News Leader News
SALAD DAYS: THE BIRTH OF PRINCETON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY
Have you felt the crackle of energy in the air in Princeton? This year, you can chat to folks as they spiff up their gardens, see chunks of old drywall flying out of charming little downtown houses and then watch paint and other renovation materials being carted inside.
You can shop in funky new businesses that weren't there before. To accompany this burst of industriousness, there is a rebirth of arts and culture that is picking up a healthy head of steam.
Besides a blossoming of amazing live musical performances, we have a wacky, wonderful group of people who are pouring their hearts into a performing arts society. A small but mighty group are we!
We are, of course in our salad days. Yet with very little money we have already managed to take part in the official opening of the Riverside Centre with an eclectic presentation - a variety show involving representatives from all facets of our community. We have had a float in the Racing Days parade which was a riot of fun for all.
Our first workshop, an evening with Dave Cursons of Cawston Players, inspired us to tackle the concept of live theatre even though we are a very small group (as community theatre groups go). Our second workshop was given to us by Christine Falconbridge from Springboard Consulting.
This session helped us to clear our heads and begin to function as a productive group.
Randy Leslie of Kelowna Actors Studio has given us an inspirational six hour workshop that guided us through the practical aspects of setting up and running a community theatre. His hopes for us are high and we caught his enthusiasm.
We especially appreciate his excitement for us. He is a recipient of the Okanagan Angel Award for Leadership in Theatre and owner of a theatre that has been voted Kelowna's Best Theatre Company. Lately we have been joined by a talented young lady by the name of Chelsea Turner.
Chelsea brings to our group, in spite of her tender years, a wealth of experience, vision and talent.
Now for your part. Several months ago (good grief, can it be that long?) the Arts Now committee did a community scan to determine what folks wanted to see most in Princeton, something that had been missing from the cultural aspect of our lives. Live theatre was the winner, hands down!
The good news is that the boring, grinding, plugging work has been done (do we hear sympathy?) and we are ready for planning a full length play to be performed sometime in the Spring of 2007, just in time to break in the boards of the new stage at the Riverside Centre.
We are holding auditions for actors on July 17th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Riverside Centre on Old Hedley Road. The crew interviews will be held July 18th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Although a play hasn't been confirmed, it isn't too early to form a pool of actors and crew. Please note that the pay is, well, nonexistent but training will be provided in the fall and the rewards are amazing. Please look elsewhere in this paper for a large advertisement with more information.
GARDENER SHARPENS SKILLS WITH CACTI
When you hear the word cactus, what comes to mind? Would you believe it if we said there's a Princeton area man whose love of all things sharp and prickly has grown into a garden of over one hundred different varieties of cacti?It's true.
Jay Akerley, who moved to the area with his parents five years ago, has a hobby some may find unusual, but has produced beautiful displays of cold-hardy cacti that can live and survive the cooler climate of the Upper Similkameen Valley.
The 33-year old is a Master Gardener in training with the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, a program he highly recommends to anyone interested in gardening.
"I'm currently volunteering with the design of drought-tolerant demonstration beds at Glendale Gardens and Woodland in Victoria, as part of my practical work towards my Master Gardener certification," Akerley explains.
"I have over 100 varieties of cold-hardy cacti in my garden near Bankeir/Chain Lake. These cacti are in permanent planting and our reliable snow pack, which acts as insulation at this high elevation, helps them to survive the cold winters. The garden requires very little maintenance and can be left untended for weeks or even months at a time."
His interest in gardening came quite honestly.
"I have always been interested in landscapes and enjoy mimicking them in the garden. Following my Master Gardener studies, I became a far more competent gardener and grew more interested in the science of botany."
But why cold-hardy cacti?
"I grew up in a city condo but vacationed in the Okanagan all my life, where I occasionally saw the native cactus Opuntia fragilis. From my late teens and early twenties, I had memberships in local and European exotic gardening clubs, which focused on growing palms, tree ferns and other subtropical plants in temperate climates."
A move to the Similkameen presented a number of challenges.
"While I had always enjoyed the arid landscapes of the Interior, I wondered what I could do in this climate of extremes that might prove unusual. I remembered the native cactus, and early success with that plant led me to learn about native plants in general and other hardy cacti for my garden. Experimenting with cacti and native plants has been the most rewarding and interesting gardening I can imagine."
Akerley says there are arguably between one and two thousand species of cacti with many varietals within species.
