Comox Valley Arts

Comox Valley Songwriters Circle
2026-03-16 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Each month singer/songwriters gather to share their tunes at Artful : The Gallery. The range of abilities, experience and genres welcomes musicians who appreciate the challenge (and the deadline!) of creating a new song each month.
The circle provides a place to be inspired, seek feedback and to be
able to hear what other creatives are working on. Most musicians bring along their
guitars or ukuleles, although some sing a cappella or use the in-house piano for accompaniment.
Host Ashley Sykes’s love of connecting with other artists provides motivation to write
and perform in the supportive group. The circle does not provide instruction; it provides an opportunity to perform your song, and to be impacted by others doing the same.
Attendance is by donation ($10 or pwyc). The group welcomes newcomers, and the
only criteria is that the songs performed are original.

Lecture: Fishes of the Strait of Georgia
2026-03-17 19:00 - 20:00 | the Courtenay and District Museum, 207 4th St, Courtenay, BC, COURTENAY, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
In a presentation based on their book, Fishes of the Strait of Georgia, authors and marine scientists Dick Beamish and Jeff Marliave will share their observations about some of the 243 species that frequent the strait.
They will be speaking at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 17 in the Courtenay and District Museum.
Both authors have spent their professional lives studying the bountiful natural aquarium that is the Strait of Georgia. Marliave has a PhD in Zoology from UBC and was VP of Marine Science at Vancouver Aquarium. Beamish also has a PhD in Zoology; he has received the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He was also a member of the International Panel on Climate Change that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Copies of Fishes of the Strait of Georgia (Harbour Publishing) will be available for purchase ($80.00 plus tax) and signing after the talk.
Admission to the lecture is $5 per historical society member; $6 for non-members. Advance tickets are strongly recommended. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
For more information, or to purchase tickets over the phone, call 250-334-0686 ext. 2.
The Courtenay and District Museum is located at 207 Fourth Street in downtown Courtenay.

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace*
2026-03-21 10:00 - 16:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
On Saturday, March 21st, Courtenay printmaker Clive Powsey is having a one day pop-up exhibition of hand-drawn, printed and tinted intaglio impressions at Artful : The Gallery on Cumberland Road in Courtenay.
Powsey has used a ‘savage’ rigorous prompt to elicit critique and assessment of hundreds of his prints from the large language model, ChatGPT. Only the highest scoring images will be included in the show, the content of which was decided by AI. Also on hand will be the prompt, an artist statement outlining the metrics of selection, a curator’s statement generated by ChatGPT, and samples of the critiques which are, of course, mindless probabilistic arrangements of words determined by the prompt and the training of the model on vast amounts of art historical and critical writing.
There will also be a folio of rejected images and sample critiques for comparison. The show’s name comes from the title of a 1967 poem by Richard Brautigan*. Beyond any questions that might exist regarding the art imagery, the exhibition asks the question of visitors, ‘How does human judgment and sensibility fare against that of machines?’
Visit the show and decide what you think.

Spring Fling and Easter Magic 2026
2026-03-21 11:00 - 14:00 | the Courtenay and District Museum, 207 4th St, Courtenay, BC, COURTENAY, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The Courtenay Museum invites you to their annual “Spring Fling and Easter Magic” event on Saturday, March 21st, from 11 am to 2 pm. Admission is by donation.
This will be a fun-filled, action-packed three-hour event.
The ever-popular petting zoo provided by Barnyard Party Animals gives folks a chance to meet ducks, geese, bunnies, chicks, guinea pigs, and hedgehogs.
We have invited a special guest this year, “Magician Donald Dunphy,” who will be performing amazing magic shows. Audience participation is a must. There will be two magic shows, one at 11:45 and the other at 12:45. Each show will be different.
You will have the opportunity to visit with volunteers and a rescue bird from MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre, where you can learn about their amazing wildlife rescues.
A couple of games are planned for the Fling, including a scavenger hunt and guess how many treats contest. People can also enter to win door prizes. Don’t forget to bring your craft skills to make a cute Easter craft to take home with you.
The Elasmosaur mascot will be making an appearance for photo opportunities and handing out delicious chocolate treats.

