In keeping with the fall season, I’ll be sharing local stories of departing life and Victorian-era traditions, from widow’s weeds to Postmortem portraits. October 15th, at Ross Bay Villa — currently decorated in mourning for its own departed. http://rossbayvilla.org/
Women on the Edge of Gold
How were women impacted by the discoveries of gold in British Columbia? The Royal BC Museum’s Live@lunch talk, October 7th, will reveal some remarkable women of fur-trade families in Victoria, and their resilience in facing the dramatic changes of the Gold Rush. http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/events/live-lunch-women-on-the-edge-of-gold/
RBC Museum Golden Reads Book Club
In partnership with the Greater Victoria Public Library, the Royal BC Museum is hosting a Golden Reads Book Club to further explore their Gold Rush exhibit this summer. The Chief Factor’s Daughter is August’s Book of the Month. Readers from around the world are welcome to join in through GoodReads “RBCM Golden Reads” group. A …
Newcomers meeting at Point Ellice House
This month the Victoria Newcomers’ Heritage Club meets at Point Ellice House, to discuss the connections of this National Heritage Site with characters of The Chief Factor’s Daughter. I look forward to meeting the club after they tour the house and gardens, a rare example of local Victorian history. This is an ongoing opportunity for …
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Tea & Tango in the Cowichan Valley
It will be a pleasure to participate in this event at the unique TeaFarm in the Cowichan Valley on Saturday, April 25th. Celebrating the culture of Argentina with Yerba Mate tea and traditional sweets, this intimate evening includes the music and dance of tango, with Roland Grittani and myself. World-travelling tanguero and musician Roland will …
Workshop on Gabriola Island
This Valentine’s Day, February 14th, I am pleased to be joining Gwen Spinks on beautiful Gabriola Island, teaching a tango workshop in keeping with the spirit of the day. Preceded by Gwen’s Feldenkrais for Dancers, and followed in the evening by Dances of Love & Seduction, with live music and DJ Gwen. Please visit: http://gwenspinks.com/events/argentine-tango-workshop/
Where Fact and Fiction Overlap
Review of The Private Journal of Captain G.H. Richards: The Vancouver Island Survey (1860-1862), mentions an overlap with The Chief Factor’s Daughter, in the character of Lieutenant R.C. Mayne. http://canlit.ca/reviews/evangelizing_and_exploring Captain Richards’ journal offers additional historical insights through supplemented journal excerpts from another junior officer, John Gowlland.
Winner in the Burnaby Writers’ Society 2014 Poetry Contest
My poem, Madrona sheds her skin, won an Honourable Mention in the Burnaby Writers’ Society competition, with the theme of “Wood”. This year’s judge was Calvin Wharton, Chair of Creative Writing at Douglas College in New Westminster, BC. Winners and finalists are invited to read their entries at the society’s Awards Night on October 21st. …
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Tango Workshop in Crofton, September 21st
I look forward to returning to Crofton to teach on Sunday, September 21st, 4 pm. The workshop will explore tango’s rhythm, including accents, pauses, double time, and syncopation. Followed by the “Meet-in-the-Middle” Milonga, where dancers gather from across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. http://www.islandtango.ca/
Tango Performance at the University of Victoria
This week, it was a pleasure to dance with Roland Grittani at the celebration for Dr. Oscar Casiro, retiring Dean of the Island Medical Program. The event was blessed with a sunny evening on the beautiful grounds of UVic’s campus, and we especially appreciated the warm response from the audience. Following our dances, Dr. Casiro …
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