Adult Pickleball Nights
2024-03-05 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-03-12 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-03-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-03-26 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-04-02 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-04-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-04-16 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-04-23 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) and 3 more dates | Wells Community Hall, 4269 Sanders Ave, Wells, BC, V0K2R0, Canada
Wells Pickleball is back! Tuesdays @ 7pm, starting tomorrow, at the Community Hall. All you need is a pair of running shoes. Drop in fee is $3. No experience required. We will also be running youth Pickleball on Thursdays from 4-5:30 pm.
Hope to see you there!

Karaoke Night
2024-03-09 21:00 - 2024-03-10 03:00, 2024-03-16 21:00 - 2024-03-17 02:00, 2024-03-23 21:00 - 2024-03-24 02:00, 2024-03-30 21:00 - 2024-03-31 02:00 | Jack O’ Club Restaurant & Pub, 12383 Hwy 27 E., Wells, BC, V0K2R0, Canada
Every Saturday from 9 pm to 2 am

St. Patrick's Day at the Wells Hotel
2024-03-17 17:00 - 22:00 | The Wells Hotel, 2341 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
The Wells Hotel began with the dream of an Irishman, Paddy MacDonell, and lives on today. Come and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with house-made Irish stew and soda bread, drink specials, and good cheer! Sláinte!
To help celebrate, we’ll be hiding charms around the Pub and Lobby. Find a charm, exchange it for $1 off your bill (reedeamable on Mar 17th only).
There are 80 lucky charms to be found, so lucky patrons could strike it rich!

Armed with a Compass: A Northern Exposure Conference
2024-03-21 - 2024-03-24 | BC
WHAT IS ARMED WITH A COMPASS?
Armed with a Compass is a multi-day conference. Part workshop, part networking and part showcasing, together we will deep dive into the climate crisis from the perspective of rural arts and events organizers. With record-shattering drought, fire and flood seasons a normalized phenomena in British Columbia, the importance of swift and compassionate response while also continuing to provide meaningful experiences to the artists and audiences we serve holds particular weight with rural arts and events organizers.
Armed with a Compass is rooted in information sharing, and will blossom into active time for writing, discussion, planning and review. It is intended to be a deeper-than-surface dive as we broach the manifestation of the climate crisis in rural BC and its impact on the systems of arts presentation that have long been a standard means of livelihood for artists and organizers.
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES:
Folks living/working in the Arts in non-metropolitan areas come away with strengthened and comprehensive emergency plans and the knowledge and confidence to implement them when needed.
A greater understanding of the role of the Arts in emergency planning, management, and community recovery.
Knowledge sharing and deepened relationships between the emergency response and disaster recovery and the Arts sectors.
New and rekindled relationships with rural presenters and artists from around BC.
HOW IS THIS HAPPENING
A bar of logos from Island Mountain Arts, The government of Canada, Arts BC, Rural Arts Inclusion Lab and Vancouver Foundation.
Northern Exposure is made possible through the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Arts BC and the Vancouver Foundation Recovery and Resilience Grant; and the Rural Arts Inclusion Lab (RAIL)
LOGISTIC DETAILS FOR NORTHERN EXPOSURE ATTENDEES
DATES:
Opening Reception: Wednesday March 20th at 7:00 PM | Island Mountain Arts (2323 Pooley Street)
Day 1: Thursday March 21st from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM, with Showcase from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Day 2: Friday March 22nd from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM, with Showcase from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Day 3 – Wrap Up: Saturday March 23rd from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
LOCATION:
Wells, B.C. + Barkerville, B.C. | SECWÉPEMC AND DAKELH TERRITORY
COST:
$180.00 + GST
Modest Breakfast and Lunch included from the 21-23 dates.
Participants are responsible for their own evening meals, accommodations, and travel expenses.
SUPPORTS AVAILABLE:
Bursaries are available to assist with registration and travel costs. Island Mountain Arts can also assist with finding accommodations for participants. Details in the registration form.
Get in touch with Elyssia at northernexposure@imarts.com for more information.

