What's Up in Wells

Wells Volunteer Fire Brigade Practice
2019-08-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2019-08-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2019-07-31 19:00 - 21:00, 2019-07-24 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Wells Volunteer Fire Brigade Station, 2314 Baker St, Wells, BC, V0K 2R0, Canada
The WVFB is the only fire service in the area and is 100% dependent on volunteers. Everyone is welcome and no one is asked to do more than they are comfortable with.
Practices are held every Wednesday from 7pm – 9pm at the Fire Hall. Everyone is welcome — no previous experience necessary. Come out and join us!

Awkward Hug
2019-08-11 20:00 - 21:00, 2019-08-10 20:00 - 21:00, 2019-08-09 20:00 - 21:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
Award -winning actor, writer (Happiness™- ★★★★★) and storyteller Cory Thibert, embodies his 19-year-old self as he uncovers the truth behind what sets his family apart. This coming-of-age story with a twist, explores what constitutes “normal” in our world and how having parents with (dis)abilities challenges what a family can look like. HILARIOUS. HONEST. IMPACTFUL.
Director: Linnea Gwiazda, Dramaturge: TJ Dawe.

Wells Community Bingo
2019-08-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Ray Davis Room, Wells Community Hall, 4269 Sanders Ave, Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Come to the Ray Davis room in the Community Hall (back entrance) for a fun evening of bingo with some great prizes! Doors open at 6:30, games start at 7:00. $2 for the first card and $1 for each additional card.

Gong Show Tarot
2019-08-06 10:00 - 15:00 | The Wells Hotel, 2341 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Something between performance art and live Tarot card readings. 20 dollars per 20 min reading. Occasionally available in the oz and phenomenal Wells Hote reading room.

Live Jazz Music with Mahogany Hall
2019-08-04 19:00 - 21:30 | Bear’s Paw Cafe, 12415 Hwy 26 E, Wells, BC, V0K2R0, Canada
Mahogany Hall (Patrick Courtin & Simon Paterson) serenade The Bear’s Paw Cafe in Wells, BC, during the annual ArtsWells Festival of All Things Art. Their Tribute to the Great Crooners features classic jazz standards in the style of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and more! Cover is by donation.

ArtsWells Festival 2019
2019-08-02 - 2019-08-06 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
The Cariboo’s largest celebration of music and art, ArtsWells Festival, is back for its 16th season in the colourful community of Wells and the historic goldrush town of Barkerville, BC from August 2 – 5, 2019. 1st Release tickets are now available, don’t miss your chance to be part of the magic for this special price.
Known as the “festival of all things art,” ArtsWells showcases hundreds of artists working in an array of art forms and musical genres in unique venues throughout the two towns. Intimate rooms like the Sunset Theatre in Wells or St. Saviour’s Church in Barkerville Historic Town provide space for artistic reverie while the Wells Community Hall and the Outdoor Stage give you room to get down on the dance floor. With both towns creating the festival site, arts and culture abound on every street corner including visual art installations, roving performers, parades, literary readings, theatre shows and inspiring music from morning until night. Delve further into the experience of art with the many workshops and special collaborations that take place throughout the weekend, or head down to the creek to soak up the sounds of a spontaneous musical jam.
At the heart of it all, ArtsWells offers four fun-filled days of creative community and artistic connection with exceptional musical experiences for every taste under the rainbow, young and old. It welcomes everyone to be a participant and dive into the diversity and beauty of art that exists in our own backyard and across the globe.

Breastless
2019-08-01 20:00 - 21:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
Written by Emma Jarrett
Direction and dramaturgy by Danette Boucher
After a development phase in 2018-19 (working title: Breastless), Emma Jarrett’s one-woman play is a sometimes humorous, often thoughtful and quizzical rollercoaster ride of emotion, and an honest portrayal of being at the mercy of modern medicine, saved by the care of other practitioners and buoyed up by loved ones.
This intimate, unflinching glimpse into the ravages of a cancer diagnosis will make you laugh, think, and feel.