Unglued! Collage Creativity Gateway Workshop
2026-03-22 10:00 - 14:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Creating with existing images can lower our inhibitions (which is great for those who want to be creative but don’t consider themselves ‘artists’) providing a playful experience of creating with curiousity and openness to the unexpected…just for fun!
We will use existing images, scissors, gluesticks and our imagination to complete several projects, both independently and collaboratively. All levels welcome and all materials supplied.
Collage is an art as old as paper…which is coming up on 2000 years. Collage is a great ‘gateway’ creative activity – it doesn’t require any technical proficiency beyond using a glue stick…the word collage comes from the french word ‘coller’ – (Koo-Lay) – to glue.
Some of you have created scrapbooks or dream boards, most commonly made by cutting out magazine images and then gluing them to a backing. This workshop uses those same techniques in a collaborative and playful way.
We will make three different collage projects. The first will be a collaborative collage poem, using words. This will become the inspiration for our second project, an individual (and perhaps a little surreal!) landscape. Our final project is called Exquisite Corpse, a collaborative art technique created by the surrealist artists in the 1920’s, where participants add to the composition without seeing the previous contributions. The combined result is often delightful, humorous and unexpected.
Unglued is just for fun, having some creative time with other people, and learning a few techniques that you can use either by yourself, or with your friends and family.
I will have all the materials required, just bring your enthusiasm.
Email: kristinacampbellart@gmail.com to register
$75 workshop fee ($25 bring a friend discount)

2026 Comox Valley International Film Festival
2026-04-02 19:00 - 2026-04-04 23:00 | Sid Williams Theatre, 442 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2J2, Canada
The Comox Valley International Film Festival returns April 2–4, 2026 at the Sid Williams Theatre, for a dynamic celebration of storytelling on screen. Showcasing an inspiring mix of local talent and acclaimed international filmmakers, the festival brings together bold features, compelling short film programs, and fresh new voices from around the world.
Audiences can experience four standout feature films, three curated shorts programs, filmmaker conversations, hands-on workshops, and a lively opening gala party. Whether you’re a dedicated film lover or simply looking for an unforgettable cultural weekend, the festival offers an engaging, welcoming atmosphere where global perspectives and community stories share the spotlight.
Join us for three days of discovery, conversation, and cinematic excellence. Tickets and full program details available now.

Triskaidecadarn! ookoolaydeez postponed to April 10th
2026-04-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Well….it seems the Ookoolaydeez should have been scared of Friday the 13th!

Tara has lost her voice because of laryngitis. We have been crossing our fingers she would be recovered for the originally scheduled March 13th concert, but, sadly, it’s not to be.

We are crestfallen that we won’t be able to entertain you this Friday, BUT **we have rescheduled the concert to Friday, April 10th at 7:30 p.m. at Artful : The Gallery.**

If you can attend on the new date, yay!
If you are unable to attend, I will refund you via e-transfer.
Please let me know which option works for you. Email: ookoolaydeez@gmail.com

Thanks for your understanding, and sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

The ookoolaydeez are on a mission to light up the world with joy using irresistibly singable tunes, playful wit and exuberant whimsy.
Songbirds Tara Hope and Diana Kolpak serve up a spicy buffet of original songs and poems that take you on an unexpected, hilarious, profound, wild and juicy journey. Among the tasty offerings are: snappy blues, dark lullabies, Shakespearean rap, sweet bluegrass and flirty musings about housework. Harmonies are sophisticated. Instruments include a motley assemblage of ukuleles, a washboard, a toilet plunger, a toy glockenspiel and baby tap shoes…just to name a few.
The ookoolaydeez made their debut at the 2025 Woodstove Festival in November, followed by house concerts and an appearance at the Art is Love is Resistance fundraiser in Cumberland.
Diana studied classical piano and has decades of experience as a theatre performer and director. Tara studied ukulele and guitar and is a prize-winning wearable art creator/performer. Both are poets and published authors. They started writing songs together in the autumn of 2024.
In addition to performing as the ookoolaydeez, Tara and Diana also sing as part of The Happy Gang, an ensemble of six fiddlers, four vocalists, a percussionist, a guitarist and a bass player, who play monthly concerts at several of the Comox Valley’s long term care facilities.
