Willow Moon Internal Arts Invites you to attend our Chinese New Year Celebration on Thursday, January 26th at the Bert Ambrose School Gym 7:30 -8:30 p.m.
(following the regular Thursday evening beginners class)

There will be Chinese tea, Tai Chi demonstrations and a social. Invite a friend or family members!

2012 – The Year of The Water Dragon: Good Fortune – Everything is Going to Move. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of the Black Water Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013. The Water Dragon Year occurs only every 60 years.

According to Chinese tradition, the water element …

We are still High on Ice!

Perhaps you would like to join us for a day of fun with ice - we hope you say yes! Come join us in “Finding your Creative Spirit”. All interested people are encouraged to attend, artistic ability or not, we will help you find your ability and spirit within.

The Fort St. John Community Arts Council in partnership with the City of Fort St. John present: the FSJ Ice Carving Workshop "Finding your Creative Spirit” on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at Centennial Park form 9 amd to 4 pm. Registration is only $25 and lunch is provided.

Instructor Jesse Forrester FSJs professional carving competitor for three consecutive …

...Well, they never really went away. But as with many Peace Region bands, they've undergone their fair share of lineup changes and accompanying hiatus's (um hiatuses?) ... time off.  With the departure of FSJ's esteemed percustitute, Mitch Guindon, remaining members Adam Perrin and Tyson Mowat were not to be left alone for long. Ryan Hennessey offered up his services to fill the vacancy. He says:

"I'd been a fan and a friend of The Suspicious for years, since the first Rockin the Peace event. When Mitch left, I could see the growth that the band had undergone, the set that they had built, I knew I'd have a good time playing drums with them. …

The reels of movie film as we know it are coming to an end. Along with the demise of photographic film and conventional cameras, celluloid film will be a thing of the past. Movies will soon come to the local cinema on digital. The familiar saying of left on the cutting room floor will take on a new meaning.  

Stage North has found a way to celebrate the well-known strips of black mini-frames by challenging creative people to make wearable art and art forms out of recycled movie film. As a Landmark Cinema, the local Aurora is making the switch gradually this spring and has supplied rolls of film for all competitors in the challenge.   

A …

When entering Alli Peck’s home it is clear the fun and warmth that unfold here. She is a mother of four and has no issues joking about the chaos that often comes with having children. Alli is a local artist, mother and wife who has been involved in photography for six years. Originally trained in commercial photography, Alli knew that her direction needed to change when she moved into the North. With Fort St. John being such a young community, Alli began her company Glow Portraits, specializing in Belly, Baby and Boudoir photos.

Unfortunately, moving to the North meant Alli had to leave her parents. Saying goodbye was a hard step but Alli …

Finding time to learn, even for just 15 minutes a day together with your child can be hard to do.  But, the benefits of this time together, whether reading and writing, playing and exercising, or simply talking about your day, are far-reaching and beneficial for everyone.

If you haven’t started putting aside 15 minutes a day for family learning, Family Literacy Day offers the perfect opportunity to start. Established in 1999 by ABC Life Literacy Canada, the initiative encourages families to participate in fun learning activities to improve literacy skills for both the adult and child. It takes place annually on January 27.

ABC Life Literacy …

Sooo…..a little birdy stopped me this past weekend at the Fort St John Bridal show (Russell Eggleston) and told me that one of BC’s premier talents was coming back to town this Tuesday. Now, I’m not a musical guru or anything, not even close actually, but I do appreciate talent when I see it! Ari Neufeld is on his way back to the Peace, playing the breakfast room at the Pomeroy Hotel/Casino tomorrow night! This guy is totally understated and under appreciated! The news literally made my weekend!

My wife and I first heard of Ari and saw him play at Whole Wheat and Honey this past fall and LOVED his music. He really does combine a …

One of the amazing things about Fort St. John, is that I'm always meeting new cool musicians who have recently moved into town!  I met Kyle Bischke 2 weeks ago.  As a bartender at Tony Roma's, he was asked to perform a few songs at the Pomeroy Christmas Party... After hearing him, and without a second thought, I thought it would be awesome if Kyle would be intereted in opening up for the upcoming Ari Neufeld Show.

So, here's the news:

Kyle's will be performing one of his original tunes, never before heard, tomorrow night - Jan 24th - at The Breakfast Room!  He'll be playing a handful of cool covers, and setting the mood for the evenign! …

Stage North is celebrating 35 years of quality live theatre in Fort St. John. Having its roots with Workshop Players, Stage North began in 1977 when Northern Lights College launched a drama program as part of its curriculum. Over 150 productions later, Stage North is thriving in 2012. Look for more from the archives of local theatre throughout the year in celebration of 35 years of Stage North.

Where Does The Money Go?

Gone are the days when a live theatre production cost in the low hundreds to stage. In the 60’s and 70’s, Workshop Players in Fort St. John took over a gymnasium of an elementary school for a weekend, pulled together …

CANCELLED: Due to unforseen work circumstances, Brad will not be able to make it back to town for this show. He is planning another show for this spring, once work has slowed down, and we hope you will be able to make it!

Shortly after his last show at Patch Java on October 27th 2011 Brad Langerud began a life changing journey of physical, emotional and spiritual growth. The show was a great success and brought many people together; children and adults alike smiled and sang the night away. Everyone walked away from the evening with laughter and lifted spirits. Little did we know that the days following the show would bring about some of the …

I’ve been to many great open mics and coffee houses in B.C and across the country and Fort St. John’s Wednesday Open Mic at Egan’s is up at the top with the best of them.