IMA Instructors Concert
2019-07-31 20:00 - 22:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
Join us at the historic Sunset Theatre for this special concert given by critically acclaimed performers who are also teaching workshops in the lead up to ArtsWells Festival 2019! They are:
Al Simmons | Dan Bern | Corwin Fox Music | Doug Cox | Kia Kadiri | Linda McRae | Maiya Robbie | Peter Paul Van Camp | Shawn Stephenson | Tomáš Kubínek
$20.00 admission | $10 for ArtsWells Volunteers and Weekend pass holders | Free for IMA students!

Public Consultation: Security and Future of Municipal Buildings
2019-07-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Wells Community Hall, 4269 Sanders Ave, Wells, BC, V0K2R0, Canada
At the Special In-Camera Council meeting of Tuesday July 26, 2019, Council resolved to direct staff to hold a Public Consultation for public input of the Wells-Barkerville Community Facility (School Building).
This meeting will beheld at 6:00PM on Tuesday July 30, 2019 at the Wells Community Hall.
I will also make myself available for anyone who cannot attend the meeting during the day on Tuesday July 30, 2019.

ArtsWells Songwriting Workshop with Linda McRae & Dan Bern
2019-07-30 - 2019-08-03 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Registration is now open for ArtsWells pre-festival Songwriting Workshop, we are thrilled to announce our 2019 instructors are Linda McRae and Dan Bern! Join these two critically acclaimed songwriters for a four-day intensive workshop. Participants will spend time defining and examining those “fundamental ingredients’ of a song through performance, discussion and hands-on writing. Participants will also have the opportunity to perform their newly created songs as part of the ArtsWells Festival, which begins on the final day of the workshop.

Songwriting & Rhythm for Ages 6 - 18
2019-07-30 - 2019-08-03 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
This course focuses on both writing and performance aimed at facilitating self-expression through music, song and spoken word poetry. Combining elements of musical theory, improvisation techniques, lyric writing, collaboration with peers and working one-on-one with the instructors, students get and incredibly dynamic and transformational experience. This program is suitable for complete beginners, as well as students with prior musical experience. Corwin brings his mobile recording studio to give students an opportunity to record their new tunes and have a CD to take home with them. Students perform their new songs at the ArtsWells Festival. Having taught this course at IMA for over ten years, professional BC musician Corwin Fox has developed an incredible program that has been life-changing for many of the young people who have taken part.

Roots Guitar Workshop with Doug Cox
2019-07-30 - 2019-08-03 | BC
An Intro to Roots Guitar Workshop with Doug Cox (Americana, Country, Blues, Bluegrass and Beyond).
Doug Cox will be teaching his ‘Intro to Roots Guitar’ Class that features loads of fun learning techniques and skills on the acoustic guitar. Topics we will touch on will include;
– 5 things you can do with your right hand (this includes intros to flat-picking, bass thumping, alternate thumb, brush stroke & string grabbing. We will be learning at least one song that features each of these techniques)
– Intro to Open Tunings
– Intro to Slide Guitar
– Ear Training
– Chord Shapes & Theory
– Rhythm Guitar
– Understanding the Guitar Neck
– Intro to Melodic lead playing.
The focus of this class will be to have a good time while learning more about roots music and your musical self. Less talking and more playing! Students should be able to play through their basic chords fast enough to get through a song in order to be comfortable.

Humour & Heart in Live Performance Workshop
2019-07-30 - 2019-08-02 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Theatre games, explorations in physicality, and improvisation techniques, will bring participants to new approaches in their openness and creativity through humour and playfulness, with a focus on bringing greater humanity and vitality to what they share with an audience.
Graceful movement with ostrich plumes, power-dynamics of primate behaviour, spaghetti-legged silly-walks, and practical tricks for transcending self-sabotage will all be explored.
Some of the other topics covered may include:
How to Focus a Room, Charm 101, Correct Bullhorn-Technique, Sysiphussian Problem-Solving, Failing with Grace, Theatrical Disguise Techniques, and (bonus lesson) – Practical Jokes that every Aspiring-Loogan should know…
Attendees will experience greater openness and creativity through their own humour, playfulness and spontaneity and learn to communicate fearlessly and from the heart.

