The Vallican Whole Community Centre

Theatre & Performance Lab
2025-10-18 09:00 - 2025-10-19 17:00 UTC | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
Rural Theatre & Performance Lab at the Vallican Whole

Saturday October 18th – Sunday the 19th

Registration now open:$20-$40 per workshop, or $75 -$100 for the whole weekend. Lunches included both days.Email slocanvalleygems@gmail.com to register.

To apply to perform at the Brave New Works Cabaret, please send a short description of your piece, approximate length, and your performer bio to slocanvalleygems@gmail.com. Work should be “new” or in-progress, original theatre/performance work. Feel free to ask questions if you need more details! Approximately 6-8 slots available, depending on length and number of applications. Honoraria provided for all performers!

Saturday Schedule:

9:00 AM – gather9:30 – 10 AM – warm-up10:15 – 1:15 – Performing with Larval Mask1:15 – 2:15 – Lunch & Chat2:15 – 4:15 – The Natural Actor

7:00 – doors open for7:30 – Brave New Works Theatre Cabaret

Sunday Schedule:

9:00 AM – gather9:30 – 10 AM – warm-up10 – 12 – Intro to Improv12 – 1PM – Lunch & Chat1 – 3 – Co-creation time, deepening with content, collaboration, OR go home

See below for workshop descriptions so far

Thank you to the RDCK’s ReDi Grant program for funding support for this project!

Performance with Larval MaskEnter the strange, simple, and magnetic world of Larval Masks. Rooted from the winter carnival of Basel, Switzerland and reimagined by Jacques Lecoq, these oversized, beginnings of life masks are a gateway to embodiment, archetype, non-verbal storytelling and dream space. This is physical poetry, where breath, stillness, and silhouette speak louder than words.

Larval work sharpens the performer’s ability to explore presence; by stripping back, listening with the body, and building story from tension, space, and rhythm with the unknown.

Ideal for performers, educators, writers, and anyone curious about the full-body language beneath text. The full-faced mask is a revelation and invitation to encounter the architecture of play and possibility.

Facilitator: Elaine Weryshko

The Natural Actor- Exploring the Craft of Acting

We will investigate the actor’s work as an expression of truth and the deep understanding of human nature. In preparation for an upcoming Valley Gems project, we will use Anton Chekhov’s, “The Seagull” and the Stanislavski Method as a jumping off point for the session.

Facilitator: Val Campbell

Intro to Improv with Michelle HartThis intro to improv class covers the basics of long-form improv, including “Yes, And,” listening, and how to say YES – AND to your scene partner. We’ll focus on building confidence and spontaneity in a collaborative performance!

Facilitator: Michelle Hart

Hallowe'en Family Dance Party
2025-10-25 18:00 - 23:00
The Third Annual Hallowe’en Family Dance Party is back at the Vallican Whole, on Saturday October 25th.

Family-friendly dance floor, bonfire, cash bar, concession, dinner for sale, and fun spooky magic throughout the land at the Whole. Costumes heartily encouraged!

Volunteers needed – you & your family get in free!

Doors at 6pm

Blake Parker Roadshow
2025-11-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
Blake Parker was an extraordinary writer and performer that inspired many artists, dancers, writers, musicians and performers and left an incredible legacy of creative work. He was a prolific writer and continuously engaged in new creative projects. This will be an evening to celebrate creativity and improvisation in mixed media: spoken word, image, and music. The evening will celebrate not just Blake’s work, but also many of the people he collaborated with, those he inspired and other upcoming performance poets and multi-media artists.

Monica Carpendale will host the evening, which will feature Laura Landsberg’s vocal work “Lines: Tracing an unconventional story through poetry and music”.

For this special performance, Laura will be joined by two musical poets, Paul Landsberg & Steven Parish (formerly members of the Three Poets with Blake Parker), to share an intimate rendition of her Lines project.

The piece explores a child’s experience of the sixties and seventies with so many lost and wandering adults.

Readings, music, and videos will round out the evening.

The Vallican Art Gallery will be open with an exhibit of photography by Margaret Parker, Jeremy Addington and Susan Faye, and and sculptures by Veronica Verkley. There will also be a display of photographs of some of Blake’s performances and Fred Rosenberg’s moving documentation of Blake’s last year.

