One Bad @%$ September 25th day

I cannot believe what I am going to tell you about the Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25th Anniversary - Saturday the 25th is going to be so busy and filled with so many exciting things to do, that right now you will have to take a deep breath, calm down and look at the next paragraph.

There are 4 separate events that you can get yourself busy with on Saturday, September 25th and the best thing is that you can in fact do ALL OF THEM!!! As you would suspect, since this is the 25th and this is our 25th anniversary, it just seems to make so much sense.

Event #1 - Shorts for the Shorties - is the best in new and classic cartoons and aimed for the kids to see at Roxy Theater on Brock Street. Bring your kids to see some great cartoons being played on the fabulous screens of the theater - and it starts at 9:30 am but the doors open at 9am for the best seats.

Event #2 - from 9:30am - 5pm, the downtown part of Uxbridge will be closed off so that the families in the area can truly enjoy art with all of their senses. The theme is The Senses: see, hear, smell, touch, taste and ??? the sixth sense. This is called 25 on 25 Street Party. All of the local merchants have worked together to open up the streets for over 25 different opportunities to experince art first hand. Of course there is no admission fee and goes all day.

Event #3 - Second Lunch Hour Concert at St. Andrew's Chalmers Presbyterian Church and featuring Welcome Back Students. This time we are welcoming back local youth who have moved onto university to study music/voice. We will hear the amazing voices of Meghan McKibbon, Travis Smalley and Christina Campsall. Accompanying all is the ever talented Jackie Crawford. This will be an exciting hour, where you can sit and relax and listen. Free Will offering is the cost.

Event #4 - Silver Gala - oh what a night this will be. The evening will be a reflection on the past and honouring those who have truly been pivotal for the Celebration - and then welcoming in something new in the way of the 25 Hour Masterpiece. The evening will start at 7:30pm at the Uxbridge Music Hall and tickets can be purchased for $25 at the door (if available) or at Presents, Presents and Blue Heron Books.

Performing for us again this year is the wonderfully talented Carol Gibson and electric Tom Baker and Friends. To start the program though is the world premiers of performance art in play, poetry, short story, video, comedy and music - all created just 25 hours before.

Okay everyone - let me hear an audible WOW!!!!!

25 Hour Masterpiece - closer than you think

Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25^th Anniversary is thrilled to announce that we have selected the participants for the 25 Hour masterpiece. THRILLED I tell you. And I hope that the participants that we selected are also THRILLED.

As you may be aware and those wonderful 5 people who are my blog followers – I love you guys – will know, Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts executive committee for this coming September, decided to try something new this year and implemented as part of their Gala Event on September 25th, something we call our 25 Hour masterpiece.

Okay for those who don’t know, this is how it works – selected participants in the performing arts categories of poetry, short story writing, videography, playwriting and performing, improv, dance and musical composition will be given a word, phrase, line, theme and/or prop at 6pm on September 24^th and will have 25 hours, until 7pm on September 25^th, to create a piece that they will perform during the Gala Night event. The only exception to this is the Improv group, who will be given 25 seconds to prepare for their performance.

The invitation for submissions was sent out at the end of May/beginning of June and we had 15 people submit for the committee to consider. It was a very difficult process, but we finally did do it.

There will be performers from Uxbridge town to our neighbouring communities of Port Perry and Ajax. The performers range from age 13 to, well, WAY beyond 13. We have published writers, award winning writers and performers, and some that are just starting out. All in All – the Gala night event, starting at 7:30 on Saturday, September 25^th at the Uxbridge Music Hall will be a night to remember.

Please consider this one of your many events of the Celebration that you can come and support.

AND did I mention that Neil Crone will be our MC for the night. YUP and audible WOW – another blog about that later.

Uxbridge Youth Choir wins Gold Medals in Ottawa

I often talk in this blog about other events, activities, concerts and arts related fun stuff happening in the Uxbridge community. And I hope often, you actually go and attend and enjoy some of the many events happening in our fine community and there is another coming up that will celebrate the voices of youth.