Wells 2nd Annual Classic Show & Shine
2019-07-29 08:00 - 17:00 | BC
Eye-catching cars will be rolling into town all morning along Sanders Avenue and Pooley Street from 10 am – 1 pm. Awards given for best of each decade (30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, Late Model) and Mayor’s Choice.
Registration 8 am – 10 am on Pooley Street.

Play Reading: THEATRE - a eulogy
2019-07-28 20:00 - 21:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
Tim Vant with Dirk Van Stralen

Randal Dirks officiates this memorial set in the holy location known merely as Saint Gunter’s. Join Randall Dirks, Eugene Boyle, Page Gray and a host of other mad-cap characters as they go on a journey examining and remembering Theatre: A Eulogy.

The Railbirds
2019-07-27 20:00 - 22:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
Join us for an evening of spectacular music from travelling nomads Onalea Gilbertson and Bruce Horak.

Wells Hysterical Society Comedy Auction
2019-07-26 20:00 - 21:30 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
It’s that time of year again, folks! Our friends at the Sunset Theatre and Wells “Hysterical” Society are hosting the Wells Comedy Auction 2019! This year’s auction will be old-school circus themed, complete with popcorn and performances between lots! All proceeds will go to the Wells Museum and Historical Society.
If you have any donations for us to auction off, please drop them off with us at the Wells Museum between Friday – Monday from 10 AM – 5 PM.
See you there!

Assassinating Thompson
2019-07-25 20:00 - 21:00, 2019-07-19 20:00 - 21:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
Creator and performer Bruce Horak, a legally blind painter, actor and playwright, paints the audience’s portrait live on stage as he explores the facts and fictions surrounding the death of one of Canada’s greatest artists, and shares the unique way he sees the world.
“Bold and almost shocking in its originality. I haven quite seen through the eyes of a blind man, but I’ll probably never get closer.” – Daily Courier

Mini-Marketing Workshop
2019-07-25 18:00 - 20:00 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Whether you’re a small business owner, non-for-profit, local employee, artist, maker, musician or just want to step up your social media game Evie Lavers is excited to share with you some of her favourite helpful hacks for your Facebook & Instagram pages!
This event is FREE but registration is required as there is a limited amount of space. Secure your seat by heading to the www.cfwildfire.ca/workshops/ and select the “CF North Cariboo” tab & follow the prompts.
Rhythm Club (Zanzibar Rose & Evie Lavers) is a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in educational workshops and solutions for forward-thinking individuals, creative businesses & non-for-profit organisations. Built on the concept that a little-experienced advice enables you tools to spend less time promoting your art, more time for the fun stuff…honing your craft and dreaming bigger
Sponsored by Western Economic Diversification Canada, Canadian Red Cross, Wildfire Business Transition Program & Community Futures North Cariboo.

The Sunset Cabaret
2019-07-23 20:00 - 22:00 | Sunset Theatre, 2357 Pooley St., Wells, BC, v0k2r0, Canada
The Sunset Cabaret is a long-standing tradition at the Sunset Theatre, inspired by the coffee houses of the 1960s and the popular Theatrical Happenings of the 1970s. IMA used to host periodical Coffee Houses, inviting anyone and everyone to participate in an evening of sharing creative stories, songs, poetry, dance, film, whatever was your fancy. Since re-opening its doors in 2006, there have been 44 Sunset Cabarets, hosting 100s of artists from Wells, Barkerville or just driving through town. Intended to be a fundraiser for the Sunset Theatre, the Cabarets have become a tradition over the years.
The Sunset Cabarets were hosted by our beloved Tim Sutherland who gathered the group together to create a raucous and memorable evening. The baton has been passed to Stu Cawood and James Douglas who give of their time to carry on this tradition, bringing together the community in laughter and song.
All ages are welcome, however extreme, over-the-top, risque content is typical. Course language and adult themes are often featured.
Doors open @ 7:30PM • Show starts at 8PM
NB • Adult content