Performance starts at 7 pm. Cost $10 to $20 (sliding scale)

Shifting Perspectives - Artists Open House
2025-11-23 15:00 - 17:00 | The Vallican Whole
On Sunday November 23 the Vallican Whole Art Gallery will host an Open House between 3 and 5 PM.

We invite people to come and view the marvellous show “Shifting Perspectives’, featuring the photographs of Margaret Parker, Susan Faye, and Jeremy Addington – fantastic light-paintings, intimate landscapes, and vivid storytelling moments – and also showcasing eloquent sculptures by Veronica Verkley, which fill the space with inter-species conversations.

Come and be inspired, have some snacks, and imagine how you might be involved as participants and/or volunteers in future shows and events. All are welcome!

The Blue Moon Soiree
2025-11-29 16:30 - 23:00 | The Vallican Whole
The Whole School is rolling out the red carpet for its 27th, legendary, Blue Moon Soirée at the Vallican Whole Community Centre on November 29th.THE LATIN LOVERS will be captivating us with their extremely danceable music and DJ Fatty Cakes will be spinning the soundtrack to the evening.Indulge in a scrumptious dinner paired with decadent desserts.Let your senses tingle with excitement as you explore the vast array of treasures in our colossal silent auction.Try your luck with a 50/50 drawEnter a raffle for four tickets to Revelstoke Mountain Resort.Little ones will find their haven in the delightful kid zone, while the dance floor beckons to all with its siren call.Gather your nearest and dearest, for this will be an unforgettable night.____________________________________________________________

ENTRY: TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR$20 – Adults$5 – Youth (ages 6-12)Free – Little Dreamers (5 and under)

DINNER:$15 – Adult Plate$10 – Youth Plate

Special Family Package: $75 for a family of 4, plus $10 for each additional child (includes entry and dinner).

SILENT AUCTION TREASURES:

Ski Passes

Hot Springs Passes

Children’s Books & Toys

Restaurant Gift Certificates

Clothing Gift Certificates

Pottery

And a plethora of other surprises…

Whole Holiday Market!
2025-12-14 10:00 - 16:00
Join us at the Vallican Whole for a Holiday Market, featuring local artisan vendors, great food and entertainment throughout the day.A wonderful opportunity to support local artists during the holiday season, in the warm and beautiful Vallican Whole.

Our raffle will be raising money for the Slocan Valley Food Cupboard.

Thank you to the CBT for sponsoring this event!

Vallican Whole Community Choir
2025-12-20 14:00 - 17:00
Holiday Concert & Singalong

Stupid F***ing Bird - A Staged Reading
2026-01-24 19:00 - 21:30 | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
The Valley Gems presents an evening of reader’s theatre, part of the 2026 Up Close & Intimate Series. Local thespians will share excerpts from Anton Chekhov’s beloved play, “The Seagull” followed by a cheeky and irreverent modern adaptation, “Stupid Fucking Bird” by Aaron Posner.

Join us for this experience of ‘poor theatre’ where the simplicity of the spoken word and imagination invites us into the world of the play. Adult content, not suitable for children!

Doors at 6:30 for a 7:00PM show. There will be one intermission, with a bar and concession open. The Whole Gallery will also be open with a new exhibit.

Tickets at the door, $20 each, $10 for seniors/students/low-income community members. Volunteers get in for free!

For more information visit www.vallicanwhole.com

Gallery Open House
2026-02-01 14:00 - 16:00
Outer Image, Inner Language: Drawings in Place

January 20-March 20, 2026

Open House and Artist Talk on Sunday, February 1st at 2:00pm. Gallery will also be open during other events at the Whole this winter.

The next show at the Vallican Whole Art Gallery is an exciting group exhibition of drawings, accompanied by Phil Crawford’s sculptural works. The drawing artists are Alf Crossley, Monica Carpendale, Bob Inwood, Judy Le Bihan, Rabi’a, Jacqui Reed, Doug Thorburn, and Carl Schlichting.

This diverse group of artists brings widely varied subject matter and technique – there will be drawings of what we see in nature, the human body, and imaginary drawings of real felt experiences. Some will be moment-in-time or gestures, and some will hold time immemorial with emotional responses to beauty, love, and loss. Drawings engaged in a variety of techniques – mark-making and erasure, movement and gesture – resulting in stillness.

