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Venta Rutkauskas

'Listen Live' YouTube Series Takes Performances in the Park Virtual

'Listen Live' YouTube Series Takes Performances in the Park Virtual

A Beautiful and Intimate Concert Series, ‘Listen Live’ 2021 Takes You There

FEATURING THE BEST OF THE CARIBOO AND REMARKABLE UP AND COMERS

BY VENTA RUTKAUSKAS

Behind the scenes at ‘Listen Live’

MC Mary Forbes and Cameraman Rick Magnell prepare to set Shannon O’Donovan up for her session.

The Region’s Best Talent Coming to You at Home

Performances in the Park (PiP), presented by the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society with the financial support of the City of Williams Lake and the Cariboo Regional District, brings you an amazing line-up of talent every Thursday night at 7 pm for 8-weeks, starting July 8th.  Kicking the ‘Listen Live’ series off this year are feature act and recent Juno Award winners, Pharis and Jason Romero! The series has filmed eight acts that will be released once per week, a little something for everyone’s tastes and style.

Pharis and Jason Romero kick off the series on Thursday, July 8th at 7 pm. (Photo credit Laureen Carruthers Photography)

As wonderful as it would be to get together in Boitanio Park once again, series manager Venta Rutkauskas, with the Community Arts Council of Williams Lake (CACWL) says a great deal of advance planning is necessary to make these concerts happen.  The choice to go virtual again was made in December, allowing for the creation of an online arts and culture event that supports artists and local professionals who are unable to perform or work in live venues.

“Faced with the uncertainty of the summer of 2021, we wanted to ensure we could still support the work of our arts industry in the Cariboo Chilcotin,” Venta explains. “What we’ve been creating has had an amazing reach thus far – well over 7,000 views of our 2020 YouTube content! We encourage everyone to subscribe to keep up to date with our releases.”

https://www.youtube.com/c/PerformancesinthePark

With regional government support, and generous sponsors who also want to see this work happen, virtual or live, CACWL has created a line-up they think will excite music fans.

New this year, the team has added a ‘Patrons Play Your Part’ sponsorship opportunity. If you love the concert series, live or online, visit our website and donate the price of a concert ticket! These donations are directly impacting the artists performing this year and in the following years, artists who’ve seen their gig economy nearly evaporate since last year.

https://www.centralcaribooarts.com/performances-in-the-park/

Quesnel’s No Big D grace our virtual stage in 2021 - on Thursday August 5th. (Photo credit Northern Persona Photography)

The Line-Up:

On Thursday July 8, tune in for Pharis and Jason Romero’s beautiful set filmed at their newest home venue.

On Thursday July 15, we’ll present Ashcroft’s Melawmen Collective, and Indigenous fusion band with a powerful message.

July 22, tune in for the young Thompson Brothers, who grew up in Tatlayko Lake, and who’ve matured into wildly talented performers.

July 29, we’ll introduce you to Hoop Dancing with Francis Johnson Sr. of Esk’et and his students.

Moving into August, Thursday August 5th Quesnel power femme indie rockers, No Big D take the spotlight.

August 12th, we get cozy by a campfire with Shannon O’Donovan, Ben Lamb-Yorski and Clayton Charleyboy.

On August 19th, showcases another session of young and local up and comers in Ebony, a modern string band.

On August 26th, we’ll close with Bats and Dao, the fusion of two highly talented musicians Ciel Patenaude and Brent Morton.

“It’s an incredible array of talent you won’t want to miss!” assures Venta of the CACWL. “With Rick Magnell and Brandon Hoffman on our production team, these musical journeys will have a look and sound of such high quality, you’ll want to watch them again and again.”

Be sure to catch up with Performances in the Park on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram and have your finger on the pulse for our releases.

Harry Jennings, President, Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society, adds the organizations thoughts: "We are SO proud, along with the ongoing great municipal support from the Cariboo Regional District and the City of Williams Lake, and so many supportive local sponsors, to be once again able to bring the amazing talent collected for the 2021 edition of Performances In The Park to the Central Cariboo, and virtually to the WHOLE WORLD.  So much gratitude and thanks to Venta Rutkauskas, Series Manager with the Community Arts Council of Williams Lake, and technicians Brandon Hoffman and Rick Magnell!"

Our wonderful sponsors:

Platinum – Thompson Rivers University Williams Lake Campus, Williams Lake and District Credit Union

Gold - West Fraser Truckers Association and Williams

Silver – Sugar Cane Development Corporation Coyote Rock Estates, Heartland Toyota and Pinnacle Renewable Energy

Bronze –Cariboo Handwoven

Pharis and Jason Romero - “Haven’t You Always Wanted to Know About Banjos?” (And a concert in Williams Lake, too)

Pharis and Jason Romero - “Haven’t You Always Wanted to Know About Banjos?” (And a concert in Williams Lake, too)

What better way to celebrate turning 50 than to have the Juno Award winning duo Pharis and Jason Romero play at your anniversary party? To commemorate the Community Arts Council of Williams Lake’s milestone, Pharis and Jason are facilitating a workshop on All things Banjo and Old Time Country Music, and performing live for the Williams Lake hometown. (Band photo by Forrest Gibson)

Nasti Weather and the Essential Nature of Shadow

Nasti Weather and the Essential Nature of Shadow

To empower and free the voice, sometimes the singer takes an inner pilgrimage through the rugged landscape of inherited beliefs.  For Ana, as she challenged herself to project more, it dawned on her that she had intentionally stayed quiet as a child, avoiding the turmoil that arose if she didn’t. “As a child, I taught myself to never project my voice,” she remembers. “I never wanted things to escalate at home.” Staying safe while young, the internalized message followed her onto the stage. Ana could either stay safe, or dive in, trust and open her voice.

