WINTER & Spring 2019
Your guide to fun and entertainment in Prince George
event listings
Author’s Prince George Book named to
Don’t miss a thing!
PAGE 21
Best of 2018 List Story page 16.
Lee Aaron
Ready to Rock the North. Story page 14.
Unbound art exhibit features visual art that is about books, or may in fact use books as the basis for the visual creations. Story page 10.
COVER STORY
FANCON5
May the 4th be with you, May the 3rd and the 5th Also be with you PAGE 5
in this
issue
Citizen Scene Winter & SPRING 2019
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welcome...
To the 2019 Winter & Spring Edition of the Citizen Scene! A division of
Fancon5 May the 4th be with you
Book Marks
201-1777 Third Avenue | Prince George, B.C. | 250.562.2441
50 years for Arts Council
Unbound books inspire art
Metal Legends Blasting into Prince George
Theresa Caputo Returning for spring show
Aaron Ready to rock the north
Cariboo Rocks Schedule announced
Author’s Prince George book Named to best of 2018 list
Canadian Rockers James, Bentall returning to P.G.
Publisher and GM Colleen Sparrow
Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
Director of Advertising Shawn Cornell
Layout & Design: Grace Flack Photography: Brent Braaten, James Doyle Stories: Frank Peebles, Christine Hinzmann Cover Image: Actor and Northern FanCon cosplay contest host Mark Meer in character as Baron Blood. Mark Meer returns for FanCon5. Photo courtesy of Christos Sagiorgis.
The Citizen Scene is available online at www.pgcitizen.ca
Come on feel the noise at Rock of Ages
Hootstock Changing its tune for 2019
Two shows set for Menopause: The Musical
Your Source for
check it out...
Local event listings Looking for something to do in Prince George Turn to page 21 and check out our events listings!
Local Events
Winter & Spring 2019
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events
FAN CON
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May the 4th be with you May the 3rd and the 5th also be with you Northern FanCon, presented by the Prince George Citizen, returns to Prince George for the fifth time, offering three days of fan fun May 3-5.
PHOTO LEFT: Members of the 501st Legion pose with cosplayers at last year’s Northern Fancon. Photo courtesy of Christos Sagiorgis.
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca With more announcements still to come on celebrity guests, the FanCon 5 lineup is already an impressive array of big names. Ryan Hurst, who played Opie Winston on the hit series Sons of Anarchy, will be on hand, fresh off his stint as Beta in the latest season of The Walking Dead. Hurst has a significant acting resume, from his starring turn as Chick Hogan on Bates Motel to smaller roles on the big screen in We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson, Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks, Remember The Titans with Denzel Washington and Patch Adams with Robin Williams,. He contributed his voice to the animated hit movie Rango with Johnny Depp and many more high-profile projects dating back to his first credit as Crunch
Grabowski in Saved By The Bell. “We are super excited to bring Ryan Hurst to Prince George. He is a highly recognizable face for fans, he has been a big part of really respected projects, and they are projects that our regular Northern FanCon attendees have told us are important to them,” said chief FanCon organizer Norm Coyne. Previous FanCon attendees asked to see Alan Tudyk. This May, he’ll be in Prince George for FanCon 5. “We have a poll each year to find out who local people want to see, and this guest was the third most requested name, he was one of the stars people are always asking for, and this year we worked it out to get him here,” Coyne said. “Alan was in Con Man, he was in Firefly, he was K-2SO in Rogue One, his list of credits is just amazing. The collective gross for his films is more than $2 billion.”