Reading with George Elliott Clarke
2019-07-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Island Mountain Arts Studios, Mildred Ave, Wells, V0K 2R0
Join us at the IMA School for an artist talk with George Elliott Clarke, by donation.
The tiny rural community of Weymouth Falls sits on the banks of the Sissiboo River in a far-flung southwestern corner of Nova Scotia. Best known as the birthplace of world-renowned boxing great Sam Langford, the predominantly African Nova Scotian village also served as muse for Black Canadian writer George Elliott Clarke (born 1960), who channelled the spirit and vernacular of the community into the 1990 book-length poem, Whylah Falls.
Those who’d been paying attention four years earlier when Dr. Clarke was a master’s student in English at Dalhousie would have been given a glimpse into the genesis of the epic poem, now regarded as a Canadian literary classic, in the pages of the student newspaper. “Weymouth Falls, founded in 1815 by Black Refugees, is a village in Digby County,” reads an introduction to a poem by Clarke in a December 1986 issue of the Dalhousie Gazette. “It is a snowy northern Mississippi, with blood, not on magnolias, but on pines, lilacs and wild roses. This homespun spiritual is one of its first songs.”
Dr. Clarke, raised in Halifax, had worked in Weymouth Falls and other rural communities like it as a social worker prior to returning to school at Dal in his mid-20s. (He had previously earned his BA at the University of Waterloo). He says the experience was an “incredible introduction to the beauty of African Nova Scotian . . . speech, and the stories, and the folklore, and the songs” and instilled within him a desire to acknowledge the richness of the language in poetry.
At Dal, Dr. Clarke began to develop the distinctive lyrical style that has come to characterize his body of work. Flip to the acknowledgements in any of his books and you’ll find the name John Fraser, the Dal poetry professor Dr. Clarke credits for changing his academic career and making him a much better poet.
Dr. Clarke soon left Nova Scotia to do a PhD at Queen’s University and has worked as a professor at universities outside the province for much of his career, including the University of Toronto and Duke University. While geographically removed from his home province, his literary output has remained largely focussed on exploring the history and cultural geography of “Africadia” — a term he coined to refer to the often-marginalized communities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick built by the descendants of Black Loyalists and African-American slaves.
Dr. Clarke has won praise for tackling issues such as racism, oppression and change in his poetry, and as Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate (2016-17) and a member of the Orders of Canada and Nova Scotia — as well as a Dal honorary degree recipient — he gained a broader audience than ever. But even in the pages of the Gazette all those years ago, you’ll find evidence that his would be a unique voice in the Canadian literary landscape, chronicling untold stories of love and grief in verse.

6th Annual Indigenous Celebrations in Barkerville
2019-07-20 10:00 - 16:00 | Barkerville Historic Town & Park, 14301 Hwy 26 E., Barkerville, BC, V0K2R0, Canada
Lhtako Dené Hoop Dancers, St’at’imc Bear Dancers & Xatśūll Drumming, Song & Storytelling. Details coming soon.