Helen Haig-Brown: Filmmaker at the Edge of the World

Helen Haig-Brown: Filmmaker at the Edge of the World

Helen Haig-Brown is the co-director of one of 2018’s most exciting Canadian films, filmed entirely in the Haida language. Edge of the Knife takes the viewer back to Haida village life a century ago, and sees the Council of the Haida Nation position itself with a viable film industry. In this article, you’ll read about the journey she’s been on as a filmmaker, and the intense process of making Edge of the Knife on location for six weeks.

C.R. Avery

C.R. Avery

C.R. Avery is East Vancouver’s truest troubadour, the kind of artist that brings to life storied streets and killer beats. He performed live in Williams Lake Tuesday November,13th at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre, to a captive audience moved by his enchanting badness.

1001 Recipes for Ashes

1001 Recipes for Ashes

Last June, Community Arts Council of Williams Lake invited poet, spoken word artists and facilitator Sonya Littlejohn to facilitate our wildfire workshop series, 100 Recipes for Ashes. These workshops guided participants to write through traumatic events, while building skills in creativity. Read more to find out about this conscious and talented writer.

Mystery and Muse

Mystery and Muse

Few artists embrace mystery and muse as devotedly as Miss White Spider Arts’ Al-Lisa McKay. Her body of work resembles her in spirit, beauty and alchemy. She was born to do it, to create work that belongs in a sophisticated fairy tale. As you absorb it, whether it be paintings, music, theatre or dolls, an underlying connectivity emerges, drawing the observer into the art experience.

Get Happy: Make Art Your Medicine

Get Happy: Make Art Your Medicine

Local polymath Ciel Patenaude (polymath: a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning) is a true champion for the practice of art making. Whether it be for her health and wellness clients or the little people she teaches, Ciel incites a knowing passion for the transformative practice of making art.

From the Unseen to the Canvas: The Art of Simone Benjamin Fox

From the Unseen to the Canvas: The Art of Simone Benjamin Fox

Driving through the autumn fog, I am on my way to meet painter Simone Benjamin. In the fog, the lines of reality are blurred, and it has been said the veils between worlds are lifted. It would seem that artists of all media understand the notion that ideas and inspiration are often not of their own making. The artist opens, receives, and transmits in the act of creation, and what remains is a unique impression of the world around them. For the fine-artist, the style in which the impression comes through is akin to a fingerprint: to each, his or her own.

Pharis Romero Sings True:

Pharis Romero Sings True:

There’s a little slice of heaven round the corner from here. A river dances through it, and all the birds gather there. A songbird makes her home, builds her nest, in the middle of it all. Voice smooth and bright, its gossamer tones wave in the wind, her calling card. 

Revolutions in the Beat

Revolutions in the Beat

When musician and artist Rup Sidhu, aka RupLoops, first started playing music, he knew the expanse of feeling was something he needed to pursue. He’d been writing and performing spoken word, teaching and performing theatre, but what music offered him was something new.  Within that spaciousness, he could extend the rhymes he had been crafting, encircling them with sounds both electronic and organic.

Humble Roots: Highlight on Youth Musician Kevin Yang

Humble Roots: Highlight on Youth Musician Kevin Yang

Kevin Yang is a remarkable young man. Let’s just start there, and get it out front. Calm, connected and talented, he’s essentially a renaissance man in a 17 year old’s body. Here’s why: he’s managing a grade 12 workload, whilst excelling at soccer and holding down a part time job. Then there’s the music. He plays drums, guitar and ukulele, is in a band with his older brother Jin, is a member of his church’s band and teaches a few students on the side. And Kevin slays on the guitar. 

To Craft a Life: The Art & Sculpture of Christina Mary

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To Craft a Life: The Art & Sculpture of Christina Mary

There are no wrong turns on the way to the centre.

The artist and her muse plunge headlong into the waters of the unconscious, pulling up the dreams and tendrils of meaning, lovingly molding them into form. Sweeping aside the perspective of the other, she and her muse whirl around in the ethers, then tumble down into the material to see what will become of it. They shape and create in the round, bringing the dream into ground.

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Student of Nature: The Work of Carver and Artist Jacob Moondog

Student of Nature: The Work of Carver and Artist Jacob Moondog

Imagine…

On the windswept plains near Mankota, Saskatchewan, a young boy rides a pinto pony, following his mother as she checks the cattle on the vast ranch she and her family have worked for generations. The boy, not much older than a toddler, sensed the land was alive. Something about this land, its great silence, left its mark on the boy.