Phil Crawford’s stone and bronze sculptures embody a three-dimensional aspect of drawing. They have an exquisite sensual line, and forms that the hand yearns to touch or move into relationship with.

It is our hope that this exhibition will serve to explore and expand the viewer’s sense of place, opening through image and form to listen to the inner language of the artist.

Mt Sentinel Drama Fundraiser
2026-02-12 19:00 - 21:30 | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
The Mt. Sentinel Drama Program is hosting a fundraiser at the Vallican Whole on Thursday, February 12th.

Students are raising funds for a trip to The Good Will Shakespeare Festival, a multi-discipline theatre arts festival that brings together like-minded students, and their teachers, to create, learn, and share their passions in the theatre arts.

Drama student will be performing “By The Book”, a short play inspired by Romeo and Juliet, written by drama teacher Martina Avis, along with a variety of other scenes, songs and performances by students. The Slocan Community Band will also perform a selection of music.

There will be a concession with food for sale, and the Whole Gallery will be open with a new exhibit called “Outer Image, Inner Landscape: Drawings in Place”.

All proceeds from the event will be used to subsidize costs of the trip to this years Shakefest.

Art Party!
2026-03-08 14:00 - 17:00 | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
The Vallican Whole Gallery Committee is hosting an ART PARTY with DJ N-Deep, on Sunday March 8 from 2 to 5 pm.

No art skills needed! Drawing and Collage opportunities to engage in, or bring your own projects to work on in community.

The Gallery drawing & sculpture show will be open!

Potluck refreshments. Donations appreciated.

Beauchamp
2026-04-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
BEAUT BEAUCHAMP is The Coach. A straight talkin strategist of “the field”, who’ll rally your sorry self up off the bench and right into The Game.

A new play, written & performed by Aaron Pickett, with special guests. Produced by The Vallican Whole and Material Theatre, this is our April offering for the Up Close & Intimate Series.

What if a collage football coach went on a psychedelic adventure, discovered the meaning of the creative life, and was tasked with giving a team of artists a pre-game pep talk?This one-act, a hybrid of stand up comedy and character performance, is a silly and profound examination of what makes an artist tick, reflecting on courage, communion, self-doubt and perserverence, the battle against artificial intelligence and disposable “content” culture, and the enduring human impulse to create and iterate.

If you were at the New Works Cabaret last October, you may have seen an excerpt from this show.

Tickets available at the door – $25, $15 for low-income community members. Concession will be open.

We need a few volunteers to help at the door and in the kitchen – you get in for free! Contact us to help out!

The Three Sisters in Concert
2026-05-05 19:00 - 21:00
A manifestation of pure joy, The Three Sisters bring together the considerable talents of singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Heather Jean Jordan, Irene Poole, and Ji Won Baxter.Like so many iconic female trios before them—The Andrews Sisters, Trio, The Good Lovelies, and The Wailin’ Jennys—three distinct voices blend to create musical alchemy that transcends genre and style.Named after the iconic Alberta mountain range, the trio builds their sound on rich harmonies and inventive instrumentation (piano, violin, ukuleles, and bass) while traversing sonic landscapes of folk, jazz, opera, and original music. Their performances reach breathtaking highs and otherworldly lows,always carrying a light in the darkness.Since their inception in late 2024, The Three Sisters have delighted audiences with sold-out shows at Canmore artsPlace and appearances at East Coulee Spring Fest and the Canmore Folk Festival.Between them, the members have released two albums and include Calgary’s 2025 YYC Emerging Artist and Banff’s Poet Laureate. They are currently recording their debut album, with a crosscountry tour planned for 2026.

Tickets $25 at the door, $15 for low-income community. Doors at 7pm, show at 7:30. Volunteer & get in free!

RARTS AGM
2026-05-11 18:30 - 20:00
Join the Board and Staff of the Vallican Whole for our 55th AGM!

The Board is actively recruiting new board members, especially those interested in building & grounds care, new project development, finances and fundraising, and arts/culture and educational events. We welcome new folks and will support your learning curve, whether you’re experienced with non-profit boards or not!

Doors open at 6:30 for snacks and socializing, call to order at 7pm for the meeting.

Two Pianos, No Rodeo
2026-05-27 19:00 - 22:00
Up Close and Intimate with Bob Wiseman and Mike Boguski.

