Local arts and community groups in Saint John are collaborating on a project to help develop affordable spaces for artists and creative professionals in Saint John, and will be presenting some of the work currently underway on Wednesday, November 9 at 5:00pm.
This event will be held at the former church located at 58 Broad Street, recently acquired by Kaleidoscope. The team at Kaleidoscope are looking at ways this space can be used help artists and creative professionals who need studio space and workspace, and they are seeking input from the arts community to help shape their vision for this space.
The Creative Spaces Project is an ongoing project to identify key areas of need for space among artists, creative professionals, and arts organizations, and with outreach activities aimed at local businesses, arts organizations, and property owners to identify spaces in the city that are appropriate for use as art studios, offices, and performing arts events.
November 1, 2022
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7:30 pm
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November 6, 2022
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9:30 pm
Bluebirds is set in Étaples, France, 1918. Nurses Christy, Maggie, and Bab have crossed oceans to care for wounded Canadian soldiers in the Great War. Despite the terrible injuries they must deal with, they manage to stay hopeful as the dangers of the front draw closer to their hospital. Through it all, the three women find friendship, independence, power, and influence in a place where men, once again, are trying to destroy the world.
Imperial Theatre, Saint John. Thursday, November 10 @ 7:30pm. Tickets: $57.50
With ‘In Praise of the Ostrich’ Derek Edwards moseys back into town on horse-drawn comedy wagon; a searing meander down life’s twisting trails, steered effortfully by this 30-year veteran. He returns with a payload of blissfully funny personal stories – a cacophony of shenanigans – set to tickle the ribs and warm the heart.
With an easy conversational style, Derek reluctantly pulls his head out of the sand and launches into commentary on the influx of pot stores, self-driving cars, gambling tips, the challenge of staying youthful … plus dressing warm. From Vegas to St. John’s, this Just For Laughs veteran is universally considered to be among the comic elite. Certainly his peers think so, as evidenced by the fact that he’s a four-time nominee, and winner of Best Standup Comic – Canadian Comedy Awards, as well as a multiple Gemini nominee for Best Performance in a Comedy. As Rick Mercer says, “Everyone knows Derek is the funniest man in Canada.”
‘In Praise of the Ostrich’ – Derek Edwards’ new 90-minute stand-up comedy show …a richly textured and enthralling ‘cut above,’ delivered with pace and authority by the consummate Canadian Comedian. Down to earth, lots of laughs, wagons ho.
In thirty years of activity, the Debussy String Quartet has been acclaimed throughout the world, continually sharing the same passion in its musical interpretations on the world’s most prestigious stages: Japan, China, United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, Europe, gaining renown through regular tours on all the continents.
Thirty years of evolution which have made the Quartet a key player on the international music scene, with numerous awards, including a First Prize in the Evian International String Quartet Competition in 1993 and a Victoire de la musique 1996 (« Best Chamber Music Group”). Today, the professional recognition of the Debussy String Quartet is indisputable
Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Mexican festival that celebrates art, culture, and community while honouring those that have come before us. The event is a welcoming experience that is built on diversity and inclusion, and will add a new layer to the urban vibrancy that Saint John has come to be known for.
Reading from Rafael Has Pretty Eyes by Elaine McCluskey
Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. | Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre at UNBSJ.
“You go through life convinced you’re going to get diabetes like your old man and one day you choke to death on chicken gristle, and the autopsy shows your blood sugars were perfect.”
The seventeen stories in Elaine McCluskey’s latest collection, Rafael Has Pretty Eyes, follow characters who have reached a four-way stop in life; some are deciding whether to follow the signs or defy them; others find a sinkhole forming beneath their feet.
A former fast-talking, big-bucks radio host now lives as a divorced payday loaner working in a strip mall; a football wide receiver at a small Canadian university works the night shift as a bouncer while recovering from his third concussion; a well-liked city councilor is arrested on a packed bus. As one character puts it, “life is just one extended series of anecdotes strung together until they kill you.”
Set in the Maritimes but transcending regional boundaries, McCluskey’s stories are experimental, sometimes provocative, and often about those living on the margins. Smart, compassionate and unsparing, Rafael Has Pretty Eyes explores the absurdity and interconnectedness of a life adrift.
Elaine McCluskey writes about the people you might find in the corners of life. She has published four short-story collections — Rafael Has Pretty Eyes; Hello, Sweetheart; Valery the Great; and The Watermelon Social — and two novels, Going Fast and The Most Heartless Town in Canada. Her latest collection, Rafael Has Pretty Eyes, was released in March 2022 by Goose Lane Editions. She lives in Dartmouth, N.S. For many years, she spent countless days at paddling regattas and watched both of her children race for Canada. She has worked as a journalist, a book editor, and a university lecturer. She has a BA from Dalhousie and an MA from Western.