Jennifer Neveu-Cook has been organizing and conducting The Uxbridge Youth Choir since 2004, and the skill of both Jennifer and the choir has been extraordinary. This group does a couple of concerts a year, and their final concert for this season will be on Wednesday June 2nd at Trinity United Church on 2nd Avenue in Uxbridge. I believe the start time is 7:30 - but please check when you purchase your tickets.

Performing with The Uxbridge Youth Choir will be special guests, Bella Nove (a young women's group that Jennifer also directs. The harmonies of this group are so very sweet to listen to), Kathryn Dnes on Violin and Adam Gribble, performing on his guitar.

The other reason that this concert is so special to The Uxbridge Youth Choir is because they just attended The Nationals Music Fest in Ottawa and came away with Gold Medals for both the Intermediate and Junior choir levels. YES - Gold Medals. That is a stunning achievement and to show support for the musicians of our communities future.

25 Hour Masterpiece - only 7 DAYS to get your submission in

The first deadline for the Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25th Anniversary year is coming up very very quickly - on June 7th, 2010. Yes I did say it - June 7th, 2010.

I can hear so many people say "I thought I had lots of time to get it to them - now I only have 7 days!"

Are you someone who is interested in being selected to be involved in the 25 Hour Masterpiece portion of the Gala Event night on Saturday, September 25th @ 7:30? Are you a poet? Dancer? Short Story Writer? Videographer? Playwright/Director/Actor? Composer? Improv comedian? Then this just might be for you.

If you haven't heard, the Celebration's 25 Hour committee is accepting submissions from interested performers in all of those genres, who think that have the "spark" to create a performance piece in 25 hours. The committee need to hear why you feel you can create something of performance quality in that short timeframe - what experience you have - your artistic ability.

If you are interested, please go to the Celebration of the Arts site and find the document that will tell you everything that you need to know. If you have any other questions, please contact me.

But we need those submissions - DEADLINE DATE - June 7th, 2010

25-hour masterpiece - Come on. You know you want to do it!

You know it is very exciting when something comes out of a question – "just think wild" - "something we have never done" – "something that will cause a lot of excitement" - "just think way out there".

I know the 25 hour masterpiece is not really “way out there”, I mean it has nothing to do with neon paint nor fireworks, or parachuting from a burning airplane, or kissing a boa constrictor - now those are way out there - but it is new and it is exciting. As you may be aware, the Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25^th Anniversary is coming up from September 16 – October 6, and it is a 3 week celebration of the wonderful mix and variety of artists in the Uxbridge area. With arts shows, studio tours, concerts, play readings, meet authors and so much more, we wanted to add a special element to the Gala Event on September 25^th, and so we have added 25-hour Masterpiece.

The concept is that a selected group of performance artists (videographer, poet, short story writer, dancers, musicians, improve group and playwrite/director/actors) have 25 hours before the actual Gala Event to create their performance or presentation. WHAT? I can hear you say. YES! I respond. There is nothing better than a deadline to get the creative juices flowing.

In order to be considered for this event, you are asked to submit a number of things that includes resume of experience, perhaps a CD/DVD of something that you have already done, and WHY you want to be a part of this new event. You can find that information on the Uxbridge Celebration website or by contacting me. The deadline date is June 7^th to get your submission to us.

It is very exciting the people that I have already spoken to range from 12 year olds who want to take on a challenge of creating a song and performing it for the first time, to some veteran stage performers who want to continue to be a part of the wonderful celebration of arts.

Things to remember if chosen – you must be available to perform your ‘masterpiece’ on Saturday September 25^th at 7:30 (and there will be time given to you to practice during the afternoon of the 25th), you must live within 75KM from Uxbridge center, the content must be kept to a family audience, you must be willing to create this masterpiece starting at 6pm on Friday, September 24^th after receiving your word, theme, phrase, and/or prop.

Come on – you know you want to do it!!!!!

Transport yourself during the Lunch Hour Concerts

I know that I have listed before in this blog, and I am sure that my loyal and focused following of 3 people will remember it, a blog about the Lunch Hour Concerts that will be performed during the upcoming Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25^th Anniversary year. I just put a bit of a teaser for you, but now I do have some confirmed performers and thought that I would pass them along to you.

