Arts Scene

Hear Jenn Grant

Singer Jenn Grant plays the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville Jan. 28 with a full band: Jason Plumb and the Willing.

Tickets are $10 in advance at the Box of Delights.

Music for Haiti

Deep Roots Music Cooperative will host a benefit concert for Haiti Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. at Festival Theatre, Wolfville.

The concert is being held with support from Acadia University, Evergreen Theatre and Just Us Coffee.

All proceeds will go to UNICEF for disaster relief in Haiti. Tickets are $15 and reservations can be made at the Acadia University box office, 542-5500.

Storyteller magic

Peek into the witty and magical inner-workings of a cartoonist's mind at the Designer Cafe in Kentville.

Mark Oakley discovered his true calling at the age of 17 and doing odd jobs at a small animation studio in Toronto. At the time, the company was producing a series of Batman ads for Zeller’s. DC Comics sent their top Batman artist to oversee the production: Ty Templeton. Oakley found himself inspired by this professional cartoonist who was busting with ideas and enthusiasm.

He began writing and world building in earnest, and dreamt of launching his own comic book series. At the age of 24, the first issue of Oakley’s "Thieves & Kings" hit comic shop stands to much industry praise and reader enthusiasm. Since then, Oakley has drawn over a thousand pages of "Thieves & Kings," selling nearly a half million dollars worth of his self-published comic book series worldwide.

Today, the artist lives and creates in Wolfville, where he currently works on three comic series. His latest graphic novel, "Stardrop", is goes to press in May. "Stardrop" is an all-ages tale of a galactic princess hiding out in a small Nova Scotia town. “It's sort of like ‘Anne of Green Gables’ with space ships and word balloons,” he says.

Oakley thinks of himself as a storyteller with some extra magic. "I’m not kidding," he says, "It really feels like magic, or something awfully close to it. There's a lot of power in words, but when my pencil moves through the loop-de-loops to create an image? That one picture is my ‘1000 words’... the very thing I want to say as storyteller and that's magic."

A Story Teller With Added Magic, an exhibition of Oakley’s original watercolour and ink paintings, runs at the Designer Café until Feb. 22.

Sunday Music Concert

The classical chamber music concert series, Sunday Music in the Garden Room, sponsored by the Valley Branch of the Acadia University Alumni Association, presents the fourth of its 2009-10 season of free afternoon concerts on Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. in the Garden Room of the Irving Centre in Wolfville.

The concert will feature two Dvořák works- his "Terzetto for two violins and viola" and "Piano Quintet in A Major"- performed by: Robert Uchida, concertmaster of Symphony Nova Scotia; Laura Veeze, principal second violin of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra; Susan Sayle, principal viola of Symphony NS; Norman Adams, principal cello of Symphony NS; and John Hansen, piano, Associate Professor in Acadia’s School of Music.

They will be joined by four piano students from Acadia’s School of Music - Haley van Kroonenburg, Maachelle Farley, Stan Chen and Allison Pothier- who will each perform a work from their forthcoming graduation recitals.

The next Sunday Music in the Garden Room concert will be a varied programme, From Baroque to Contemporary, performed by the Nova Brass Quintet with Jennifer King on piano, Feb. 28.

The four remaining concerts in the 2009-10 season are now listed on www.acadiau.ca/artsacadia/

At the Whittle

Fundy Film screens "Coco Before Chanel" Jan. 31. With stunning period detail and Audrey Tautou as star, this biopic follows Gabrielle ''Coco'' Chanel from convent orphan to the French iconic designer she became.

Screens at 4 and 7 p.m. at Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville. Tickets are $8; available 30 minutes before screening. For information, call 542-5157 or visit www.fundyfilm.ca

Spinneys on stage

Jan. 30 at 8 p.m., the Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Centre in Windsor will present local bluegrass sensations The Spinney Brothers. The Annapolis Valley group believes in the freshness and excitement of traditional bluegrass music. Audiences can expect melodic duet singing, backed by supportive and complementary instrumentation.

The Spinney Brothers are an award winning, traditional-acoustic, bluegrass group. The cornerstone of their musical identity is the sound of traditional, Southern-flavoured, bluegrass music. The first generation bluegrass legends have been an important musical influence on the musicians, yet their music is equally shaped by their personal lives and local heritage. By incorporating original material, The Spinney Brothers effortlessly intertwine the past with the present. Anyone who appreciates bluegrass music should make an effort to attend this performance.

Tickets are $20; $18 for students and seniors. For tickets and information, call Moe’s Place Music Sales at 798-5565.

Rock ‘n country

Five-piece Valley band the Bandits’ Southern rock and country is on stage at West Side Charlies, New Minas Jan. 30. A treat for fans of Steve Earle, CCR, etc. Show begins at 10 p.m. No cover charge.

Hard rock

Hard rock band The Fed Pennies opened for Ozzy Osbourne on his last tour. Now they’re ready to bring their high-energy rock to The Top Hat in Greenwood Jan. 30 Fans of Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age will enjoy these guys. Show begins at 10 p.m.

Murder stalk

A murder mystery in two acts, The Mousetrap, is being directed by Wayne and Linda Marriott for CentreStage Theatre.

The show continues Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. until Feb. 13. There will be a 2 p.m. matinee Jan. 31. Phone 678-8040 to make reservations.

It's a contest

The Acadia Cinema Coop’s contest to name

the newly refurbished room upstairs over the Al Whittle Theatre ends Feb. 2.

The 35 soft seat space can be rented for live music and theatre performances, digital screenings, meetings, rehearsals, workshops or classes.

Ballots can be placed in the jar in the Al Whittle Theatre lobby or emailed to info@acadiacinema.coop. The author of the winning name will receive two free six-packs of tickets for each of the three Fundy Film series at the Al Whittle Theatre for the coming year.

Coming up

Until March 3

The 19th Annual Acadia Art Exhibition, Acadia Art Gallery, Wolfville

Send arts news to welliott@kentvilleadvertiser.ca