Artful : The Poets
2025-10-06 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Join host Dan Kirk on October 6th with our feature poet Lorraine Martinuik. Feature poet followed by open mic, sign up at the door (5 mins each spot).
Lorraine Martinuik’s poetry and experimental prose has appeared in literary journals such as Island, The Capilano Review, The Normal School and Truck, as well as several anthologies such as Kitchen Talk and Drift (edited by Ed Varney and Dan Kirk). In 1989, she was awarded a Canada Council grant, for an experimental fiction project that dealt in part with narrative structure.
Martinuik was born in northern Alberta; she grew up in B.C.’s Peace River district, and later in the Fraser Valley. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, a B.A. in English from the University of British Columbia, and an MFA in poetry from the University of New Orleans. Her MFA thesis, The Language of Trees was awarded the Cassin Prize for Poetry.
She has been based on Denman Island since 1980, when she bought a piece of raw land and built the studio cottage where she now lives and works.

Spirits of the Forest ~ Stumps and Stitches
2025-10-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Join artist Sue Muirhead at the artist reception to celebrate the opening of her exhibition.
Sue Muirhead is a lover of deep connection, the wild, windy world, and passionate, soulful creating of all kinds. Sue began an exploration into a variety of art forms in the early 2000’s. She found great pleasure in putting colour and form on paper. Over time, ‘process art’—art without an investment in the outcome—has become one of her most enlivening ways of expressing and processing her thoughts and feelings. Sue expresses creatively for the joy and the full bodied aliveness she feels when she engages her creative spirit.

Over the last year she has shifted mediums and now has become a ‘process stitcher’ where she stitches for the sheer pleasure of expressing. Sue is calling this show ‘Spirits of the Forest – Stumps and Stitches”. Sue shares, “When I walk in the woods, my soul, the essence of me, connects deeply to what surrounds me.” Stumps fascinate her, pull her in, capture her attention.

When in the forest and amongst the trees and stumps she often feels the presence of spirits. Most cultures in the world, at some time in their history to present day, have honoured, feared, and/or held in high esteem the many spirits of the forest and believe that they exist. Forest spirits are often thought of as protectors, keepers or guardians of the woodlands.

Sue thinks of stumps as teachers – often cut down, taken out, they sit benevolently in the forest, in clear cuts, sometimes looking bedraggled or barren; forever changed from what they once were. Given time, however, new life begins to form and they can become a haven for new growth, incomprehensible beauty. They teach that it is possible to be cut down in life by circumstances beyond our control, and over time there is the possibility of innovative beauty and renewed life.

For this show, Sue and her brother, Patrick Hill, went out into the forests around where they live and took over 200 pictures of stumps. Sue then took up what she now calls “Process Stitching” (an approach borrowed from Process Painting), where she stitched with no investment in a predetermined outcome , emphasizing exploration, experimentation and self expression. She called on the stitches to make visible, to
embody as much as possible the spirits of the forest. When stitching, Sue states she “feels the fabric and thread as living beings, alive.” Embroiderer Christi Johnson (2021) offers, “The creative process is not simply about what is being made; it is an entirely mystical process that teaches us how to move between the internal world of the soul and the physical world outside….Embroidery offers an opportunity to return to the natural order. Stitching by hand slows down the body and, over time slows down the mind.”

The essence of Spirits of the Forest – Stumps and Stitches is a full engagement of Sue’s creative energy and love. When engaged with her creative spirit and the wild world that surrounds her she shares, “I feel the wind, I feel the moonlight, I feel the spirits in the forest…and my hands stitch and stitch and stitch…”

The 5th Annual Comox Valley Record Show
2025-10-26 11:00 - 16:00 | Comox Valley Curling Centre, 4835 Headquarters Road, Courtenay, BC, V9J1P2, Canada
Vinyl lovers, collectors, and music enthusiasts, mark your calendars! The 5th Annual Comox Valley Record Show is set to groove its way back into town on Sunday, October 26, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Comox Valley Curling Centre, located at 4835 Headquarters Road, Courtenay.
This beloved event brings together dealers from across Vancouver Island and the Mainland, offering thousands of records spanning every genre imaginable—from classic rock and jazz to punk, soul, and beyond. But it’s not just vinyl: attendees will also find posters, books, CDs, tapes, and other music memorabilia to explore.
What to Expect:
A spacious venue filled with vibrant energy and rare finds
Food and drinks available on-site, including
Elevator access and plenty of free parking
Friendly vendors and fellow music fans ready to share stories and swap treasures
Tips for Attendees:
Prefer a quieter browsing experience? Arrive later in the day (2 to 4 PM)
Bring cash—while vendors increasingly accept digital payments, vinyl culture still loves the old-school paper vibe.
Come prepared to dig deep—hidden gems await!
Whether you’re a seasoned collector or just starting your vinyl journey, the Comox Valley Record Show is a can’t-miss celebration of music, nostalgia, and community. As the organizers say, “It’s like Christmas—it comes but once a year!”
Admission is still only $2 and kids under 12 are free. Lots of parking and the kitchen and Extra End Lounge will be open, not to mention curling to watch alongside the record show.

