Hark, how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away ...
Yes, it's the season when any mention of the word "bells" gets me started singing Carol of the Bells. (Fortunately for my cubicle neighbour, I'm singing very softly as I type.)
This time, my outburst of carolling was provoked by Queens Avenue United Church, which just sent us a notice about its 16th Carols and Bells concert.
The concert, set for Sunday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m., features handbell ringing and carol singing.
The church's Memorial Handbell Ringers, under the direction of Virginia Barteluk, will be one of four handbell choirs from Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam and Langley taking part in the concert. There will also be two handbell soloists, and the audience will take part in singing carols to the accompaniment of the church's 45-rank Casavant Freres pipe organ.
Queens Avenue United is at 529 Queens Ave. Tickets are available at the door, or call 604-522-1606 for more details.
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Art lovers may want to stop by the Plaskett Gallery over the next few weeks.
The gallery is featuring the work of Ronald George Straight, running until Dec. 20.
A press release notes that Straight is a First Nations artist whose work as a commercial artist reflects his view of the natural world in a unique way.
"Influenced by his heritage and upbringing, his paintings merge the real and the imagined by using digital and illustrative elements," the release notes.
Straight was raised on the Prairies and now lives in Surrey, giving his work a wide range of inspirations.
Straight will be on hand at the gallery this Sunday, Dec. 1 starting at 1 p.m.
The Plaskett Gallery is at Massey Theatre, 735 Eighth Ave. It's open Tuesdays to Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m., as well as during all Massey Theatre performances.
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Well, this isn't strictly local, but I know there are a number of Royal City residents who are involved with and interested in Les Échos du Pacifique.
Maillardville's francophone choir presents its Christmas concert on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m., at Centennial Secondary School. Centennial is at 570 Porier St. in Coquitlam.
For more details, call 604-764-2808, email [email protected] or see www.lesechosdupacifique.com.
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Searching for Christmas gift ideas?
Give your search a kickstart by helping out with City Stage New West's Stump City Stories recording project.
The theatre group is running a Kickstarter funding campaign to collect $3,000 towards the cost of creating a professional cast recording of Stump City Stories, the original musical by George Ryan that it commissioned in 2009.
As of the writing of this column, the project had found 18 backers with $915 in pledges. The project must hit its $3,000 goal by Tuesday, Dec. 24.
A $25 pledge will get you a holiday gift special, including a future CD. In December, you or your gift recipient will receive a personalized Happy Holidays Card, a program and an early digital download of the musical's signature number Stump City.
Higher donation levels will get you even more - including sing-along sheet music signed by the author.
Check out tinyurl.com/KickstarterStumpCity to make your pledge.
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Do you have a Christmas performance coming up?
I'm compiling a list of Christmas concerts and performances, and I want to be sure to include as many local groups and events as possible.
If you have an event you'd like to include, shoot me an email, [email protected].
Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Do you have an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment ideas to Julie, [email protected], or find her on Twitter, @juliemaclellan.