Northern Exposure’s Evening Artist Showcase - Night One
2024-03-21 19:00 - 22:00 | BC
General Admission: $25.00 + Fee
IMA Members: $20.00 + Fee
Youth 12-18: $15.00 + Fee

Even if you aren’t attending the Northern Exposure Conference, you can get in on the action! Join us as we invite 3 artists to share their craft with us during Northern Exposure’s Evening Artist Showcase – Night One.
This showcase will meet at the Sunset Theatre at 7:00 PM. From here, the audience split into groups, moving between three Wells venues, making up one evening of supporting independent Canadian music and theatre from friends old and new. Bring your kind listening ears for this one!
For this event, patrons will move between 3 performance venues, taking in the fresh air of the night in between each of the sets. If mobility is a concern, please get in contact with Elyssia Sasaki. (info@imarts.com).
THE ARTISTS
MUSIC | BEN MATCHETT
Hailing from Northern BC, Ben was heavily influenced by the folk and classic rock of his childhood. Ben has that magical balance of the bygone songwriting era; his lyrics are at once specific to his life, and universal to the human experience. Ben draws inspiration from observation and is a natural storyteller, captivating his audience with vulnerable ballads of love and loss – with a dash of uptempo guitar pickin’ and humour for good measure.
www.benmatchettmusic.com
Instagram @benmatchettmusic
FB @benmatchettmusic

THEATRE | BREAK A LEG BY BRIAN FIDLER*
*The participation of this Artist is arranged by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance•Opera•Theatre Policy.
Break a Leg is a collectively improvised tale inspired by Tramadol, extra-strength Tylenol and the power of community. Created through the haze of a badly broken leg, Fidler draws the audience into his experience through storytelling and games that speak to the better part of human nature and our innate desire to help each other in challenging circumstances.
Brian Fidler- Performer/Creator
For over 20 years Brian has been making theatre, creating outdoor multi-disciplinary events and directing shows in his hometown of Whitehorse, Yukon (the Traditional Territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council). His cardboard science fiction puppet shows and original plays have been presented across the country and have toured to every community in the Yukon. Brian is the Creative Producer of Theatre in the Bush, a site specific outdoor event set deep in the boreal forest. In the summer of 2024 Brian will return to Wells to create a customized version of Theatre in the Bush as part of the ArtsWells Festival.
www.ramshackletheatre.ca
Instagram: @ramshackletheatre

MUSIC | GENEVIEVE JAIDE
Genevieve’s latest release, “Why Am I Like This”, was written as a coping mechanism to work through her personal mental health journey. The title track is a familiar story about social anxiety in which you wish you could promptly teleport *literally* anywhere from the situation that you are in – a pretty relatable feeling. The EP sifts through different memories and digs deep into the strange realities of one’s messy mind. The genre jumps around from alternative, folk, indie-pop, to Canadiana, but maintains Jaide’s lyrically driven, terrifically vulnerable singer-songwriter vibe.
Genevieve Jaide is a northern blooded songstress inspired by the environment, nature, and the alluring people she has met throughout the years. She carefully releases heavy emotions through lyrics and melodies, and pairs these feelings with a groovy alternative vibe.
Her folk alternative sound is accompanied by: Brock Patch, Connor Pritchard, Michael Lurincic and Calvin Hilde.
Genevieve currently resides in Northern BC on Lheidli T’enneh Territory with her partner, two orange cats, and dog.
https://www.genevievejaide.com
Instagram: @genevievejaide
Facebook @GenevieveJaide

Northern Exposure’s Evening Artist Showcase - Night 2
2024-03-22 19:00 - 22:00 | BC
A PART OF THE NORTHERN EXPOSURE CONFERENCE
General Admission: $25.00 + Fee
IMA Members: $20.00 + Fee
Youth 12-18: $15.00 + Fee

