Kings arts scene - as of April 15

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

Kings County Register

Cancelled

The fourth annual Acadia International Guitar Festival has been cancelled this summer.

Festival organizer Thomas Kirchhoff says he was forced to

cancel due to lack of continuity at Acadia University. A number of staffing changes and costs, he said, made it difficult to proceed with another year from his base in Germany.

Kirchhoff says he is proud of the 70 past participants and full concert halls every night after just two years of the event.

“It was not an easy decision, as I loved the festival and had put in hundreds of voluntary hours - but I needed to face the realities.”

Kirchhoff says he had wanted to build the event in honour of his wife and musical partner, Dale Kavanagh, who is a Wolfville native and artist in residence at Acadia.

Wolfville Mayor Bob Stead says, “I am not convinced it won’t be back and we’ll do everything we can.”

The festival was popular with guitar students, attracted top-flight musicians and brought enthusiasts from as far away as California.

Squid shakes their sticks

The Halifax-based percussion group Squid will be making some noise in the Valley April 18.

The precision drum corps will be on stage at West Kings with their high energy and visually stunning show. Ranging in age from 22 to 30, these young performers have been across North America.

Opening for Squid are Tyler Wentzell and Bernie Zincky, a well-known Valley acoustic duo. Zincky owns a private music instruction studio and Wentzell, from the Berwick area, also plays drums with The Melberns.

Tickets for the show are $20, available at West Kings, or from Pharmasaves in Middleton, Kingston and berwick. The show starts at 7 p.m., with the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The evening is in support of students’ council initiatives.

On screen

April 20, Fundy Film screens Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson’s quirky tale of three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) and their spiritual quest through India. It screens at the Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville, April 20 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets are $8.

Coming up

April 19

Bob Dylan tribute show, Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville, two shows

Titanic Proportions, Union St. Café, Berwick