On Sunday, Nov. 19, after a three-year hiatus, the Salt Spring Folk Club will once again present Barney Bentall and the Cariboo Express, a fundraiser for Island Community Services (ICS) Food Bank.
The Bentall family’s Hawthorne Foundation will match, dollar-for-dollar, donations to this worthwhile cause.
Known as Western Canada’s longest running roots revue, the Cariboo Express is a 12-piece band of stellar musicians led by platinum-selling and Juno award-winning singer and guitarist Barney Bentall. The beloved hit songwriter formed the ensemble in 2005 with his son Dustin as a way to bring generations of musicians together to raise funds and awareness for charities and community services.
The ICS Food Bank distributes critical nutrition weekly to hundreds of residents, facilitated by the many community members who contribute up to 45 hours of volunteer labour every week.
In an escalating trend, food prices have been driven up at an unprecedented rate, making healthy food purchases unattainable for many, and making local food security programs more critical than ever before. At this time of year, it is especially important to support the annual Holiday Hamper program, serving hundreds of island families in need.
This concert, back by popular demand, has always been a sold-out show. The venue is Fulford Hall and doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. concert. Tickets are on sale at Salt Spring Books in Ganges.
Tax receiptable donations can be in the form of cash or cheque given on the night of the concert or e-transferred at any time to accounting@ssics.ca with a “Bentall Fundraiser” memo.
Salt Spring Baroque is pleased to present Ensemble La Cigale on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at All Saints by-the-Sea Anglican Church.
Formed in 2006 in Montreal, this early music ensemble consists of five musicians playing on period instruments (theorbo, Baroque guitar, Baroque harp, recorders, Baroque cello and Baroque violin). La Cigale is known for creating programs that juxtapose formal and traditional styles, explore the links between literature and music, and bring to light little known masterpieces. For this concert they will be joined by Canadian soprano Stephanie Manias, a rising star of the North American concert stage, known for her lush voice and captivating stage presence.
Salt Spring Baroque believes that it is important to highlight music written by women composers. While most of the names familiar to us in Baroque music are male, we do know that women were writing music during this time. Much of this music has only recently being discovered, and is now finally being performed. Ensemble La Cigale will celebrate femininity with a program of Italian music of the Baroque “La grazia delle donne” (the grace of women).
The Nov. 16 program features works by master women composers: Francesca and Settima Caccini, Vittoria Aleotti and Isabella Leonarda; as well as pieces by some of the men who encouraged feminine creativity: Giulio Caccini and Antonio Vivaldi.
Have you ever wondered if there are seasons in the underwater marine environment of the Salish Sea?
Does the environment change when the water gets cooler and the daylight gets shorter? What happens to the animal life and the seaweeds large and small?
Underwater photographer Ann Donahue and marine biologist Anne Parkinson snorkel year round along the shoreline of Salt Spring. Join them for a dive into the seasons of the Salish Sea. Through a collection of anecdotes and short videos, you will swim through spring, fall, summer and winter around Salt Spring, including areas off Vesuvius, Fulford Harbour, Beddis Beach, Xwaaqw’um (Burgoyne Bay), Churchill Beach and Isabella Point.
This visually rich presentation is sponsored by the marine stewardship group of Transition Salt Spring to promote local awareness of the precious marine ecosystem surrounding the island.
The event takes place on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the community program room of the Salt Spring Library. Entry is by donation with proceeds going to the Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre.
Coming to ArtSpring on Monday, Nov. 13 is the unique Arctic duo pronounced “Pilk-Silk.”
With a style inspired by haunting northern beauty, sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik are Inuit throat singers from Arctic Canada who blend their ancient traditional form with contemporary technology to create evocative soundscapes and improvisational compositions that change with every show.
Performing ancient traditional songs and eerie new compositions, they leave their listeners enthralled with their ability to weave complex emotional landscapes into narratives that transcend language.