Artful : The Poets
2025-11-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Join host Natalie Nickerson on November 3rd with our feature poet Toni Dunne. Feature poet followed by open mic, sign up at the door (5 mins each spot).
Toni Dunne is an earthen creatrix, eco-sensualist, social butterfly, silly goose. Her poetry is inspired by paradox, the stretchy, crunchy, achy beautiful journey of the human condition. She weaves her observations of the mundane with the miraculous and makes room for many truths.
Born of her love for the garden, forest, river, mountain and sea, her poetry emphasizes and explores relationship with the natural world. A long time yogini and embodied mindfulness practitioner, Toni infuses her craft with a certain quality of attention and attends to her life, garden and writing as an ongoing practice of noticing and being with.
Her most beloved muse is the clawfoot tub in the yard.
When she’s not writing poetry or in the bath, Toni can be found playing with her 10 year old son and ragdoll cat. She works as a teacher, group facilitator, somatic therapist and gardener in the Comox Valley, a place she has called home for over 20 years.
Please join Toni as she midwives you through the seasons of cycles of the Pacific Northwest, seduces you into the luscious world of petal, stamen, bloom and decay.
Come enliven your senses and remember the magic you are embedded in.

Poetry Reading at Artful : The Gallery
2025-11-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Artful : The Gallery welcomes Damian John for an evening of poetry.

Poets Kelly Madden and Kristina Campbell will start the evening off, and Damian John will be the featured artist.

Poetry Reading and Book Launch
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
On Nov 13, Arleen Paré and Wendy Donawa are hosting a poetry reading as they launch their recently published poetry collections Encrypted (published by Caitlin Press) and The Time of Falling Apart (Harbour Publishing) respectively.
Arleen Paré is a Victoria writer with ten collections of poetry, one chapbook and one co-edited anthology. She’s been short-listed for the Dorothy Livesay BC Award, and has won the Victoria Butler Book Prize, a CBC Bookie Prize, the bpnichol Chapbook Award, the American Golden Crown Award for Lesbian Poetry, twice, and a Governor Generals’ Award for Poetry. She lives with her wife, Chris Fox, in Victoria on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people.

Wendy Donawa was raised in Victoria, but spent 36 years of her adult life in Barbados, where she raised her family, studied at the university of the West Indies, taught at the college and was for a decade, a curator at the Barbados Museum.
Now retired from the academic life, she lives gratefully on the traditional unceded territories of the Lekwungen-speaking Songees and Esquimalt nations, in Victoria.

Here, her heart and mind have turned to poetry, and she is grateful for the gifted and generous teachings Patrick Lane, Lorna Crozier, and many others. Her poems appear in numerous chapbooks, anthologies and poetry magazines. Her first book, Thin Air of the Knowable, was long-listed for the Raymond Souster and a finalist for the Gerald Lambert Award. Her second book, Our Bodies’ Unanswered Questions, was one of the 2021 Frontenac quartet. The Time of Falling Apart is her third collection.

Improbable Objects Artist Reception
2025-11-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Five pillars of the Comox Valley Art scene are collaborating to bring their varied artistic endeavours to Artful : The Gallery with the exhibition “Improbable Objects”. Collaborating for inspiration has always been a productive creative strategy, and this exhibition reflects the varied sensibilities of the artists: Ed Varney, Marci Katz, Martha Jablonski-Jones, Jeff Hartbower and Bill Friesen.

The absurdity and illogical scenes of Surrealism and Dadaism led the to the overall theme for this exhibition. From there, each artist followed their own creative path into the dreamlike imagery. The broad variety of artistic expression utilized by this group of artists includes printmaking, collage, painting, sculpture, drawings, paintings and contributes to the unexpected juxtapositions created by their artworks. The result is a playful exhibition of contrasts with bizarre and uncanny combinations to stimulate the unconscious; the ultimate source of creative freedom.

“Improbable Objects” runs at Artful : The Gallery November 26 thru December 20. Join us for the Artist Reception, Saturday, November 29th, 7-9 pm. Regular gallery hours are Weds to Sat, 12-5pm. The gallery is located at 526C Cumberland Rd, in Courtenay.

Artful : The Poets featuring Pam Stewart
2025-12-01 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Join host Steven J. Thompson as he welcomes our feature poet Pam Stewart from Victoria, BC. Pam Stewart writes about change and self-acceptance, the beauty and the not so. She’s a performer, facilitator and event producer. A former Victoria slam champion, she got her start in spoken word before publishing a book of personal essays, I Really Thought It Would Be Easier Than This, in 2019. She represented Victoria at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word four times, twice at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, was once a frequent contributor to Elephant Journal, and was the first and only Riot Grrrls Poet in Residence. To see her perform live is to feel it.
Stewart’s feature spot will be followed by an open mic. Sign up at the door for the open mic, 5 minutes max per poet, $10 or pwyc.

Solstice Singalong
2025-12-13 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-12-20 10:30 - 11:30 | St. Georges United Church, 505 6th Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1M5, Canada
Celebrate the magic of the season with a joyful community singalong! Join Teacher Zoë for a cozy 45-minute Music Together® session filled with songs, movement, and musical play to welcome wintertime. Whether you’re a returning family or new to our classes, this is a chance to reconnect, make music together, and share in the warmth of community as we head into the new year.
These singalongs are also a sneak peek of what’s to come—Music Together® classes are returning in January at our new central location in Downtown Courtenay!
Each singalong event will be geared towards families with children 0-7, but older children are welcome too.
👉 Register by emailing thesqueakywheelcreative@gmail.com
