What’s up

Soulful Seasons: Transitions of Change

• 210 Gallery, 210 Princess St.
• Friday to April 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
• Free

This is artist Jordan Miller’s first solo exhibition since retiring from gallery ownership after 18 years as the founder of Cre8ery Gallery and Studio.

It’s been nearly a year since she closed the studio’s doors one last time, but she hasn’t been resting on her laurels.

Inspired by the four seasons, Miller has created 48 new multimedia works for the show, as well as 60 mini-abstract landscapes in card form that can be framed as original art pieces.

Her abstract, layered landscapes reflect more than just the changing environment; the works are a window into how the immuno-compromised artist has been dealing with health challenges due to chronic illnesses.

Miller will be at the show for First Fridays, until 9 p.m. tomorrow, and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 3. All artwork is available for purchase.

— AV Kitching

 

An evening with Sarah K.L. Wilson

• McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park (1120 Grant Ave.)
• Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Free

An island queen sees disaster strike her kingdom — and in pleading with the gods for a lifeline, she’s delivered a twist that kicks off the first volume of Sarah K.L. Wilson’s new fantasy series.

Wilson, a northern Ontario author, will be at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location on Saturday at 7 p.m. to launch her new novel The Trident and the Pearl, where she’ll be joined in conversation by bestselling Winnipeg romance/romantasy author Nisha J. Tuli.

In The Trident and the Pearl, the Kingdom of the Five Isles, ruled by Queen Coralys, is ravaged by a hurricane, killing her husband and wreaking havoc on her nation. In pleading for the protection of her people to the gods she strikes a deal with Okeanos, god of the sea — she will relinquish rule over the kingdom and marry the first man to land on her islands once the storm has passed.

That man is Oak, a bedraggled fisherman; true to her word, Coralys marries Oak and they set off on his modest dinghy with a quest for revenge against the gods. But Oak is not who he seems, and things are sure to get complicated as the story unfolds.

The Trident and the Pearl is the first book in Wilson’s The Fisher King series; she’ll read from the book and discuss the story (and, perhaps, what’s to come in the series) with Tuli on Saturday. Note: the event will not be streamed on McNally Robinson’s YouTube page.

— Ben Sigurdson

One Gay Choir

• West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave.
• Friday, 7 p.m.
• Tickets: $5 -$20

Raise money and support for Winnipeg’s LGBTTQ+ choral community by joining in song for One Voice, a hopeful standard by the Wailin’ Jennys. Organized by the Rainbow Harmony Project, One Gay Choir is a play on the One-Day Choir, which is exactly what it sounds like: in a few hours, a group of strangers comes together to learn and then perform an expertly arranged number. All ages and skill levels are welcome, with pay-what-you-can tickets available for those who need.

Also on the schedule are drag performances, a 50-50 draw and a raffle.

— Ben Waldman

 

International Women’s Day Rave

• Park Theatre, 698 Osborne St.
• Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Tickets $55 plus fees at Showpass

Grab your besties and head to the Park Theatre Sunday for a gals-only daytime rave in celebration of International Women’s Day.

The event is hosted by Girls Brunch Vibes, a local dance party collective focused on female empowerment. The music runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a lineup of seven female DJs sharing the spotlight: DJs Electric Kitten, K Chedda, Baby Snakes, Double D, HollyGoLightly, Dusty Nuts and Amplify.

The three-hour affair includes live dance performances by the members of Strut Society and brunch bites by Eat Fuel, a Manitoba plant-based protein snack company, and Smoothies and Beyond.

Partygoers can also take a dance break to do some shopping from vendors Festi Bestiez, Shop Milly, Rave House, Wild Thrifted and Main Character Closet.

— Eva Wasney

 

Sound Like Light

• Sound Bites Room, Centennial Concert Hall
• Friday, 8 p.m.
• Tickets $23 at centennialconcerthall.com

In December, the instrumental trio Compost released Perennial, an album whose organic sound sits improbably — but smoothly — somewhere between Radiohead and 1990s jazzy hip hop. The results, leaving comparisons aside, are even more original live, as one colourful experiment decomposes into another.

Compost — whose shows are known for integrating Joel Penner’s pristine time-lapse recordings of plant life cycles — are promising an “immersive night of music, sound and light” Saturday at the Centennial Concert Hall’s Sound Bites Room. (Julie Gendron is the projection artist in this case.)

The concert, part of the Lights On the Exchange Festival, also features performances by Colby Richardson, DJ Hunnicutt and Dj Suraj.

— Conrad Sweatman