In Inuktitut, a “piqsiq” is a storm where winds blow in a very specific way, making it seem as if the snow is falling back up towards the sky. This otherworldly, natural phenomenon became a source of inspiration for the duo, reminding them that things are not always as they seem.
With roots in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot and Kivalliq Regions, the sisters grew up in Yellowknife, NWT. They learned and practised katajjaq (Inuit-style throat singing), a meaningful cultural expression that bonded them and their community. Katajjaq games were traditionally played by two women singing face-to-face in a contest to see who could outlast the other.
Approaching adulthood, the sisters learned the extent to which their practice was discouraged, banned and almost disappeared by the 1960s due to shaming colonization practices of the government and the church.
In today’s revival, the sisters see sharing their work not only as music, but as a form of political protest. For the last two decades, through live acts, they have performed traditional singing, with new-technology improvisational looping, to create effects that tell a visceral story of ethereal winter darkness from their peoples’ perspective.
This special performance has been rescheduled to the holiday Monday, Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate PIQSIQ’s requested appearance in Ottawa. ArtSpring is thrilled to be able to offer flexibility in bringing this important performance to Salt Spring.
A new superintendent and CEO for schools in the Gulf Islands has officially signed on, according to board officials, who announced this week Jill Jensen will be filling the position effective Feb. 1, 2024.
Jill Jensen, who will be the new superintendent and CEO for the Gulf Islands School District effective Feb. 1, 2024.
Gulf Islands School District 64 (SD64) tapped Jensen to fill the soon-to-be-empty shoes of outgoing superintendent/CEO Scott Benwell, who announced his plans to depart at the end of the calendar year. Jensen is currently serving as superintendent/CEO of School District 92 Nisga’a, and was selected after an extensive recruitment search led by SD64’s Board of Education.
“Jill referred to the superintendent’s role as the ‘lead learner’ in a district,” said board chair Tisha Boulter. “I feel incredibly grateful that Jill was drawn to our ad posting and feel confident that she is the right fit to be our next lead learner.”
Jensen has been an educator in both B.C. and Alberta for more than three decades, Boulter said, and the board was inspired by Jensen’s genuine hands-on approach to the challenge of a district made up of five island communities. Jensen said she is eager to form relationships and continue the “excellent work already taking place.
“In a geographically diverse school district, I need to be present and connecting,” said Jensen, “with students, teachers, support staff, parents, and community members — everyone has a role to play. I have to know people.”
Jensen added she looks forward to playing a pivotal role in ensuring a solid future for Gulf Islands’ learners and schools — to cultivate a supportive, caring and welcoming environment that prioritizes student voice and provides enriched learning opportunities for students and staff.
The SD64 Board of Education said it engaged long-serving superintendent and B.C. “education leader” Anne Cooper as a consultant for the recruitment process, along with partner groups and selected staff representatives to help define attributes and abilities that were important to them in the next Gulf Islands School District leader. Boulter said the board extended its sincere gratitude to the staff and partner groups who contributed to the process for sharing insights and valuable feedback during the interview process.
Travel from the top of Alaska to the tip of Tierra del Fuego, pull back the dance curtain to reveal tumultuous behind-the-scenes drama, and join legendary 1970s musicians both on stage and backstage in three award-winning documentaries at ArtSpring this month and next.
The Salt Spring Film Festival’s annual Best of the Fests film series begins on Wednesday, Nov. 15 with Chelsea McMullan’s award-winning documentary Swan Song, which immerses viewers in Karen Kain’s epic struggle — in the midst of the pandemic and on the eve of her retirement as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada — to mount a glorious production of Swan Lake, which had originally launched her career as a world-famous ballerina over half a century ago.
With an intimate, character-driven approach, Swan Song interweaves the dramatic creation process with scenes from the dancers’ personal lives, through challenging setbacks, creative conflicts and devastating injuries. Contentious racial politics and a pointed push for equity are deftly explored, as some of the strongest emerging ballerinas are young women of colour, challenging ballet’s Eurocentric ideals of beauty, perfection and conformity.
