Wishing you a bright and happy holiday

Posted on December 9, 2013 by admin

On behalf of the Nicola Valley Community Arts Council’s Board of Directors, we would like to wish you every happiness this holiday season and throughout the coming year! We hope that you have enjoyed many of the art gallery shows, Community Concerts and other art events in the Nicola Valley. We would like to thank our donors, members, funders, partners and other stakeholders for their ongoing support.

Thank you for keeping the arts and creativity alive in the Nicola Valley. We hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday.

Reception for Gifts of the Spirit Saturday from 4-6pm

Posted on December 6, 2013 by admin

Swing by the Gallery tomorrow and meet the artists and check out the wonderful work on display. The December show at the art gallery will feature a Cash & Carry show by artists Cassandra Dolen, Meriel Barber. Aptly titled Gifts of the Spirit featuring a variety small art pieces that is available to take away upon sale . This is the perfect opportunity to give the gift of art to friends and loved ones. The show will run from Dec 5 to 21st, the gallery is open Thursdays 4-8pm, Friday & Saturday noon-6pm, admission is free.

Reception will run from 4-6pm on Saturday Dec 7th. Light refreshments will be provided

Proudly supported by:

Gifts of the Spirit: Cassandra Dolen and Meriel Barber

Posted on December 4, 2013 by admin

The December show at the art gallery will feature a Cash & Carry show by artists Cassandra Dolen, Meriel Barber. Aptly titled Gifts of the Spirit featuring a variety small art pieces that is available to take away upon sale . This is the perfect opportunity to give the gift of art to friends and loved ones. The show will run from Dec 5 to 21st, the gallery is open Thursdays 4-8pm, Friday & Saturday noon-6pm, admission is free.

Reception will run from 4-6pm on Saturday Dec 7th. Light refreshments will be provided

Proudly supported by:

Country Christmas in Merritt this week!

Posted on November 25, 2013 by admin

We hope you’ll be joining us this year for Country Christmas! It is an annual event which runs this year from November 27^th to December 1^st, featuring an array of fun, holiday-related activities. This volunteer-driven weekend features a Community Christmas Concert, the Light-up Christmas Parade, Craft Fair, Santa’s Village and Breakfast with Santa. In short, it is a weekend not to be missed in Merritt!

Schedule of Events:

Wed, Nov 27th 6:30pm
Love to Dance/Merritt Dance Society: Twelve Months in Merritt
A dance recital presented by Love to Dance Academy. Free for everyone. Civic Centre doors open at 6pm program starts at 6:30pm, everyone welcome raffles and silent auction too!

Thurs, Nov 28^th Doors open @ 6pm concert at 7pm
Country Christmas Concert
Merritt Civic Centre
Admission by cash donation or donation of non-perishable items for the Food Bank. Concert will feature a ballet performance by Dance Society’s students, The Snee Family, Catholic Church, Bench Choir, Community Kids Choir, Community Choir and much more!

Fri, Nov 29^th @ 7pm
Country Christmas Light-up Parade
The Parade starts at Civic Centre, goes down Quilchena and ends by Coopers Foods. Last year there were 25 floats and this year there may be more! Join in the fun, dress warmly and celebrate the holidays with the annual Country Christmas Parade.

After the Parade ends:

Merritt Community Band will be performing at the Foyer of the Civic Centre after the Parade.

Baillie House will have free hot chocolate, tea and coffee and a bake sale until 10pm.

Midnight Madness – hourly sales and a youth Christmas Card display with proceeds going to the Food Bank.

Fri, Nov 29 – Sat, Nov 30
Craft Fair
Merritt Civic Centre
Admission is free and there are a lot of unique hand-crafted items for sale including jewelry, baked goods, carvings and much more! The lunch they host is delicious! Craft Fair Hours are Friday Nov 29th 2-10pm; Saturday Nov 30th 9am-4pm. FMI contact Sharon at 250.378.6518.

Fri, Nov 29 – Sun, Dec 1^st
Santa’s Village
Culture Club (2058 Granite Ave)
Open Friday after parade until 10pm, Saturday 10-12 and 1-3 pm. Come by and say hello to Santa and his helpers. Brought to you by the Merritt & District Chamber of Commerce.

December 1^st @ 9-11am
Breakfast with Santa
Merritt Civic Centre
No Country Christmas is complete without a pancake breakfast with Santa. Tickets are available at the Civic Centre or Aquatic Centre for $5 or $7 at the door.

