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Summertime festival scene fires up

Whether you're into house, techno and bass, hip hop and dancehall, or bluegrass and acoustic rock, you should be able get your fill of live music at one of two music festivals this weekend.

Whether you're into house, techno and bass, hip hop and dancehall, or bluegrass and acoustic rock, you should be able get your fill of live music at one of two music festivals this weekend.

The second annual Bass Coast Project is scheduled to go down from Friday, July 23 to Monday, July 26 on the white sand beaches of the Squamish Valley: think four days and three nights of amazing live and electronic music alongside the Squamish River. And organizers have nailed down a solid lineup for the event, including headliners Martyparty, Megasoid, Djunya, El Papa Chango, Adham Shaikh, Mat the Alien, Hrdvsion, Inkwell, Neighbour, Bitchin', Vinyl Ritchie and Foxy Moron. Tickets are $145. For more information, visit www.basscoastproject.com.

Anyone interested in a live-only lineup should probably head up to Birken, where the sixth annual Bonfire Festival will be going off from Friday, July 23 to Sunday, July 25. This family-owned and operated community festival has spent the last five summers on the Sunshine Coast. It has made the move to the mainland this year, setting up shop on the Moon Farm's 40-acre site, which features open fields, a 360-degree view of snowcapped mountains and the glacier-fed Gates River.

Organizer Keith Duggan has secured the Acorn Project, Headwater, Vaughn Kreestoe, New Monsoon, We Are The City, Baked Potato, The Release, Sixgun Buddha, Peace & Decision Israel, G. Willy, Outlaw Social, Redeye Empire, Kostaman & the Good Vibrations Band and The Tree Shepherds to perform throughout the weekend.

Three-day passes are $80 in advance or $100 at the gates, and youth aged 11 to 15 get in for $50 (kids under 10 are free). Day passes range from $20 to $40. For more information, visit www.bonfirefestival.com.

 

Comedy night at Chances

Squamish's new gaming and entertainment venue, Chances Boardwalk, has been offering up a pretty steady roster of live music and activities since opening in February, and now they're set to kick-off a regular comedy night at their Rock Bar and Grill.

To make sure that the laughs are aplenty, they've enlisted the help of one very funny man: Chris Molineux. Molineux is apparently one of the most "in-demand" comedians in Canada. He has worked with Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Norm Macdonald and Ellen Degeneres. He's performed on Just for Laughs and the H.B.O. Workspace.

Catch Molineux in action on Friday, July 30. Tickets are $___ and the performance starts at __ p.m.

 

Get creative with Kokanee

Just in time for the craziness that is Crankworx, the folks at Kokanee are calling on fans to get their artistic juices flowing and enter their original artwork into Crank the Can competition.

They're looking for a unique take and graphic twist on their own design, which features the iconic mountains that are home to the Kokanee Glacier. The winning submission will walk away with a VIP experience at the 2010 Crankworx festival and the chance to have their design printed on next year's limited edition Kokanee Crankworx can series.

People can submit their designs online at the Kokanee Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com.kokanee). On July 29 six finalists will be posted online and members of the public will have a chance to pick their top three designs. The winner will be unveiled at the Slopestyle final on Sunday, Aug. 15.

 

A Spirited film

Whistler Chamber of Commerce is looking for someone familiar with the community to help produce a new DVD for the Whistler Spirit program.

They've issued a request for proposals through the Whistler Arts Council, calling for candidates who have filmmaking experience and are familiar with local community culture and Whistler's Service Strategy. The goal of the project is to develop a DVD that would be used during the Spirit events and courses in the 2010-2011-winter season to engage and inspire participants. For more information on the opportunity, see the Calls for Entry link at www.whistlerartscouncil.com.

 

Time to get Bizarre

Whistler's original artisan market, Bizarre Bazaar takes place Nov. 26-27 and organizers are asking any artisans interested in taking part to get their submission packages together.

The annual event features over 100 artisans from throughout the Sea to Sky corridor and the province working in a range of mediums including ceramics, wood, glass, jewelry, metal, leather, aromatherapy, food and clothing. In addition to the assortment of handcrafted goods, the two-day event includes local entertainment and a silent auction. Bizarre Bazaar attracts more than 5,000 visitors each year.

The Bazaar is a juried process, with the majority of products handcrafted. At least 65 per cent of accepted artisans will be from the Sea to Sky region. Anyone interested in selling their wares at the 2010 Bizarre Bazaar must submit an application, which includes clear photos, a detailed description of their work and a photo or drawing of their booth set-up. Visit www.whistlerartscouncil.com for guidelines and to apply online. The deadline for application is Friday, Aug. 13 at 4 p.m.

 

The 2010 Summer of Funny

The countdown is on for anyone out there who thinks they can tickle people's funny bones with the written word: they've got just five more weeks to craft a comedic piece for the second annual Summer of Funny humour-writing contest sponsored by Pique Newsmagazine .

The inaugural competition in '09 yielded so many quality submissions that Pique staffers simply couldn't agree on a clear winner. So the powers that be decided to divide the $400 prize purse among the eight entries that stood out from the pack.

And since none of the writers complained, Pique has decided to give the contest another whirl this year. The rules are the same - all written submissions will be accepted, from anywhere in Canada, and can be in the form of stories (up to 2,000 words), poems, plays/scripts, or long-format jokes. We'd even accept cartoons.

The prize money will be the same, as will the review by Pique writers and staff. If there is a clear winner this year they may receive a larger share of the purse at our discretion, otherwise we may decide to simply run a wide selection of pieces this year and divvy up the prize money equally. Humour is subjective after all, and we'd like to give our readers a chance to decide.

Send all entries to andrew@piquenewsmagazine.com before Monday, Aug. 23 for inclusion in our Labour Day long weekend issue. Please include a brief biography and mailing address.

 

Calling all artists...

Whistler's Public Art Committee wants you! They're on the lookout for artists and teams of artists for three projects: a public art project inspired by the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic experience, new street banners for the village, and unpublished, original poetry to include in the Poet's Pause art installation at Alta Lake Park.

The Games Legacy Art Project calls for a piece of art inspired by the artist or artists' personal experiences and observations of the Games here in Whistler. The finished piece will be installed at one of four sites on the Whistler Olympic Plaza, once construction is complete.

They are also looking for an artist or designer to create a series of banners for the Winter to Spring 2010/2011 series. Anyone with a background in painting, drawing, printing, photography, design composition or graphic design is encouraged to apply. The selected artist will ultimately be responsible for developing a theme and creating four designs that illustrate that theme.

Finally, the committee is seeking submissions of unpublished, original poetry to include in the existing Poet's Pause installation at Alta Lake Park.

The deadline for applications for the Games Legacy project is Monday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m., while the deadline for the street banner project is Monday, Aug. 9 at 3 p.m. and poetry submissions must be received by Thursday, Aug.19 at 3 p.m.  For more information on either project, visit www.whistler.ca and click on the "Public Art Opportunities" link on the left-hand side of the page.