This isn’t a concert.It’s a piano séance in two acts.Bob Wiseman and Mike Boguski, two of Canada’s most unpredictable keyboard minds are taking turns dismantling and reimagining what a solo piano set can be. One piano. Two artists. Zero cowboy hats.

THE PLAYERS:BOB WISEMAN Founding member of Blue Rodeo. Punk pianist. Lo-fi provocateur. Think Monk meetsBurroughs at a Toronto dive bar. Expect sound collage, biting satire, sonic left turns. Nothing’s off limits.MIKE BOGUSKI Current Blue Rodeo pianist. Ambient soul explorer. A master of restraint and reverie. Piano as landscape. Melody as memory. Quiet storms and cinematic swells. Musical cliff jumping.

THE NIGHT:Each artist takes the same piano and launches in opposite directions – solo, stripped down, wide open.One piano. Two deeply personal journeys.No safety net. No genre crutches. No rodeo.Come for the clash of styles.Stay for the communion.This is piano as protest, as prayer or as whatever they feel that night.“Two Pianos, No Rodeo” is for those who like their art live, unexpected and slightly dangerous. Think of it less like a show and more like two sonic postcards from different planets sent through the same grandpiano.

Part of the Up Close & Intimate Series, there will be refreshments for sale.

CLICK HERE to pre-purchase ticketsThere will be limited tickets available at the door as well!

BEAUCHAMP - He's coming again!
2026-06-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Vallican Whole, 3762 Little Slocan South Rd., Winlaw, Bc, V0G 0B2, Canada
BEAUT BEAUCHAMP is coming again!

Material Theatre returns to the Whole stage with another rendition of BEAUCHAMP, their gonzo new show written & starring Aaron Pickett as Beaut Beauchamp.

Beaut’s like if a college football coach did a lot of psychedelics and decided to start coaching artists. Pumping you up for the big game, Beauchamp is part clown, part stand-up, part spoken word poetry, and all balls. A rollicking, profound, laugh-out-loud pep talk for artists and art-lovers alike, Beauchamp will put gas in your tires and air in your tank for whatever it is you’re lookin’ to create.

Tickets at Rambling Rose in Winlaw, or available at the door for $20-$25 a pop. Show starts around 7pm on Friday, June 5th.

www.materialtheatre.ca

Kootenay Wellness Festival
2026-06-12 17:00 - 2026-06-14 17:00
A grassroots wellness festival inspired by community connection, facilitated by the Kootenay Wellness Foundation.

Experience a weekend of movement, learning, creativity, play, music and restoration in the heart of the Slocan Valley, BC. Designed for all ages, all identities, and all levels of experience.

Visit www.kootenaywellnessfestival.com for more information and tickets.

The Columbia Basin Culture Tour
2026-08-08 10:00 - 2026-08-09 16:00
The Vallican Whole Gallery and Sculpture Walk will be full of life and art for the 2026 Columbia Basin Culture Tour, an annual self-guided tour of art studios and venues that showcases the region’s culture and creativity.

Visitors to the Whole will enjoy a walk through the beautiful sculpture park, where more than 16 sculptures share the land with a mature cedar forest. The Gallery in the basement of the Vallican Whole will feature a group exhibit including work from Peter Ellis, Vicky Gallinger, Sharon Pawliw, Susan Harder and others.

On Sunday afternoon, the RARTS Board will be hosting a barbecue in the park.

To learn more about the Culture Tour, or to plan your route, visit:

Culture Tour

Gabriel Palatchi BEATS
2026-09-05 19:00 - 22:00
A Summer’s End Dance Party

Celebrate the summer, and dance into September with Gabriel Palatchi Beats, the new live electronic project from internationally acclaimed Argentine pianist and composer Gabriel Palatchi.

With his new Beats project, Palatchi presents afresh and electrifying proposal that blends Latin rhythms, funk, Middle Eastern influences, and deep electronic beats.

Through live improvisation using synthesizers, keytar, and computer, Gabriel creates a vibrant, dynamic, and completely unique experience in every show. His music combines energy, virtuosity, and a strong rhythmic connection that transforms any space into a dancefloor.

Live at the Vallican Whole, Saturday September 5th. Concession will be open, this is an all-ages event.

BUY TICKETS HERE