Even if you aren’t attending the conference, you can get in on the action! Join us as we invite 3 artists to share their craft with us during Northern Exposure’s Evening Artist Showcase – Night 2.
This Showcase will meet at the Sunset Theatre at 7:00 PM. From here, the audience split into groups, moving between three Wells venues, making up one evening of supporting independent Canadian music, dance and storytelling from friends old and new. Sights and sounds abound for this one, with the opportunity to learn, and to get up and move!
For this event, patrons will move between 3 performance venues, taking in the fresh air of the night in between each of the sets. If mobility is a concern, please get in contact with Elyssia Sasaki. (info@imarts.com).
DANCE | A MATTER OF DEVIANCE BY METHOD DANCE
Method Dance Society is a Not-for-Profit dance company based on the unceded Indigenous Territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation (Prince George, BC). Method seeks to increase public knowledge, appreciation and interest in contemporary dance by exhibiting and developing regional programs and performances in Northern B.C. Our projects and programs provide tools and resources for regional dance artists to practice their craft and expand their skills.
Cai Glover (choreographer): Cai Glover honed his craft as a performer and choreographer with Cas Public from 2012 to 2022. He contributed to 8 creations for the company, showcasing his innovative approach. Recently, he founded “A Fichu Turning,” exploring the intersection of poetry and movement. As a hard of hearing artist, hearing differently has become a driving force of his artistry and originality as a mover, interpreter and choreographer.
https://www.methoddance.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/methoddancesociety/
MUSIC + STORY | AMANDA WOOD

Amanda Wood is Anishinaabekwe from Ginoogaming, under James Bay Treaty 9, and Nlaka’pamux from North Bend, BC. Born and raised in northern BC, she is a guest on the Dakelh lands of Lheidli Te’nneh (Prince George, BC) A multi-disciplinary performance artist and graduating second year En’owkin NIPAT student. Amanda is a singer /songwriter playing the traditional hand drum and guitar. She incorporates her ancestral language of Anishnaabemowin-Eastern dialect learning from her mentor & Grandmother Hazel Charles alongside study groups online. She shows her process in real time through infusing it into her soulful “ancestral-roots and rhythm” musical sound and writing. Integrating her learning through creating. Music has always remained the creative conduit in every chosen medium. A constant in every type of process and integrator of understanding in her creative process.

MUSIC | ELISA THORN

Elisa Thorn is a harpist, vocalist and composer living and working in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Known for her distinct use of the instrument, she performs in many contemporary contexts from pop to jazz to experimental. Her music is propelled by two artistic objectives: firstly, how to create music that is both abstract and accessible; and secondly, how harp can take the lead in ensembles in a way that does not compromise sensitivity with its boldness, or generosity with its curiosity. Interested in the intersection between composed and improvised music, she is involved with many projects including HUE, The Giving Shapes, and Gentle Party, and works alongside many artists such as Mauvey, Tonye Aganaba, Loscil and Mother Mother. Her solo project combines elements of experimental folk and indie music that is informed by her classical technique and career as a contemporary musician. Finding genre labels sometimes lacking, she jokingly calls it “minstrel-core.” She will be releasing the debut album of this project in summer 2024.
www.elisathorn.com
www.instagram.com/elisathorn
The Northern Exposure Conference is a partnership between Island Mountain Arts, Arts BC and Rural Arts Inclusion Lab. It is supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage, The BC Arts Council and the Vancouver Foundation.