Anyone with an interest in the creative process — and the joyful and occasionally exasperating challenges of inter-generational collaboration — won’t want to miss seeing septuagenarian Kain and her enormously talented ensemble of young dancers, choreographers, set builders and costume designers grapple with time constraints, unexpected delays and potentially explosive identity politics.
Presented by co-director Sean O’Neill, who will be in attendance on Nov. 15 from Toronto, Swan Song made its world premiere at the recent Toronto International Film Festival and was subsequently named Best Canadian Documentary at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Prior to working in film, O’Neill worked for a decade in various roles at the Art Gallery of Ontario, ultimately serving as its director of public programs and cultural partnerships. From 2017 to 2020, he co-created the CBC documentary series In the Making, serving as both host and executive producer. Bringing viewers inside the lives and work of leading artists at pivotal moments of creation, In the Making earned three Canadian Screen Award nominations, winning for Best Cinemaphotography.
O’Neill produced the documentary Crystal Pite: Angels’ Atlas, which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival last year where it won the Showcase Audience Award, and which would have been included in the 2023 Salt Spring Film Festival if it hadn’t first been broadcast on CBC last November.
Two weeks later, on Nov. 29 at ArtSpring, join seemingly fearless globe-trotter Matty Hannon as he embarks upon a daunting 50,000 -kilometre solo journey down the entire West Coast of the Americas in search of the best surfing beaches, traveling initially by motorcycle, in the award-winning Australian documentary The Road to Patagonia.
Matty Hannon and Heather Hillier camping with a view of the Andes Mountains in South America as seen in the Road to Patagonia film.
Hannon’s epic adventure doesn’t go quite as planned, as along the way he experiences breakdowns and detours, and unexpectedly falls in love right here in B.C. when he meets organic farmer Heather Hillier, who spontaneously follows Hannon south to his Patagonian destination, ultimately travelling through South America on horseback with their surfboards precariously strapped to their saddles.
Somewhat remarkably, the Salt Spring Film Festival is presenting the international premiere of this award-winning film, which was named both Best Film and Best Documentary at the Byron Bay International Film Festival and which won the Audience Choice Award at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, and which no one in the world outside of Australia has yet had the opportunity to see.
While the Best of the Fests series usually brings you the latest releases from the international film festival circuit, don’t miss a very rare opportunity to see a beloved blast from the past on the big screen when The Last Waltz — which is widely considered the greatest concert film of all time — is presented on Dec. 6 at ArtSpring with newly remastered 5.1 audio and HD video quality.
Calling it quits with a lavish farewell show at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in late 1976, The Band’s final performance was captured for posterity by director Martin Scorsese.
Joni Mitchell and Neil Young in The Last Waltz.
The film boasts guest performances by an astonishing roster of musical talent, including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, the Staples Singers and Muddy Waters. Re-released across Canada to celebrate the life of Canadian musician Robbie Robertson, who died in August at the age of 80, this special screening will be co-presented by the Gulf Islands Community Radio Society.
Tickets ($13) for each film are available via ArtSpring, online or through the box office.
Remembrance Day will be marked on Salt Spring not only with the traditional ceremonies in downtown Ganges and the open house at the Legion, but with a special concert at ArtSpring that evening and the following afternoon.
Bach on the Rock (BOTR) Chamber Choir and Orchestra is presenting Remembrance 2023, anchored by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ acclaimed 40-minute cantata Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace), among other pieces. Concert producer and BOTR founder Carol Brown said she has been so impressed by the sound of the 29-piece orchestra assembled for the occasion, as well as the choir, whose members have embraced the spirit of the masterwork. Soloists are acclaimed Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc and baritone Hans Grunwald from Vancouver.
Vaughan Williams served in the medical corps during World War I and the composition reflects his experiences, along with words of writers such as Walt Whitman that he chose to accompany the music.
“We are incredibly fortunate to bring this work forward and to be in the company of Bach on the Rock’s artistic director Jean Sébastien Lévesque, and Suzie LeBlanc and Hans Grunwald, as we bring this production to life on Salt Spring,” said Brown.