"The varieties that grow successfully in our climate are mostly from mountainous regions or from cold locales on the Great Plains. They tend to be rare in cultivation. Increasingly, collectors including me are becoming interested in hybrids as well, which kind of blur the lines of taxonomy (the practice or principles of classification)."
Akerley has added to his collection by trading seeds, seedlings and cuttings with other collectors and more and more of his plants are from cuttings he has collected in the field the most sought after by collectors in other parts of the world as serious collectors are interested in detailed field data accompanying the plants.
The garden of cacti at Akerley's home was originally developed in 2003 with expansion each year to accommodate additional plants.
"These plants love the crushed aggregate I plant them in I don't use any topsoil at all. The Similkameen is an outstanding location for this type of gardening because of the summer heat, aridity and winter cold. Many varieties of cacti are very well suited to our climate here, but these are generally not the types you see at mainstream nurseries."
Residents with deer problems should note mammals will resist poking around a garden with many cacti.
"Cacti are physically difficult for mammals to eat. I have seen evidence of mice nibbling on new growth of one species in particular but not in problematic proportions. I find that mammals are generally uninterested in the native plants that accompany the cacti."
Akerley says he'd love to tell you more about his interest in cacti so if you have a question you can reach him via e-mail at jayakerley@hotmail.com.
ARTS COUNCIL LOOKS AT PAST YEAR
Expansion of Princeton Community Arts Council is one of the topics to be covered at the upcoming annual general meeting on July 19. During the past year, the Arts Council has added the Community Band, Princeton Performing Arts Society and the Potter's Guild.There is no question that the move last November to the former Riverside School premises has offered new life to Arts Council activities.
Arts Council President Dawn Johnson states, "We were in a bind at the old Cultural Centre. Although its location downtown is great, we could not offer a facility geared to the widening scope of the arts in Princeton. At Riverside Wellness Centre, we offer more space for activities and meetings.
When the stage is built during the coming year, we can show the public many more aspects of the local talent with which Princeton is blessed."
The Open House held April 23 in conjunction with B.C. Arts and Culture Week was a huge success. Hundreds of area residents attended to hear the band, to see works of art, and to enjoy the presentation of skits by performing artists. In the coming year, the Arts Council hopes to present a ballet, a first for Princeton.
During the past year, a subcommittee of the Arts Council worked to lay a foundation for performing arts. A grant to the Arts Now committee provided funding to find out what the community needed and wanted, which led to forming the performing arts society. A grant application for further funding is now being considered by Legacy Now. If this grant is awarded, it will be used to train local performing artists in the multiple skills needed to run a theatre group. This application has been well-supported by the local community with pledges.
"The changes of the past year have been profoundly exciting," Johnson says. "What we need now is to strengthen our administrative body, and encourage individuals in the community to join the Arts Council or one of its member groups. New members bring not only new talents, but new perspectives."
In addition to three new groups mentioned, the Arts Council includes Vermilion Artists, Bunchgrass Quilters, Princeton Writers Group, Princeton Concert Society, Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists, Princeton Garden Club and Princeton Museum Society.
"We have received excellent support from both Area H Director Gerri Logan and Town Council," Johnson adds. "Councillor Ray Jarvis comes to nearly every Arts Council meeting and lobbies for us at Council meetings as well as encouraging groups in the community to support our goals."
Future plans include development of performing arts, more concerts and artists showcases and development of an artistic vision for Princeton.
SCHNEIDER REPEATS WITH ART SHOW WIN
The Vermilion Artists would like to thank everyone/everybody who was involved in their recent Annual Art Show and the Mayor and Council/Councillors of the Town of Princeton for making the Cultural Centre available for the event.Visitors were invited to select their favourite painting and enter it in the ballot box for the people's choice award.
Popular local artist Kathy Schneider once again won the award with her water colour painting "The Bee" (16 votes) Honourable Mention awards go to Harvey Donahue for his painting "The First Big Snow" (12 votes), Kathy Schneider for "The Irish House", Grace Lawrence for "Morning Flight" (6 votes), Ruth Kavanaugh for "September" (6 votes) and George White for
"Northern Lights"
There were 41 entries in the show and 115 people voted. Special mention should be made of long term Vermilion Artists supporters.
Grace Laurence's oil painting "Morning Flight" was done in the 1990's, and sad to say Grace is now legally blind. Watch for the prize winners in the window at Re/Max 240 Bridge Street.
