It's about time!

Last Thursday evening I had the pleasure of taking in a local concert. It was absolutely wonderful to walk downtown and hear some live music. I was doubly pleased because a relatively under-used building in town was showcasing local talent.

The band, Rocka-by-Blue, is a collection of friends and family who play classic rock, blues and a hint of gospel. The venue was just big enough to house the mixed bag of fans who were rewarded for their attendance by a spirited, lively performance and a wonderful opening act, Colleen Gerbrand. Colleen is certainly no stranger to music having performed quite well at the 2006 Southeastern Manitoba Music Festival.

Personally, one of the band highlights was during a Janis Joplin song when one of the singers (Mel) suddenly put the microphone in front of the lead guitarist (Steve). The picture of him belting out the tune is still stuck in my head. The overall atmosphere was quite relaxed and inviting. During the break there was plenty of chatting amongst friends, fans and family: it had a marvelous feel.

I am looking forward to more opportunities when more of our home-grown talent can share their gifts with those around them in this kind of setting. It’s about time well spent.

If you would like to see Rocka-by-Blue, they will be performing at The Hamlet this weekend. Need directions?

as for me and my house...

...we will serve the horde good food, thoughtful drinks, and a palette on which to arrange and mix rich musical tones.

Tapas night just keeps getting better and better. In fact, some say that yesterday's was the best one ever.














We began as usual with everyone displaying their food thoughts from the previous two weeks of planning. Shortly thereafter groans of delight began to rumble from within...and it wasn't from our backsides. The food was marvelous, but that is never a surprise. These people know how to cook.















What was a surprise, was the seemingly spontaneous transition (well not ACTUALLY spontaneous...we DID all bring our instruments) into people opening their instrument cases and homey music filling the room. People began to become vulnerable with their craft which led to an overwhealming feeling of safety...of community.














This is something we have been hoping would happen. This is one of the intentions of the tapas parties every other Friday. Experimentation with food and drink is very high on the list, but it is so much better to experiment with food and drink TOGETHER. We all love to do this, so why not spread the love. And if you can throw in a bunch of music created from the talent within the group, then you've got another piece of the culture puzzle...then you've got a party.

Investing in People

There's lots of chatter in the nervous stock markets about where's the best area to invest.

Tonight I was at the Irish Association Club for a St. Patty's day event. With me were two of my children and three other teens from our community along with another dad. The reason we were there was to listen to the three teens sing a song they had learned on their own - more or less. They performed a song they learned from a Rankin Family CD - in gaelic! The first time I heard them was about last Wednesday at the Southeastern Manitoba Festival: I was so proud of their accomplishment, I thought more people should hear them and they should get more opportunities to sing. Fast forward four days and they played to a very appreciative audience and had a fabulous experience to boot.

I am glad we started this group to encourage Arts and Culture in Niverville. Tonight was a perfect example of why we are doing it. We are investing in people and that's always a good market.

We start!

A month ago we officially formed the Niverville Arts and Culture Group. We have several ideas and visions, this blog and accompanying website being one of them. Mostly we are about encouraging Art and Culture in and around Niverville. I hope visitors will engage in discussions here and help us shape the direction we take.

Last night was the final performance of Get Married or Die Trying, a play produced by our local drama club. I sat about seven rows back and it reminded me of one of the reasons why we formed this group. I would love to have a permanent stage in town with lighting and sound set in place. So much work goes into these productions yet the performance is always held in a less-than-ideal venue. The facility last night held about 200-250 people but that meant some sitting on the long staircase: good view, bad seat. All in all though, I enjoyed the production - lots of laughs.

So, are you from the area? Do you have any ideas or opinions about Art and Culture in the area? Come in, sit down and have a chat.