Lethbridge Jazz Festival kicks off busy June
As the days heat up in Lethbridge, so does the pace of community activities. And with many festivals, feasts and fundraising events, June is clearly the busiest — both inside and out.
The Lethbridge Jazz Festival has just begun, with its “Young Lions” concert on Friday. But today, it’s Jazz in the Park from noon until 5 p.m. in Galt Gardens.
The no-charge event will feature Papa King and the
Boogiemen, Paul Kype and Texas Flood, Hippodrome,
the Metric Jazz Tentet, and the Lethbridge Big Band — in that order. Adding to the occasion, there will be “jazz market” as well as a beer garden.
The music continues Sunday with a “Blues Brunch,” noon to 2:30 p.m. at Stoketown, and Jazz at the Galt Museum and Archives featuring a guitar trio led by
Nobuki Takamen from Hiroshima and New York.
Tuesday will offer a jam session, 7:30 p.m. at the Owl Acoustic Lounge — no cover — while the Lethbridge community “Sweet
Inspiration Choir” will be featured Wednesday, led once again by vocalist
Marcus Mosely, at 7:30 in Southminster United Church. ••• The classic “big band sound” — created by four trumpets, four trombones, five sax and a rhythm section — will be celebrated Thursday in the Canadian Western Bank Lounge at the Enmax Centre by Johnny Summers and the Calgary Jazz Orchestra. The concert, set for 7:30 p.m., will include a tribute to Alberta jazz great Tommy Banks. And then for the weekend! Starting at noon on Friday, it’s “Jazz and More at the Food Truck Frenzy” outside the Enmax Centre. Kids are invited to dress up as their favourite “superhero” or princess, while adults can enjoy the sounds of HBO3 with Michael Carter and the Steve Keenan Band. In the evening, it’s “Friday Night Blues” with
B.C. Reed, starting at 9:30 p.m. at The Slice. Ringing down the curtain, the
Alison Au Quartet will take an afternoon ”jazz break” at The Owl, starting at 3 p.m. — leading up to the main-stage finale with Juno Awardwinning vocalist Holly Cole, 7:30 p.m. at the Enmax on June 16. For ticket information, check
www.lethbridgejazzblues.com or the Enmax Ticket Centre for Cole.
••• And now southern Albertans can welcome back Lethbridge Musical Theatre. After a break, the volunteerbased organization presented the comedy “Nunsense” a year ago. Now they’re back, next Thursday to Saturday with “Nunsense II.”
Starting about where the first script leaves off, the Little Sisters of Hoboken face a no less perplexing fiscal challenge: how to hold onto Sister Amnesia and her lucrative lottery prize. Veteran Lethbridge director Rita Peterson and vocal director
Sandy Brunelle have readied the five-member cast for next week’s run, 7:30 each evening at the McNally Community Centre. Tickets are available at Casa.
••• Roses, chocolates or a fancy meal may be the custom for Mother’s Day. But for Father’s Day, there’s a wider choice of events on offer in southern Alberta.
On June 16 the folks at the Galt Historic Railway Park will be hosting a low-cost Father’s Day Barbecue, noon to 4:30 p.m. at their family-friendly attraction near Stirling. Members of the Great Canadian Plains Railway Society will be offering tours of the unique Coutts/Sweetgrass station as well as rides on their railway speeder.
••• A little closer, the field at the Shaughnessy Hall will be the setting for the second Green and Yellow Chili Cook-off, running from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon for the Father’s Day weekend.
Family, friends and youngsters will be welcome, along with the tents and trailers to keep them comfortable. While organizers say most of the meals will be selfcooked — as usual when you’re camping — the weekend will also include a pot-luck chili meal on Saturday. And this year, they say, “Ribs are on the house.”
For details, call Michael Gervais at 403-795-4920.
••• The Family Centre will host a no-charge Sunday afternoon celebration of Father’s Day starting at noon in Galt Gardens. Games, entertainment and “treats for all ages” are on offer.
And for early risers, the German Canadian Club will be offering a Father’s Day brunch from 10 a.m. For tickets, call Pat Heitman at 403-320-1689 – extension 3.
••• Still more events for your consideration:
On Wednesday, the Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society will present “Wings over Canada,” 45 minutes of bird images and stories, at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, the Galt Museum is inviting residents to take part in a Historic Theatre Walking Tour, conducted by Dawne Leite of the Allied Arts Council, starting at 7 p.m. from the museum.
And it’s Trader Day next Friday at Fort Whoop-Up, with tours and demonstrations — and smokies for more fuel — from 5 to 9 p.m.
••• More choices next weekend: Inclusion Lethbridge is sponsoring a 100-mile bike ride on June 16, starting at 6 a.m. followed by a Galt Gardens celebration from 11 a.m.; the Investors Group is holding a Walk for Alzheimer's at 9 a.m. that day in Nicholas Sheran Park, and the Gem of the West Museum in Coaldale will hold a concert and dessert auction June 16, with doors open at 6:30 p.m.
••• Finally, our reminders: It’s Nature Play Day today, noon to 4 p.m. at Henderson Lake, with no-charge activities arranged by the Schuler Centre.
This evening, the Lethbridge Community Band Society is offering “An Evening at the Pops,” from 7 p.m. at College Drive Community Church.
The Chinook Chamber Singers will be on the road, 7:30 this evening at the Gem of the West and Sunday evening at 7:30 in Knox United Church, Taber.
And Cousin Harley will close out the spring season at the Geomatic Attic, 8 p.m. on Friday.