It’s a crazy spring here at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre. These last few months have been absolutely packed with events of every kind and for every taste.
The frantic pace continues this week when Shine Dance Festival brings hundreds of dancers plus spectators, volunteers and staff to the centre from Tuesday through Saturday.
The festival wraps up just in time for Lights of Broadway to load into the building for nearly a week of preparation for Mary Poppins.
With another 100-plus performers, the North Okanagan Community Concert Association presents a choral extravaganza Monday when Edmonton’s Kokopelli and South Africa’s University of Pretoria Youth Choir take the stage at the centre.
Youthful voices interweave, creating musical magic that transcends borders and cultures.
The music starts at 7 p.m. and you can still purchase your tickets through the box office at 549-SHOW (7469).
The Center Stage Performing Arts Academy’s Lights of Broadway presents their annual full-scale musical this year with practically perfect Mary Poppins at the centre this Mother’s Day weekend.
This beloved story will bring out the kid in everyone with its hit parade of memorable tunes including Let’s Go Fly A Kite, Chim Chim Cher-ee, Spoonful of Sugar, Feed the Birds and many more.
There are three performances to choose from May 6 and 7 and tickets are going fast so “spit-spot!” Get yours through the box office by calling 250-549-7469 before they fly away.
In true spring fashion, every stage in town is hopping with performances and Powerhouse Theatre’s spring production of Unnecessary Farce kicks off Wednesday.
In this side-splitting, no-holds-barred comedy, see what happens when a corrupt mayor, bumbling cops, a hit man who plays the bagpipes in a cheap motel room take the stage under the direction of Matt Brown, Vernon’s unofficial “master of farce.”
There are performances most nights from April 27 to May 7 with matinées May 1 and 7. Call the Ticket Seller at 250-549-7469 or your tickets.
And catch guitar virtuoso Martyn Joseph on Thursday at the Vernon Atrium Hotel, presented by the Vernon Folk Roots Society.
You name it, Joseph can play it: folk, rock, soul, folk, funk. He’s been called “The Welsh Springsteen” and he has toured with the likes of Art Garfunkel, Jools Holland, Mike & The Mechanics, Celine Dion and others Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are at the Ticket Seller.
– Brian van Wensem is the audience development coordinator at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.