a smorgasboard of art and music for the ninth annual ARTrageous, a showcase of Whistler and Pemberton artists. The Frontenac Ballroom will be transformed into a vibrant splash of colour, creativity and calypso tunes from 8 p.m. onwards on Saturday, July 5.

There’ll be hot salsa beats from Juno nominees Rumba Calzada, guaranteed to get your feet moving while you muse at all the art and DJs. Roving performers and other local musicians will be mixed into the mania.

Get your costumes ready now for great prizes for Best Latin Lover and Most Sensual Senorita. Tickets just $18, available now from the Whistler Arts Council at MY Place.

Also back at ARTrageous is the popular Birdhouse Painting for the kids from noon to 2 p.m. on the same day. Based at the Blackcomb Adventure Zone at the bottom of Blackcomb Mountain, this event is always capital "F" for fun – and for free too.

Artists can still be part of the party by contacting the Whistler Arts Council, the organizers behind the event. For a fee of $20, you can display and sell your work and even be "at work" on the evening, if you can handle the carnival of distractions.

Call 604-935-8419 for more information and artist registration forms.

Image in production folder of red shoes (just make sure it’s not being used in gallery listings, I gave them a choice anyway between red shoes and a lizard)

There’s no place like home

What: Red Shoes by Gailene Powell

Where: Newport Gallery, Squamish

When: all month

One power of an artist is to help us see in new ways, to see deeply. In the Red Shoes series from B.C. artist Gailene Powell, shoes have been used to create a visual place imprinted with memory. The shoes have the effect of triggering personal visions that seem to halt the flow of time.

The colour red makes reference to Hans Christian Andersen's morality tale and the subsequent attachment of the red shoe as a symbol for the female artist.

Other references are made to literary figures, historical and fictional characters.

The series occurs as triptychs and diptychs with paintings on some canvases and poetry on others. The interaction between text and paintings creates an interpretive space that is rich in layered meanings.

The Red Shoes series is on display at the Newport Gallery from June 13 to July 2. Call 604-892-1080 for details.