The night started out with some rockin tunes sung by the open mics host Ryan Hennessey  followed by a great bunch of musicians  ranging in styles from Heavy metal renditions to Johnny cash covers and everything in between.

Notable mention is Hilding Donaldson who played the saw with a violin bow. I played with local singer song writer Adam Winn and also with a fellow Shuswap musician Danielle Prince who recently has relocated to Ft St John.

After everyone on the sign-up …

Snow crunches beneath my feet, but the world is silent. On this frozen moonlit night my senses are muted, leaving space for my mind to wander to and fro. My imagination gathers wishes and dreams as I watch shooting starts draw their white tails of light across the skies black canvas.

Ptolemy had a theory that stars slipped from the sky when gods peaked down from the heavens. He believed that in these small instances a window of opportunity was opened where whispered wishes reached the ears of the gods.

Some call it a wish, while others call it prayer. Whatever your spiritual belief may be there is undoubtedly strength in the power of thought and …

African Guitar Summit

The African Guitar Summit is performing at The North Peace Cultural Centre on January 23 at 7:30.

Face The Music Workshop with African Guitar Summit - Monday January 23 at 5:30 at the North Peace Cultural Centre

Alright, so as a musician I dream of concerts like this. Nine guitar players of African descent touring together to showcase some of the best music this planet has to offer. As a young percussionist the music of Africa was so intriguing. The melodies are intricate and beautiful. The rhythms create a pulse that makes you dance and groove. Once I started to explore African music I soon came to the truth that the …

...To Ensure Clinical Systems are go for Move-in to New Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care Facilities

The commissioning process for all existing and new medical equipment has been part of the new Fort St. John Hospital and Residential Care Project ever since the design and planning phase of the new facility.

Commissioning of all medical technology in the new facility is underway ensuring that all systems and components are properly designed and planned for, tendered, evaluated and procured. The equipment must be installed correctly to code and regulations, undergo connectivity and data testing from Information Technology Services, …

So I’ve been on planes, trains, and automobiles... but my best adventures seem to always start with a good little ride on the greyhound bus. For those who are new to the musician exchange program  -- Russ asked if I would be willing to spend a month in town playing music and teaching guitar... I thought it would be fun, canceled my trip of Hawaii, after going through all the details signed up...

I arrived Monday Jan.16 at 6:30pm … within a few hours I was jamming 80’s and 90’s rock tunes
with my host and Fort St. John’s own Ryan Hennessey and Mark Bodner. It was a great way to wake up from a 22 hour bus ride from Salmon Arm.

Tuesday …

The alarm clock rings. It is the early morning and the start to another day for John Cardinal. For nine years he's been getting up and ready before the sun rises making sure his big yellow school bus is ready and warm before he picks up all the children.

John is the full-time bus driver for Head Start Program at NENAS in Fort St. John, BC. He makes two trips a day picking up the children, for two different classes ages ranging from  3 - 5 years of age. He is a dedicated worker with a well earned reputation for never missing a day on the job.

When describing his earlier days as a pipeline worker, John smiles but comments on how he always wished …

Fort St. John, BC ~ The Annual Robbie Burns Dinner will be held on Saturday, January 28th at the Fort St. John Legion. This annual event includes dinner, dance, and Scottish entertainment; and of course, haggis! This is the 45th year that the Masonic Lodge and Knights of Columbus have co-hosted the event in Fort St. John with great success. Tickets are $50 each and are available at Patch Java and the Legion. You can get more information and tickets by calling Dan Davies at 250-787-5847

Robbie Burns was born Jan 25, 1759, the day that we currently celebrate. He was born to a poor farmer and rose to fame through his poetic ability. As a famous …

Evangel holds dances and we have been doing so for about 3 years now.  And let me tell you, it beats the typical church hide-in-the-dingy-basement-eating-stale-dad's-cookies-dipped-in-weak-coffee-enduring-superficial-flabber-jabber social gatherings - ANYDAY.

I grew up in a church-culture where such things as dancing were expressly forbidden (often with good reason).  No junior high Sock Hops for me.  The only exception to the rule was in the occasional church service where the “charismatics” would move a little to an up-beat hymn (we jokingly referred to this "dance" as the Holy Ghost Hop).

We are slowing becoming known as a dancing …

Update: This show is cancelled this week but check out the photos anyway!

Andrew Bourcet is live and on the JD Fitz stage this week as one of the great local musicians featured in their Tuesday Night Performance Series.

Andrew's last show was a great mix of blues and funky acoustic sounds. He has extensive musical knowledge and tastes which makes for a very interesting set.

He is a local DJ and hard-working musician and doesn't disappoint when he gets behind a guitar and mic stand. The music is basically going to be great so it's definitely worth leaving your cocoon and having a great night out.

See Andrew live at JD Fitzgerald’s on Tuesday, …

Attention Musicians of Fort St. John!

The good folks at Northern Groove (hey that’s us!) are launching a big new exciting program geared towards creating new opportunities for musicians, both local and from afar! We’re calling it the Musician Exchange Program, and the idea is to connect touring musicians with fun-lovin’ music communities across Canada.

So, with that in mind... there’s no better testing ground than Fort St. John... and there’s no better first musician than Jake Verburg.

Jake Verburg is a professional musician hailing from Salmon Arm, BC (located in the Shuswap Lake Region of the Okanagan Valley). Jake has toured …