Poetry workshop at the cafe

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published April 9, 2005


The creative forces behind the poetic Pandora's Collective will be on stage at Burnaby Writers' Society Revisions reading series at the Myles of Beans coffee house on April 20.

Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni are the founders of the non-profit society that conducts poetry workshops at local schools, hosts readings, sponsors contests and maintains an extensive website of poetry and related resources.

The Revisions reading series is hosted by Sheila Rosen and takes place at at 8 p.m. on the third Wednesday of every month at Myles of Beans coffee house, 7010 Kingsway.

COMICS ON STAGE

The Laff Riot Girls are at it again, with their third annual search for the Funniest New Female Comic taking place at their headquarters on Commercial Drive for the next month.

Budding comics Suzanne Paquin, Marlie Oden and Tracy Holly are among those competing for the chance to win more than $500 in cash and prizes. The contest is open to any woman who has been doing standup comedy for less than three years and who can present a maximum seven-minute set of completely original work.

The preliminary rounds are now underway and run at 8 p.m., April 16, 23 and 30, with the April 16 show featuring Burnaby's own Ardell Fitzpatrick as MC and local legend Watermelon as the headline act.

The Laff Riot Girls' funniest new female comic competition takes place at Zesty's Restaurant, 920 Commercial Dr. Admission is $5, and dinner reservations can be made at 604 255-0470.

IT'S ABOUT FAITH

What happens when a filmmaker daughter comes home to reconcile with her dying mother but demands that she be allowed to film that homecoming?

Faith, the latest work from from La Luna Productions, is coming to the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts for four performances only, April 13 to 16.

The story looks at the evolving relationship between Faith and her dying mother, a devout Catholic who threw her teenaged daughter out of the house years earlier, after she had aborted an unplanned pregnancy.

Faith stars Cory Philley, Stuart Pierre, Gina Stockdale and Raugi Yu, was written by Philley and is directed by Mercedes Baines.

Tickets are $25 and $22 and there is a two-for-one matinee on April 16. Call the Shadbolt box office at 604-205-3000.

IT'LL BE A SNAP

Calling all young photographers - city hall wants your pictures.

As part of Youth Week in May, city council and the parks and recreation department are sponsoring the "This Is My Burnaby" photo contest.

Photographers aged 13 to 18 who live or attend public school in the city can submit one photo on a recognizable Burnaby theme to win prizes like digital cameras and MP3 players.

Submissions must be sent by April 25 to "This is My Burnaby" photo contest, c/o Burnaby City Hall, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2. For info, call 604-294-7006.

CHINESE ART AT AI

There's still time to catch one of the most unique art exhibits to make its way into this city in a long time. An international touring show of contemporary Chinese art is at the gallery of the Art Institute of Vancouver, Burnaby campus, until April 16.

The show, which opened last month in a gala affair attended by Canada's new consul general from the People's Republic of China, features the work of four of China's top designers in a variety of fields.

"There's about 28 pieces in total," said AI's Cliff Jones. "There's everything from machinery concepts to furniture."

The Burnaby show is the first stop on a North America-wide tour for the four Chinese artists - interior designer Jian Guo Liu, painter Huang Gang, graphic designer Han Ran and industrial designer Li Wei.

The exhibit, which is curated by Angelo Ciotti from the AI Pittsburgh faculty, is on display during regular school hours at the north campus of the Art Institute of Vancouver, located at 3264 Beta Ave., off Canada Way.