Exhibition Opening & Artist Talk with Sarah Zimmerman
2019-07-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Island Mountain Arts is excited to announce an exhibition launch on Friday July 19th, 2019 at 7 pm featuring the work of Sarah Zimmerman (affectionately known by many as Saz), titled “The Fish Project”.
The exhibition will remain on view through Sunday, August 25th, 2019.
Sarah has been painting her entire life. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, the urban arena has long played an important role in her life. Since moving to Terrace, BC in 2000, the incredible bounty of the Northwest has become a constant source of inspiration for her. From rooster portraits to vibrant snails, her pieces are fun, vibrant acrylic messes that are also a nod to her surroundings. Her work is a whimsical exploration of her environment and sense of place.
“For me creating art is a way of expressing myself, exploring my surroundings and combining complex ideas in a visual medium,” Sarah says. “Art brings people and ideas together in a way that no other exercise can.”
She drew inspiration for this exhibition from the salmon and oolichan and their importance to the people of Northwestern BC, exploring the intersection of fish, culture and art. Sarah began the project in the Spring of 2017. Creating each piece was a multi-faceted process that involved sourcing or catching the fish, cleaning it, preparing it for printing, painting it and then pressing the prints onto thin paper. Then the prints were transferred to the wood panels using a gel transfer technique. Each painting on its own is a reflection of a small, but critical piece of the ecosystem.
The fish project includes a series of multimedia pieces that incorporate the old Japanese art of fish printing with a more modern gel transfer technique to transfer the prints of regionally harvest oolichan and salmon to wooden canvases.
The show also speaks to the relationship of fish to people, both settler and Indigenous. Sarah has collaborated on a multimedia installation piece which is a nod to the oolichan fishery and how regional Indigenous people traditionally processed this incredible fish. In collaboration with Gitxsan/Nisga’a cedar weaver, Jaimie Davis, this piece is a reflection of the one-time abundance of this Indigenous fishery and the fragility of its stocks today.
Sarah has also collaborated with Sto:lo artist Amanda Hugon on a series of oolichan block prints that speak to the social, ceremonial, food and healing qualities of oolichan in a series of pieces called liquid gold.
Sarah is excited to share this project with folks visiting the IMA Gallery and ArtsWells festivalgoers. She says, “Wells is one of those amazingly unique places that keeps drawing me back year after year, be it for art, learning, escape or music. Wells holds a special place in my heart and has been an integral part of my artistic journey, and because of that I am super excited to be showing the fish project at the Wells Gallery. It’s exciting for me to share this project not only with the wonderful people of Wells but those incredible creative souls that make their way to Wells each summer, especially during ArtsWells.”

Reading with Giovanna Riccio
2019-07-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Join us at the IMA Gallery for a Reading with Toronto author Giovanna Riccio.
Giovanna Riccio will be reading from her newly published book, Plastic’s Republic, an adventurous poem sequence centering on Barbie, the complex cultural icon and feminist bête-noir powered by plasticity. A graduate in philosophy from the University of Toronto, she is the author of the chapbook Vittorio (Lyricalmyrical, 2010) and Strong Bread (Quattro Books, 2011) which was shortlisted for The Relit Award and selected for the Canadian Poetry syllabus at the University of Toronto. Her poems and other writings have appeared in numerous anthologies, the most recent being Heartwood: For the Love of Trees (League of Canadian Poets, 2018) and A Filo Doppio, (Donzelli editore, Rome, 2017) which includes Italian translations of her work.
Giovanna Riccio was born in a picturesque village in Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to Canada with her mother, Vittoria, and two siblings when she was six years old. They were part of the post-war transatlantic migration undertaken to seek otherwise non-existent opportunity for their children. Giovanna was renamed “Joan” by Toronto’s educational system, grew up in an Anglo-Saxon neighbourhood and attended schools where her ethnicity and class underscored difference, but where she also shared the spotlight of academic and creative success. Her earliest associations with poetry, artful language, storytelling, and audience were gifts from her father, Vito, who embodied the power and prestige a golden tongue can bestow on a person. An artist manqué inspired by innate intelligence and curiosity, he opted to be an autodidact, basement sculptor, and headstrong poet.
PLASTIC’S REPUBLIC
In 2019, Barbara Millicent Roberts, aka, Barbie turns 60. Plastic’s Republic offers an adventurous poem sequence centering on this complex cultural icon and feminist bête-noir powered by plasticity. Aside from thematically animating the ghost of Plato, the poems give voice to the major players in Barbie’s development and mammoth success, including Ruth Handler who co-founded Mattel with her husband; their daughter Barbara—the doll’s inspiration and namesake—and Barbie, herself.