Young Movie Makers: A spring break day-camp
2024-03-25 - 2024-03-29 | BC
Island Mountain Arts and Young Moviemakers are excited to introduce a four-day filmmaking camp coming up on March 25th – 28th 2024 for youth aged from 6-17.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN UNTIL MARCH 8TH – SPACE IS LIMITED!
Register Now! Click Here
Young Moviemakers is an award-winning acting and film program for children and youth of all ages. Using high end, professional grade equipment, participants learn the importance of visual storytelling, scriptwriting, acting, editing and more, through the creation of short films.
With the help of our experienced instructors, our participants work in groups to develop and produce their work, which is then premiered in front of family, friends and the community.
Sign up today, visit https://islandmountainarts.tickit.ca
Registration is open until March 8th, and limited space is available.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTORS
Demi Pedersen is Vancouver based, multidisciplinary artist and educator. She is a graduate from the University of British Columbia’s Theatre Conservatory where she received a BFA in theatre production.
With over five years of teaching experience at Young Moviemakers, she has played a crucial role in shaping the creative journeys of aspiring filmmakers. Demi is a self-taught filmmaker, bringing a hands-on approach to her craft and mastering the intricacies of storytelling and filmmaking.
Sebastian Marin is a Colombian Canadian cinematographer based in Vancouver and Toronto. He recently completed his BFA in Film at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he was awarded the Streamland Media Award in Cinematography.
He started with Young Moviemakers as a student at the age of 11, and has been producing films with our students for the past five years
IMA Youth programming is supported by the Province of British Columbia.

Wells Winter Wonders
2024-03-30 11:00 - 12:30 | BC
Free hot dogs and smores and an easter egg hunt all down by the new rink.
Easter movie at 2 pm at the Sunset Theatre

DAYGLO ABORTIONS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS no big d
2024-04-07 19:00 - 22:00 | The Wells Hotel, 2341 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
The Dayglo’s are finally making a triumphant return to Northern BC and are stopping for a good time at The Wells Hotel. Don’t miss your chance to sing and swing along to these legends!
Joined by locals no big d, this is sure to be an unforgettable night!
Tickets are $30 and available at Barkerville Brewing and the Wells Hotel.

Island Mountain Arts AGM
2024-04-24 18:00 - 19:00 | BC
Island Mountain Art’s Annual General Meeting is upon us!
We will have option to attend in person and online this year. Please register in advance so we can make sure we have enough space for everyone!
If you have any questions, please send them along to info@imarts.com
https://forms.gle/vQ5uqGREu6y9pSMP9

Toil & Trouble II: a Women's Mini Sips Fest
2024-05-04 18:00 - 23:00 | The Wells Hotel, 2341 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
Toil & Trouble is back for its 2nd installment! Join us for a small but mighty gathering of northern craft breweries, cideries, and wineries that empower women at the ownership, management, and brewmaster level. Toil and Trouble aims to provide a safe and supportive atmosphere for craft beer enthusiasts in BC’s rural north. It is a women-centred event but open to all participants 19+ years of age.
What’s included in your ticket:

12 x 4-oz samples from participating vendors
A taco buffet dinner
A souvenir Wells Hotel glencairn crystal tasting glass
An exciting historic venue, with 6,000 sq ft of space, three crackling fireplaces, and plenty of cozy seating
If the sun is shining, a big south-facing patio to enjoy!

Participating drink makers:

Barkerville Brewing
Deadfall Brewing
Three Ranges Brewing
Slaughterhouse Cider
Northern Lights Estate Winery

What you need to participate:

A ticket (only 55 available)
A place to stay in Wells or a designated driver (proof must be provided to enter the event)
A commitment to our Code of Conduct, requiring a harassment-free environment for all

Accommodation options:

The Wells Hotel: https://wellshotel.com/
The White Caps Motel: https://whitecapmotel.godaddysites.com/
Historic Stays in Wells: https://www.stayinwells.ca/

