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Bulkley Valley Concert Association bringing something new

There is a Glenwood Hall show this season. 56th season starts Oct. 20 with Maple Blues Award winner.
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The BVCA board members are excited about this concert season starting soon. (From left to right) Jill Pardoe, treasurer; Shannon Finnegan, secretary; Miriam Colvin, director, community engagement facilitator; Lynnda McDougall, president; Ezra Teitel, director. (Contributed photo)

The Bulkley Valley Concert Association’s 56th season promises to be bigger than ever. It kicks off with a Maple Blues Award winner. Silver Screen Scoundrels get things going on Oct. 20 at the Della Herman Theatre. The duo, Brandon Isaak and Keith Picot, combine music, silent film and comedy into a multi media show.

Association president Lynnda McDougall said they aren’t to be missed.

“They bring all sort of musicality and comedy and film,” she said. “They have made a series of black and white silent films and then they have scored them. The films play behind them on the screen and they play their instruments and the music they composed for it live. It is really fantastic.”

With a grant from the BC Touring Council, the association is able to have an opening act for that evening. A Métis performer based out of Vancouver, Eloi Homier, will dance and is bringing world famous fiddler Kathleen Nisbet.

The next musical evening will be on Nov. 5. Travelling Mabels will perform. The folk-country trio is full of spirit, spunk and laughter with sweet harmonies.

The season continues with Huu Bac Quintet on Nov. 24 and Roy and Rosemary on Jan. 18. The first four shows of the season will be at the Della Herman.

Glenwood Hall performace

The association is trying something new for the fifth and final event of the season. They will be incorporating a different venue for the first time. Flamenco Rosario’s Cuadro Flamenco will be performing at the Glenwood Hall on Wednesday, April 11.

“That will be a totally different experience; it will be a an intimate cabaret setting. You can sit at a table, have a glass of wine,” McDougall said. “The dancers will not just be on stage but all through out the hall. It will be an audience-involved performance.”

There will be fewer tickets available for this event.

McDougall is excited for this season to start and said all the performers are world class. The association includes five board members and they take picking the musical and dance acts very seriously.

“We have policy that we only present acts that we have seen live. We go to contact events, mostly in Vancouver, and we go down and see about 50 different acts performed on stage, so you really get a flavour of them live,” said McDougall. “You don’t get that from a CD or a video, you don’t get the vibrancy of the live performance. We only want to perform people who are vibrant and really pull people in.”

She said they are able to bring these acts to Smithers for an affordable price because of grants and because they are careful to block book with other northern presenters.

“We have a northern presents group, that ranges from Quesnel to Rupert,” she said. “If we bring an artist along that corridor, it brings down the travel costs for the artist so we can negotiate a lower fee.”

Last year, the average show had 265 people attend in the 300-seat theatre. Tickets are available at Mountain Eagle Books. Adults are $25, Senior are $20 and those under 18 can see a show for $16.

Season tickets are only available until Sept. 30 and there are only 100 being offered.



Marisca Bakker

About the Author: Marisca Bakker

Marisca was born and raised in Ontario and moved to Smithers almost ten years ago on a one-year contract.
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