She is also thrilled that four Gulf Islands Secondary School students are singing with the choir. Connecting the generations with the hope of spreading awareness about the horrors of war is one of Brown’s wishes for the event. That idea germinated in a conversation over tea between Brown and her neighbour Susan Benson, a well-known artist and theatre stage designer who has created impactful artworks on themes of war and envisions a larger exhibition at some point. Reaching younger people who have not experienced the reality of war themselves is one of Benson’s aims, a concept that Brown has carried into the Remembrance 2023 concert.
Brown said people often see the state of world conflict as being on a continuum, with war at one end and peace at the other, in an “us versus them” polarity.
“We need to step out of that continuum, out of that polarity, into another space where we can choose to see that peace has always been the case. And it is never us versus them. It is always and only us.”
Cellist Paula Kiffner and Bach on the Rock artistic director Jean Sébastien Lévesque during a recent rehearsal. (Photo by John Cochran)
Among other pieces in the Remembrance 2023 program are the beautiful Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied motet by J.S. Bach and the Makana Youth Choir singing Ani Ma’ Amin.
“I think people are in for an incredible opportunity,” said Brown about the concert, noting that hearing a recording of such wonderful music is nothing like a live performance for audience members.
“What you bring and what we bring comes together in unique ways in that setting.”
Brown is grateful for funds and/or sponsorship provided by the Salt Spring Island Foundation, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 92, the Salt Spring Arts Council, Canadian Veterans’ Association, ArtSpring and Country Grocer.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11 and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12. But people are invited to come half an hour early to enjoy a pre-show singalong of songs from the World War I and II eras in ArtSpring’s lobby led by Salt Spring Singers director Don Conley on piano and members of the Singers, Viva Chorale and the Lost Chords choir.
With all that’s wrong in the world, one thing I thought we could all count on was honesty and fair play here on our island home. I’ve given some thought to whether, in the interest of keeping the peace, I should just keep quiet. But honour is at stake and I can no longer remain silent.
September’s Fall Fair, as always, featured many competitions that showcased the talent and hard work of the various artists, cooks, farmers and zucchini racers that call this place home. I’m always interested to see who has gone above and beyond with their Scotch eggs, knitted dusters and Lego masterpieces and, as always, there was splendid work to admire.
I spent some time amongst the displays, then wandered my way over past the pie line-up (still too long) and found myself in front of a pen in which a group of people stood around while another fellow shouted rules for the benefit of competitors and spectators. “What’s this?” I thought. “It’s an animal pen, but there are no pigs or calves to be seen.” I was curious and hung around to see what was going on.
The competitors took turns standing and looking thoughtful for a moment whilst (I gather) girding their loins. Then they would emit strangling, shrieking noises, at the same time walking in a manner one could only call silly. It gradually dawned on me . . . they were being roosters! Fabulous! What fun.
The big moment came when one particular competitor, none other than island crowing superstar Dulcy Wilson, took her turn. She stood. She focused. Then, loins girded, she began.
The woman vanished and was replaced by a staring, head-bobbing, strutting apparition. This creature took a deep breath and the most breathtaking, astonishing cry rent the air. We all gazed around, wondering where the rooster was! Okay, maybe not, but it was amazing and no doubt woke anyone up who hadn’t yet. This was the very epitome of roosteriness and the response of the audience (ostensibly part of the judging process) confirmed that this competitor left everyone else scratching in the dust. She was a shoe-in (despite the fact that roosters don’t wear shoes).
But no . . . supposedly the judge was not so easily convinced. (Poppycock, I thought.) He declared it was a tie, and had a crow-off between two competitors — Dulcy and another hopeful. But the resulting offerings left no doubt, either from the performances or the thunderous applause for Dulcy. Then it happened: the judge said, indicating Dulcy, “Well, you see, she’s won it before . . .” and gave the honours to the other competitor.