Bry Webb + Cots
2024-05-15 19:00 - 21:00 | SARRAS, 2338 Bowman Cres, Wells, BC, V0K2R0, Canada
Bry Webb + Cots
Live at the SARRAS in Wells, BC
Wednesday, May 15th, 2024
7:00PM Doors
7:30PM Music
$15 to $20 suggested donation
About the Artists:
Bry Webb
” Bry Webb is best known as the singer and principal songwriter in the well-loved and celebrated Canadian underground rock and roll band, The Constantines. During the band’s four-year hiatus from 2010-2014, Webb returned to his one time home of Guelph, Ontario, became a father, and wrote his first album, Provider, released in 2011 by Idée Fixe.
Now in an unexpected turnaround 10 years on from the recording of his last studio album “Free Will”, there is not only a return to the stage for Bry but also a new record. Primarily composed in a season of upheaval, “Run With Me” contains some of Bry’s rawest sentiments. Fresh and painfully present there is an immediacy one can hear as emotional walls collapse in real time. ”
https://brywebb.bandcamp.com/album/run-with-me
Cots
“Cots is the solo project of Montreal composer, singer, and guitarist Steph Yates. Blending elements of bossa nova, folk, jazz, and classical against a modern art backdrop, Cots’s subtly unconventional compositions and poetics permeate her debut record – the hushed, lush Disturbing Body. Produced by renowned Toronto musician Sandro Perri and engineered by Canadian recording artist Scott Merritt, the record demonstrates Yates’s understated, detailed songcraft and attention to lyrical play. Her pure, crystalline voice carries the gravitas of songs that evoke lost love and its consequences.”
https://cotsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/moonlit-building

Learn to Weave with Ana Diab
2024-05-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Island Mountain Arts Studios, Mildred Ave, Wells, V0K 2R0
About the Workshop
In this workshop you will learn basic techniques to create a wall hanging on a frame loom. Ana will walk you through what you need to know to set up a warp, talk about weaving terminology, and describe which yarns work best for weaving. You will learn plain weave techniques to allow you to make simple shapes that can be applied to more complex compositions. You will be able to experiment with different yarns, design a colour palette and learn how to finish a weaving to hang on the wall. Materials will be provided. Ages 10+
About the Artist
Ana Diab is a multidisciplinary artist and art librarian living on unceded Coast Salish territories. Before receiving a MLIS from the University of Western Ontario, Ana studied art at Capilano College from 2004-2006. She has worked as a librarian at Emily Carr University of Art + Design since 2016. She maintains a creative practice that involves tapestry weaving, printmaking, and contemporary dance. Her work explores themes of feminism and craft, and climate change. Her weavings have been featured on album covers and in private collections in Vancouver. She is currently working on a series of weavings depicting mine sites in Canada.

Bioplastics with Lisa Christinzo
2024-05-18 14:00 - 17:00 | Island Mountain Arts Studios, Mildred Ave, Wells, V0K 2R0
About the Workshop
Join artist Lisa Cristinzo for a hands-on workshop on creating bioplastics from renewable biomass sources. Learn about the methodologies and technical aspects of material creation while exploring the environmental benefits of using bioplastics and distancing ourselves further away from the fossil fuel industry. From material introduction to cooking up bioplastics, this workshop offers a unique experience in sustainable art-making. Lisa Cristinzo will also give a brief presentation on her own search for sustainable art-making practices, especially as an acrylic painter making work through a climate crisis.
About the Artist
Lisa Cristinzo is a queer painter and installation artist, and a first-generation Canadian settler living in T’karonto on Turtle Island. Cristinzo’s large-scale painting installations traverse natural history, climate hazards, materialism, and magic. She holds a BFA from OCAD U and an MFA from York University, where she received a graduate scholarship and SSHRC federal funding for her research into fire and climate change. Cristinzo’s writing and artwork about fire was recently published in Fire Season II by Liz Tooney-Wiese and Amory Abbott. Lisa was accepted into the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence Program for 2023. Along with being an artist, she has spent over a decade managing arts programs and community cultural hubs, including Artscape Gibraltar Point, an artist residency and event space on Mnisiing/Toronto Island.