Events are sponsored by: City of Merritt, Merritt Printing, Merritt Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures Nicola Valley, Q101 and Merritt Herald

Love to Dance Academy Presents: Twelve Months in Merritt

Posted on November 24, 2013 by admin

The Love to Dance Academy in Merritt will presenting a Evening of Dance on Wednesday Nov 27th at the Civic Centre! The theme is Twelve Months in Merritt and features the students of Love to Dance Academy.
Wednesday, Nov 27th
Doors open at 6pm show begins @ 6:30pm – Free for everyone to attend!

Country Christmas in Merritt

Posted on November 14, 2013 by admin

So what is Country Christmas? It is an annual event which runs this year from November 28^th to December 1^st, featuring an array of fun, holiday-related activities. This volunteer-driven weekend features a Community Christmas Concert, the Light-up Christmas Parade, Craft Fair, Santa’s Village and Breakfast with Santa. In short, it is a weekend not to be missed in Merritt!

Country Christmas kicks off every year with the Community Christmas Concert at the Merritt Civic Centre. Admission is by donation of cash or a non-perishable food item for the food bank. The goal of the concert is to celebrate community and provide a space for locals to come out and share their talents. Participants in the event include the Bench Choir, the Community Choir, and the Catholic Church Choir, the Merritt Dance Society’s Ballet classes and this year the Snee Family. In addition, the Arts Council’s Grand Piano will be featured in a variety of musical numbers.

Following the concert, the Light-up parade is one of the most successful night-time Christmas Parades in North America. Organized by the Merritt & District Chamber of Commerce, the parade features 40-50 floats created by local businesses and organizations and, of course, Santa Claus. At the parade’s end, many businesses remain open or host midnight madness events. Over 500 people attend the parade, and a panel of judges selects the winner of the best decorated, lights, original idea, theme, school and most enthusiastic.

The Country Christmas Craft Fair is open on Friday and runs until Saturday evening. The craft fair features local and out-of-town crafters selling everything from baked goods to unique hand-crafted gifts. Don’t miss stopping in to see the wonderful gifts.

Throughout the weekend, Santa’s Village is open. This year it will be hosted at the Culture Club where you can sit down with Santa and have your photo taken. The Village will open up Friday night after the parade, and on Saturday from 10am-12pm and 1-3 pm. Be sure to come and say hi to Santa and his helpers!

The weekend wraps up with the City of Merritt hosting a Breakfast with Santa.

Check out Heidi’s blog about last years events!

Schedule of Events:

Wed, Nov 27th 6:30pm
Love to Dance/Merritt Dance Society: Twelve Months in Merritt
A dance recitial presented by Love to Dance Academy. Free for everyone. Civic Centre doors open at 6pm program starts at 6:30pm, everyone welcome raffles and silent auction too!

After the Parade ends:

Merritt Community Band will be performing at the Foyer of the Civic Centre after the Parade.

Baillie House will have free hot chocolate, tea and coffee and a bake sale until 10pm.

Midnight Madness – hourly sales and a youth Christmas Card display with proceeds going to the Food Bank.

Events are sponsored by: City of Merritt, Merritt Printing, Merritt Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures Nicola Valley, Q101 and Merritt Herald

Cris Derksen & Company next Thurdsay Night @ NVIT

Posted on November 9, 2013 by admin

Join us at the beautiful NVIT Theatre for a night of genre-bending cello music by award-winning, classically trained aboriginal cellist, Cris Derksen.

Tickets can be purchased at Baillie House, Black’s Pharmacy, Mandolin’s Bagel & Coffeehouse or at the door.

Adult $22, Senior/Student $17, Child (6-12) $12 and Children under 5 – Free!

Aboriginal cellist Cris Derksen is known for building layers of sound into captivating performances. Her music braids the traditional and contemporary in multiple dimensions, weaving her traditional classical training and her aboriginal ancestry with new school electronics, creating genre defying music. On her sophomore album Derksen delves further into electronic cello pieces while staying true to her cinematic flair. The Collapse is an album motivated by personal relationships and the environmental concerns that Canadians face as the dependency of energy changes the face of Canada and the world. The 13 track album features Derksen’s own compositions with Joy on Drums and guest artist Kinnie Starr.