Well! My feathers were ruffled, I assure you. What a cock-up. No winning because you’d won before? What kind of decision is that? Is that what they said to Canada’s hockey teams at the Olympics? I have to tell you that, for me, the integrity of Salt Spring Fall Fair judging in its entirety has been thrown into question. Who’s to say which blackberry jam was actually the best? Was the judge influenced by past triumphs? Can we really believe in anything anymore?
Say what you will . . . integrity matters. From the youngest toddler entering their crayon drawing to the most elderly craftsperson, we’ve done our best in front of our neighbours and enjoy our fairly won ribbons.
And when it comes to the Fall Fair Rooster Crowing Contest, no one comes close to Dulcy.
The Books & Bling sale that runs at the Farmers’ Institute this Friday through Sunday, Nov. 3 to 5 is one of Salt Spring’s best-loved annual fundraisers and social events, organized by the Salt Spring Literacy Society.
As people pay for their newfound book and jewellery treasures, they often ask what the funds are directed towards.
Salt Spring Literacy (SSL) has existed on Salt Spring since 2007, and offers various programs for learners of all ages. Former School District 64 teacher Stella Weinert has been the SSL coordinator for several years now. She and others are thrilled to have acquired two classrooms at the Salt Spring Island Multi-Space for their new home base.
“We’re really happy with the new space,” said Weinert. “It’s given us two private tutoring areas, room for storage, room for program prep, the 1000X5 program and storage for the book sale, and for doing workshops and training.”
Last year SSL had 44 adult learners accessing the free tutoring services — mostly English language learners and people needing sustained help using computers or other devices — and 75 people dropping in for a specific purpose such as completing a government form or getting one-time technology help.
Keiko Taylor, also a retired teacher and administrator, coordinates the programs benefitting children. The 1000X5 program collects books for children aged 0 to five, which are distributed on a regular basis to families who might not otherwise have access to a lot of books. The title refers to the belief that a child should have seen 1,000 books by the age of five in order to develop solid literacy skills.
Salt Spring Literacy (SSL) executive director/coordinator Stella Weinert, right, and SSL children’s programs coordinator Keiko Taylor.
The One-to-One Reading Program sees adults listen to elementary school children read and provide gentle coaching. Orientation, training and support is provided, and the time commitment is only about 90 minutes per week.
Penny Poole, a retired teacher from Ontario, is an enthusiastic One-to-One volunteer. Not only did she have a teaching background but relevant family experience as well. While one of Poole’s sons learned to read easily at a young age, the other was diagnosed with dyslexia and struggled.
When it seemed one of her three One-to-One schoolchildren was not making progress last school year after several sessions, she turned to her son, who is now 42, for advice. He encouraged her to stick with it and just have fun with the student when they are together.
“And that is what the teacher said as well,” recounts Poole. “Develop the relationship, don’t worry about the reading . . . and then it was a totally different game.”
After time spent getting to know each other, one day while they were sharing giggles the student started to pick out some words from a Dr. Seuss-type book they were reading. And then they discovered Mo Willems’ books, and that sent the student well on their way to being a reader by the end of the school year.
“I absolutely loved it,” said Poole. “For me, it was a real sense of being a part of something that’s growing, and it’s progressive and it’s helpful, instead of all the other things that I could do . . . But this is also personal. It’s partly because of my heart for my child, my own son and the process that he went through, and partly it’s just because I’m at an age where you really want to know that what you’re doing is good work.”
Poole appreciates all the support, strategies and games provided to volunteers by Taylor, and the other people within SSL and the school district she encounters.
“The kind of books that you’re reading with the child are fun and delightful,” she added. “It’s such a positive and optimistic experience. I can hardly wait to go and see the kids, so that’s really nice.”
One-to-One currently operates in Fulford, Fernwood and Salt Spring elementary schools, and the program could use a few more volunteers, even on a casual basis. People should contact Taylor at info@saltspringliteracy.org or 250-537-9717 if they are interested.
Helping people for whom English is not their first language is another major program offered by Salt Spring Literacy.
