Actually, SAGA is the name of the local public art gallery here in Salmon Arm and yesterday we were welcomed there for a little community presentation on Voyageur.
It's a lovely bright gallery space with work by local artists on the wall and a couple of spaces reserved for work that will be done during the Roots & Blues Fest this weekend. Hugo Rampen really has done a wonderful job of weaving the festival into various aspects of the life of the town: from concerts at the tattoo parlour, the park and the town square to painted signs and posters in the window of just about every business in town.
The set up was completely informal and the room seemed to just come to a kind of quorum very quickly and I just started talking. As usual, people came up afterwards to share their own stories and it never ceases to amaze me the wonderful little connections that you find in the unlikeliest of places. In this case, a gentlemen who came up to tell me that he grew up in the Ottawa Valley and that Louis Papineau once logged the area where he used to play.
Corinna volunteered to play a little bit and the whole event broke up as naturally as it came together.
We ended the day with a wonderful meal at Shuswap Chefs, including a delicious Okanagan Shiraz from Granite Ridge Winery.
Thanks to Hugo, Tori, Dianne and the SAGA Public Art Gallery for helping to make the day go so smoothly.
Posted at 12:28 PM
Our fundraiser at Grano was a spectacular success in terms of an evening well spent. The music by Roberto and Michael Occhipinti and Dominic Mancuso was absolutely spectacular, Mariella Bertelli's story was enchanting, Giovanna Riccio's poetry was its own music and the food and wine were their own symphony. Kudos to everyone who participated.
Everyone who was there, I think, enjoyed a very special evening. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who could now be recalling what a magic event it was who just didn't come out.
It was a very small crowd indeed but at least the feeling in the room was mighty.
However, that does mean we still need help – especially if there is to be any hope at all in delivering the remarkable experience of the Sicilian Jazz Project playing Voyageur to a festival audience in Piemonte. Please donate online or contact me to find out how you can help.
Special thanks to Pal Di Iulio, Charlie Coffey, Roberto Martella and all the staff at Grano for helping to make the evening grand in its own way.
Posted at 6:48 PM