Stitching Geography and Memory with Shawn Grey
2024-05-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Island Mountain Arts Studios, Mildred Ave, Wells, V0K 2R0
About the workshop
This workshop explores creating cloth bags as collective storytelling. The workshop delves into
the movement of story through the application of stitching techniques. Participants will stitch
cotton bags with decorative motifs interpreting experiences of geography and memory.
Inspired by Ursula Le Guin’s essay on the “Carrier Bag”, the workshop replicates the invention and necessity of care offering a way for individuals to metaphorically hold one another together through story. Shawn will demonstrate and teach stitching techniques through the making of a small zippered cotton bag. Participants will receive a sewing kit with materials to stitch their own carrying bag. The stitching techniques can then be used by participants to appliqué or embroider basic motifs or images of one’s own expression onto the bag. The collective making of the bags opens space to consider how we carry information, family history, assumptions, visions, and how simple tools impact our lives in the moment and more broadly, into the future as the skills are shared with one another and intergenerationally.
About the Artist
Shawn Grey is a visual artist whose practice is rooted in connection and transformation. Combining elements of cloth, video, and narrative, her work documents the everyday as a method to locate overlooked stories that carry and share collective knowledge. Her 2022 MFA thesis project, “When Nobody Was Here,” at York University, documented the collaborative making of a 45-foot cloth banner that served to articulate the meaning of personal presence and relationship in relationship to self, others, and local histories. Shawn’s video montage, “Occupied Acknowledgements,” was screened at Toronto’s 2019 Nuit Blanche and her work is recognized by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Shawn is 3rd generation British/Hungarian descent, born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, living and working in Toronto, Ontario on territories covered by Treaty 13.

Wild Colour, Ink Making with Annie Robinson
2024-05-18 21:00 | Island Mountain Arts Studios, Mildred Ave, Wells, V0K 2R0
About the Workshop
In a workshop full of play and connection to place, participants will work with wild colour sources to make ink. No art experience is required, only curious minds. We will explore colour sources from food waste, foraged botanicals, and metals. Together, we will discover the palette of Wells, contemplate the storylines of specific colour sources, and inspire a land-based approach to artmaking.
This workshop is all ages and will require an adult to be with younger participants as we will be working over a stove.
“Color is a playground where science and magic meet.” -Jason Logan, Toronto Ink Company
About the Artist
Annie Robinson is a land-based painter and art therapist who makes her own materials out of foraged and natural color sources. Annie’s painting expresses landscape, a sense of place, and embodiment; she paints out on the land using ingredients from the surrounding place and her garden. This includes indigo dyeing and making inks and paints from wild pigments found in the earth, botanicals, and metals left from decaying industry. Annie’s personal art practice and practice in art therapy intertwine through the use of material, connection to the land, and her fellow artmakers in qathet, BC, the territory of the Tla’amin People.

Plein Air Meditative Drawing
2024-05-19 10:00 - 12:00 | Island Mountain Arts, 2323 Pooley St., Wells, BC, V0k2R0, Canada
MEET AT ISLAND MOUNTAIN ARTS AT 10:00 AM
$10.00 Materials fee, or PWYC
About the Workshop
This workshop is an opportunity to experience meditative drawing, engaging with Donna Haraway’s concept of becoming-with. The plein air artist typically uses direct observation to draw or paint what they see. In this workshop, we will observe but also explore all our senses of cognition to connect in kinship with our surroundings. Through a series of meditative drawing exercises, participants will experience a deeper and fuller relationality of becoming-with the environment. Participants will also be introduced to the practice of nature journaling as a way to record their experiences. Ages 8+ with parent supervision.
About the Artist
Taline creating art plein air by the riverside
Taline Kavoukian is a T’Karonto/Toronto-based multimedia artist who uses an ecofeminist lens in her portraiture, figurative work and landscape painting. Her formal education includes an MA in Creativity and Intrinsic Motivation from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and she recently graduated with a BFA from York University. Taline is an enthusiastic reader, walker, traveller, and curious learner who believes that life is an adventure to be lived with love, joy and in community.