Derksen’s 2010 debut album The Cusp was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award, and won the 2011 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. She was honoured with funding from First Tracks, to make POW WOW WOW, an APTN Music Video, released in early 2012. Recent composer credits include 8th Fire (4-part television mini-series – CBC – 2012); TransMigration (Kahawi Dance, 2012); People of a Feather (feature film – Joel Heath and the Community of Sanikiluaq – 2011)

Cris has toured nationally and internationally as a solo artist and performing her own compositions with Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq. She has performed internationally at: Women in (e)motion (Germany), Future En Seine (France), WOMEX (Spain), SXSW (Texas), Riddu Riddu (Norway), Respect Festival, Colors of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Barroquisimo (Mexico), MADE festival (Sweden).

Back home, Derksen has performed at: Vancouver Island Music Fest, Regina Folk Festival, Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards, Frostbite Festival, Salmon Arm Roots and Blues, Harrison Music Festival, Rifflandia, Dawson City Music Festival, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Calgary Folk Music Festival, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, JunoFest, the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards and the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

Cris Derksen originally comes from Northern Alberta. There is a line of chiefs from North Tall Cree reserve on her Fathers side and a line of strong Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s side. She uses a Boss ME-70, a guitar multi effect pad, the Boss Loop Station RC20-XL, as well as an Dr Rhythm 880 drum pad.

Thanks to our Sponsors!

* BC Touring Council
* Black’s Pharmacy
* Carrie Ware & Company
* Q101
* BC Arts Council
* City of Merritt
* David Brown & Investors Group
* Royal LePage Merritt Real Estate
* Tourism Nicola Valley
* Clara and Henry Nogaard

VVA is hosting Weekly Creative Sessions at the Courthouse Art Gallery

Posted on November 4, 2013 by admin

The time is now to explore your creative energy, whether you are new or an established artist come out and join the Valley Visual Artists (VVA) in their weekly creative sessions.

The VVA is a group of artists living in the Merritt/Nicola Valley. They offer a supportive creative atmosphere for our members and encourage curious artists, new artists and non-members to check us out. They are always open to new members and enjoy learning new techniques and styles of art from others.

The VVA will now be hold a weekly Creative Art Session, in the Orange Room at the Art Gallery, every Thursday, between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. Stop by and say hello!

FMI: valleyvisualartists@shaw.ca

Reception for Cindilla Trent’s Toroso More So Saturday 4-7pm

Posted on November 1, 2013 by admin

(Article from the MerrittMorningMarket)

Torsos More So @ Courthouse Gallery The artwork of Cindilla Trent

The Torsos More So exhibition at the Courthouse Art Gallery has been held over until Nov 16, and tomorrow Cindilla will be at the artist reception, 4-7pm, everyone welcome.

Cindilla has lived in the Nicola Valley since 1998 and has enjoyed exploring this new habitat — so different than her 15 years in the Queen Charlotte Islands. But she is just as inspired here as there, by the world outdoors.

The clay work in Cindilla’s show is a new direction for her, and came about from a collection of vintage doilies she’d been collecting for many years. “I wondered who these women were who spent so many hours creating these small bits of beauty. How could I take them from a bin in the thrift store and call attention to the time and creative energy spent making them?” she thought.

She played around with using them on quilts (one of her most prolific art expressions) but wanted to try something with these little bits of women’s work from unknown women, using clay. The torsos are women’s bodies and may represent the long-ago women who sat with crochet hook and cotton and made the doilies to decorate their homes. Cindilla thinks they would have laughed to hear us call these doilies ‘art’, “…but some of them are very intricate and lovely patterns,” she says.

Cindilla likes to change the direction of her work, and never knows where the next inspiration and creative turn will take her.

Torsos More So featuring Cindilla Trent extended to Nov 16th

Posted on October 30, 2013 by admin

The October show is so fantastic we have decided to extend it until Nov 16th to allow more visitors to check out this great show featuring a diverse collection from multi media artist, Cindilla Trent. A reception will be held this Saturday Nov 2nd. Please join us!

Come see her works at regular gallery hours: Thursdays from 4pm -6pm and Friday and Saturday from noon until 6pm. While you’re at it, please come and welcome new gallery Director, Meriel Barber.

As always, the gallery free admission. Come and show your continued support for the arts of the Nicola Valley. Visit the Courthouse Gallery at 1840 Nicola Avenue in Merritt.
Proudly supported by:

City of Merritt