What a wonderful summer we’ve having! The hot sunny days are so wonderful and make the Café Voltaire patio the perfect place to read with a cool drink in hand (we have new blended ice coffees, did you know that? And Italian sodas). We’ve also got some great concerts coming up (The June Bugs and Fish & Bird, you should go to both), a fantastic sale on summer reads, and some great events at Books & Co, Café Voltaire and ArtSpace!
More great summer reads have arrived at Books & Co! All Touchwood Mysteries including Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island – An Islands Investigations International Mystery, the Opposite of Dark – A Casey Holland Mystery, Death as a Last Resort – A Margaret Spencer Mystery, The Vanishing Track – A Cole Blackwater Mystery, and Seaweed on the Street are 30% off! These fantastic Canadian mysteries (most are even set in BC) are the perfect read for a hot summer day at the beach, in the park or with an iced coffee on the Café Voltaire Patio!
Smithers’ own Non-Prophet Society is back in Café Voltaire for Friday Night Mics this week! Be ready for a rocking night of blues-rock-funk-fusion starting at 8:00 pm in Café Voltaire on Friday, July 20! Non-Prophet Society nights are always awesome, so come out and be ready to rock along! As always, this event is free!
Hey Moms and Dads, did you know every Saturday morning at 10:00 am we’ve got a fantastic storytime? This week is extra special because we’ve got Guest Storyteller Owen Lubbers!Come in and browse (or have a coffee and a chat) while Owen delights and amuses your young ones with books and crafts!
CANCELLED (well postponed to an unknown date) Saturday, July 21 at 1:00 pm in ArtSpace you can learn The Way of the Bodhisattva from Buddhist monk Lama Tsewang. You will learn special methods for transforming yourself from a person who acts only for your own interest into a bodhisattva, a being who have awakened into his or her inherent potential to e of benefit to all living creatures. Lama Tsewang first became a Buddhist monk in 1977 and has practiced both the Theravadin tradition and the Tibetan tradition. He acquired the title of lama or teacher after completing a three and a half year retreat under the guidance of Kalu Rinpoche, one of the Dalai Lama’s teachers. This event is free.
Scrabble Addicts Unite! Do you know all of the 2 letter words for Q, X and Z (qi, ax, ex, xi, xu and za)? Are you always playing Scrabble on your phone or Facebook? Do you do a little dance when you get a Bingo? Then we want you! Books & Co is starting a Scrabble Club (because a lot of us here are spending a lot of time playing Scrabble online and we want some human contact). Come out on Tuesday, July 24 at 6:30 pm and meet other word addicts. Bring your own board (if you’ve got one). Scrabble club will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month!
Please join the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance (www.sea2sands.ca) at 7:00 pm in ArtSpace on July 24 for a chat with Kim Slater who is currently running the length of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline in order to promote dialogue about alternative energy ideas, the hazards of the pipeline and thoughts about the direction that we, as Canadians, want our economy to be going. Running nearly a marathon a day, Kim is a true symbol of the drive and creativity needed to stop this pipeline in its tracks. For more information about Kim and to follow the course of her inspiring run please visit www.bandtogetherbc.com
Café Voltaire is very excited to be hosting a reading of Ashoona Daughter of the Winds: An Inuit Woman’s Journey by Yvonne Harris on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 pm. Based a true story told to the author by an Inuit Elder on Baffin Island, Ashoona Daughter of the Winds is the compelling tale of a woman who comes of age during a time of great upheaval in Canada’s most remote, Northern regions. It gives a glimpse into a different world, and illuminates a part of Canada few people know much about through the lens of one woman’s life in this difficult landscape.
The June Bugs are back in ArtSpace on July 26th! This night of fantastic vocal harmonies is not to be missed. If you love blue grass, folk or gospel, you will love The June Bugs! Tickets are only $15 and are on sale now at Books & Co!
Are you an insane and slightly masochistic individual who occasionally dallies in the written word? Then the 3 Day Novel Support Group wants you! If you’re planning on attempting the 3 Day Novel Contest this year and want to meet other PG writers just as crazy, we’re the place to be. For more information email Kayli at pyschopencils@hotmail.com. There will be meetings throughout the summer up until the big weekend in September! The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 31 at 4:30 pm.
We’ve also got tickets to one of the hottest concerts this summer, Fish & Bird are back in ArtSpace on Thursday, August 2 at 8:00 pm! This fantastic night of music is not to be missed so hurry in and get a ticket (only $15) right away! (We suggest getting tickets to both The June Bugs and Fish & Bird, you can’t go wrong with either concert!).
Books & Co, Cafe Voltaire and ArtSpace will be CLOSED for BC Day on August 6. So pick up your long weekend reads on Saturday, August 4 or Sunday, August 5 (I heard we’ve got some great mysteries on sale).
If you wish ArtsWells lasted more than a long weekend (don’t forget you can pick up your ArtsWells weekend passes at Books & Co), you need to read Susan Safyan’s All Roads Lead to Wells: Stories of the Hippie Days. In the late 1960s and ’70s a small group of idealistic young women and men, self-described as “volunteer peasants,” moved to the tiny town of Wells in British Columbia’s Central Interior. All Roads Lead to Wells tells the story of these young settlers, their migration, their values, the unexpected friendships forged between the town’s old-timers and newcomers and the inevitable clash—occasionally violent—of generations and cultures. Susan Safyan will be reading from and signing this fantastic book of local history on Tuesday, August 7 at 7:00 pm in Café Voltaire!
Correspondents’ Club (that letter writing thing we do). Come in and write a letter to whomever you want (seriously, it can be anybody) and we’ll give you a coffee or tea and stamps. We’ll even mail your letters at the end of the night! So, whether you’re a regular writer or want to start writing, come and visit us! We encourage all kinds of correspondence, personal, professional, recreational, everything! The PGCC meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month! Because of the holiday, we’re closed on the first Monday of August but that doesn’t mean you should stop writing letters. The next meeting is Monday, August 20 at 6:30 pm.
There’s still time to pick up your weekend passes to the fantastically fantastical ArtsWells Festival of All Things Art! The festival runs August 3 – 6 (in Wells of all places)! If you just can’t wait to experience the wonderful world of Wells, we’ve got copies of Susan Safyan’s new book All Roads Lead to Wells: Stories of the Hippie Days, a fabulous book of tales that tell how a group of hippies in the 1960s and 1979s turned Wells into a renowned arts-based community.
Books & Co also has tickets to some of BC’s other amazing music festivals! Hurry in for your ticket to the Robson Valley Music Festival (August 17 – 19 in Dunster) if you buy your tickets in advance they’re only $85 for all three days of spectacular music! For a complete list of the acts visit: http://www.robsonvalleymusicfestivalbc.com And, we’ve also got tickets to the spectacular Music On the Mountain (MoM) Festival (August 24-26 in Ft. St. James). Early bird tickets (you’ve got until July 31) are only $60 and your weekend pass includes camping! For a list of performers and activities visit: http://momfestival.com. If you get tickets to everything, your August weekends will be marvelously musical!
That’s it for this week folks, for more information about upcoming events or just the cool things that happen here, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter and did you know we’ve got a blog? Well we do, find out our thoughts on all things books related atbooksandcompany.wordpress.com