Igor Darmokhid is well known on Salt Spring for his artwork and efforts to raise funds to help victims of Russia’s war on his home country of Ukraine. He works at Thrifty Foods and Lady Minto Hospital, and knew absolutely minimal English when coming to Salt Spring five years ago with his wife Oksana and daughter Ivanna, who graduated from Gulf Islands Secondary School last year.
Darmokhid has been learning English through Salt Spring Literacy’s free tutoring services since he arrived, and is currently one of 12 people from Ukraine doing that. The Ukrainians also get together as a group outside of literacy centre activities.
Darmokhid describes the importance of learning English for newcomers.
“The first step for newcomers is getting a house on Salt Spring. The second step is literacy, because it’s language and it’s, like, everything. No language, no job. No job, no food; no food, no life — no life!”
He said the emphasis of his initial lessons with tutor Roger Mah Poy was things he needed to know in order to work at Thrifty Foods: how to tell customers where products can be found in the store, for example, and what to say when he didn’t know the answer. A similar process occurred when he started to work at Lady Minto Hospital.
He is now working towards his English Language Skills Assessment certification.
Darmokhid has also seeded another Salt Spring Literacy program in Ukraine.
“It’s kind of like our 1000X5 program,” said Weinert. “He’s sent books to a preschool in Ukraine and raised all the money to do that.”
Darmokhid said he and islander Victoria Olchowecki and others have fundraised some $60,000 locally for projects that mainly benefit children and medical supplies and staff in Ukraine.
The literacy centre is open Mondays through Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Weinert at sweinert@saltspringliteracy.org or 250-537-9717, or drop by the information table at Books & Bling this weekend.
One person’s trash may indeed be another’s treasure, as Salt Spring’s largest water provider received a thumbs-up from a testing lab on recycling one byproduct of water treatment — and safely discharging the other into the ground.
“We had our centrate and ‘cake’ — dewatered sludge — tested,” said North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) operations manager Ryan Moray, updating the district board Thursday, Oct. 26. “It came back very positive for [use as] a soil amendment.”
Moray reached out for clarification to MB Labs, whose personnel have been doing water quality testing for NSSWD for more than two decades.
“I asked them their thoughts on re-use,” Moray said. “I just wanted to make sure that I was on the right track, and they sent out a quite positive letter of support.”
The dewatered component could be used as a product for land application, said Moray, and the centrate — the water from which most solids have been removed — was cleared to be discharged back into the ground for “natural infiltration.”
Moray said NSSWD was working with a consultant to consider locating a site for infiltration ponds, where the combined liquid byproduct from the water treatment plant could be discharged — and where the remaining sludge could be harvested for “secondary beneficial re-use,” he said, “such as for soil amendment.”
The plan was very preliminary, Moray told the board — more of a roadmap so far — but could produce real savings over time.
“Long-term operations costs could be reduced significantly,” said Moray, “because currently we’re hauling [the waste product] from St. Mary to a storage tank at Burgoyne, and then there’s another fee to haul it off-island to have it treated.”
The method could likely also be used at the upcoming Maxwell Lake dissolved air flotation plant for its waste product as well, Moray said, although plans there recently hit a snag: the archaeological consultant previously contracted “had not returned calls for over eight months,” according to a NSSWD operations report, forcing the district to re-start that provincially mandated work in advance of construction.
“It had seemed like work would be proceeding forward,” said Moray, “but progressively, communication fell apart. So we had to start from scratch [with a new contractor]. We’ve since completed the preliminary field reconnaissance with Stantec.”
Costs for that work are similar to those for the unfinished preliminary assessment, according to Moray, and although the new contractor seems to be moving quicker than anticipated, there was still moderate concern about the plant being completed in time to meet Island Health’s deadline of the end of 2025.
“What I can say is that Island Health has already been generous enough to extend the date from July,” said Moray. “I feel that as long as we’re working toward the goal, on track, and doing our due diligence to see that the plant is constructed in accordance with the regulatory requirements, we’ll be in good standing there.”