We don’t have each lunch hour concert – September 16^th, 25^th and October 2 @ 12:30pm at St. Andrews Chalmbers Presbyterian Church in Uxbridge – confirmed but I thought that I had enough information to pass something along. (I also had to share another blog entry to the Celebration Blog to satisfy my 3 loyal and focused followers).

We always try to give the audience a variety of performers, and at the same time, try to support the local community. We are thrilled to have two very well known and admired students who have gone on to study voice in University programs, come back for a visit on our “Welcome Back Students”, and we will likely add one more but I don’t have a confirmation on them yet.

Travis Smalley (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Meghan McKibbon (University of Western Ontario) will be returning to share with us in voice, the excitement and joy that they have found in their programs. Accompanying will be Jackie Crawford who has always been here for these students during their training in the Uxbridge area through local vocal teacher, Jennifer Neveu-Cook.

We are also thrilled to announce that BJ Byers has agreed to give us all of his enthusiasm and skill on the piano in a program of classical music. Many people know BJ as the barkeep and manager of Hobby Horse Arms, but he is also an artist who shows such love for the piano and such flair for understanding the music, that this will be a thrilling program.

Our final program is focused on “World Music” and we have not had a confirmation of our performers, but if we get who we want – LOOK OUT! It will be a thrilling program that will transport you to other cultures and music that you would otherwise not hear.

The executive committee of the Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25^th Anniversary is working hard to present programs that will make you go WOW – and astonish you with the skills of so many local community artists. Yes, I said it – you will audibly and uncontrollably scream – WOW!!!!!! Trust me.

25 hours to create a masterpiece? Yes, at Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts 25

I am thrilled to be part of the executive putting together the 25th anniversary of Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts. This is a 2 and 1/2 week celebration of all things ARTS in September of 2010 - yes that is right, that is this year. I have described it before and this year will prove to be, from our meeting and the enthusiasm of the executive, exceptional and a blast of excitement for all of the senses.

I am on a couple of the "teams" creating the events, shows, activities, programs and showcases of the Celebration, and I am very excited about so much that is going to happen.

One of the teams that I am part of is the, and remember this is a secret code name - 25 hour event. Remember this is a secret code name!!!! don't spread it around, but all I ask you is to forward this blog to EVERYONE you know - but keep it secret.

Do you think that you can create a show-worthy, precise, enjoyable, memorable piece of art in 25 hours? Well some people are going to have the opportunity to do just that. On the Gala Saturday night performance, part of the program will get to the stage, brand spanking new entertainment. I mean, it won't even have been rehearsed until 25 hours before the Gala.

I don't want to "let the cat out of the bag" or "show all the colours" yet, and the rest of the information will just have to wait. This way we confirm time, place, event, people and more.

Needless to say - this is going to be very a fresh, new, exhilarating and amazing performance of ART.

Guys and Dolls will be hopping at Uxbridge Music Hall

Prepared to be entertained by the cast of Guys and Dolls at the Uxbridge Music Hall from February 4 - 7 and 11 - 14th and for no other reason but this is such a FUN musical to watch. The tickets can be purchased at Woods and Woods (905-852-1810) and they are $10 for youth and $18 for adults.

It is your typical love story of the "good girl" (Sister Sarah Brown) and the "bad boy" (Sky Masterson), how they meet, the sparks between them, how they come from different worlds, and how they fall in love. Beautiful story, at least for those of you who are very sappy.

The secondary love story is the comedic couple, Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit, and how their long suffering engagement of many years, is going to be resolved or Nathan will loose his adoring Adelaide.

Also watch for the great character part of Nicely-Nicely Johnson who is hilarious as one of the side kicks of Sky and Nathan. I think that the best song in the whole show, done by Nicely-Nicley is "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat". So funny.

Thank you Ryleepuss Productions for presenting this 'gotta go see' musical to Uxbridge (Ontario, Canada) for all those people in Uxbridge UK who thought excitedly that they were going to be able to see this show.

There is never "hey honey there is nothing happening in Uxbridge" in our little, arts focused town. Trust me.

PS - more on the Uxbridge Scholarship Fundraising "Musical Families" concert later