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He is appealing to the fans of movie drama but also gamers and animation fans because of his voice-over work. He reprised his K-2SO role in the Star Wars: Battlefront video game, as well as Master Of Orion: Conquer The Stars, Infinite Crisis, Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and many more console franchises. In animation circles, he starred in the Chozen series, the Ice Age films, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It Ralph, Astro Boy, Good Vibes, Young Justice, Trip Tank, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, The Tick, American Dad, Robot Chicken and, speaking of fowl, he was also HeiHei the trusty clucker in Moana. His voice is constantly being altered for his cartoon roles but fans of film also have familiarity for his face, as Van Wayne in Powerless, as Wray Nerely in Con Man, as Reagan in Newsreaders, as Pastor Veal in Arrested Development, as Officer Elwood in Napoleon Dynamite, as Doc Potter in 3:10 To Yuma, as Wat in A Knight’s Tale and perhaps most of all as Wash in Firefly. One of this coming year’s special VIP artists is Tula Lotay, a comic book illustrator, a painter and sketcher. She even runs her
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own event, the Thought Bubble opportunities on such screen Festival, in her native England. arts projects as the CBS show Lotay has been involved in the Salvation, the Aftermath series on eight-part series Bodies produced the SYFY and Space networks, by DC Vertigo. When Calls the Heart, and the She also illustrated All-Star smash hit web series Narcoleap. Batman #7 with Scott Snyder. “His steady and climbing acting Poster company Mondo has career has also seen him appear commissioned her to do a number on series like Supernatural, DC’s of their images. Legends of Tomorrow, Chilling Her work on issue 13 of The Adventures of Sabrina, Psych, Wicked + The Supergirl and Divine earned several others,” We are her a GLAAD said Coyne. Media Award This is excited to see Marc for Outstanding Smith’s second return and look Comic Book. appearance She is best at Northern forward to him known, however, FanCon, but he connecting with for the original hasn’t been at comic series the pop-culture fans plus hosting Supreme: Blue festival in several another stellar Rose, written years. by Warren “We dubbed workshop. Ellis for Image him a Rising Comics. She Star in year – Norm Coyne and Ellis are also one of FanCon collaborating and we are on a project they call Heartless extremely excited to have followed expected out under the Image his trajectory and success,” said Comics imprint in 2019. Coyne. One of Prince George’s own stars Marc Bernardin is also returning will be back in the city as a special to Northern FanCon. guest at FanCon 5. Bernardin – a writer of comic Madison Smith grew up in books, screen scripts and magazine P.G. before leaving for acting articles for the biggest titles in
PHOTO ABOVE: Norm Coyne making Fancon 5 announcements at CN Centre. Citizen Photo By Brent Braaten.
those industries – was the co-host of Fatman Beyond, the global podcast he does with filmmaker Kevin Smith. It was broadcast live off the floor of CN Centre last year, giving the world an unprecedented view of Prince George and its pop-culture festival. “We are excited to see Marc return and look forward to him connecting with fans plus hosting another stellar workshop,” Coyne said. With so many aspiring writers in all the genres in which he is proficient, there is a large student base for Bernardin’s workshops. He is a craftsman of the language and a wizard of conjuring the imagination onto the page. He’s also a master of conversation. He brought a lot of fun and interaction to the participants at last year’s Northern FanCon. “Marc Bernardin is a man who wears many hats, and is no stranger to the world of pop culture and comic cons,” said Coyne.
“He has moderated panels at San Diego Comic-Con International, appeared in pop culture video documentaries and made many personal appearances at comic cons and colleges alongside his pal filmmaker Kevin Smith as part of the Fatman Beyond podcast.” Bernardin also broadcasts another franchise-based podcast. He and Tricia Helfer co-host the Battlestar Galacticast internet show. She, too, was a popular guest at last year’s Prince George fan convention. Also coming to this year’s Northern FanCon celebrity roster, the return of pop culture commentator and YouTube personality Ming Chen, cosplay star Ivy Doomkitty, and master costume creator and film industry personality Evil Ted whose credits include The Walking Dead and The Fifth Element, as well as being a leader in the cosplay industry. For Northern FanCon’s fifth birthday, a special trade paperback is being published that graphically illustrates this rarity among fan conventions. “This is a legacy book,” Coyne. “This is a permanent keepsake that tells the reader all about the effect FanCon has had on the region, the ways it has helped build a film industry here, how it introduced cosplay (the intensely detailed character costumes built and worn by especially dedicated fans), how we have boosted a lot of niche retailers and boosted the art industry. This book is a reflection of the community seen through super hero lenses. It helps explain Prince George by going deep into this very successful, very unique event.” This benchmark book will have articles and art by some of the many world-class creative personalities who have attended Northern FanCon over the years. It will bask in the glow of the many celebrity guests and cinematic moments of fan interaction the convention has brought to this region. It will also reveal some of the roots of the event. It might
surprise readers to know that they reach back to the 1860s. “Barkerville was a big, big, big influencer in the creation of FanCon,” said Coyne. “The fan convention landscape was originally settled by Barkerville. They mined those first nuggets of pop-culture fan events (as part of the historic town’s regular summer programming, which began to include celebrity guests like Denise Crosby) and Northern FanCon turned out to be the mother load. We got involved in their Geekend events, and when we turned that into the first couple of years of our convention in Prince George they were right there with us helping us get off the ground, and that relationship is still solid.” To indicate the interconnectedness of the two entities, Crosby was a special VIP guest at a Barkerville Geekend in 2013. She then was a VIP guest at FanCon in 2016. Following that, Crosby was recruited into a pivotal role in the movie The Doctor’s Case which was directed by Barkerville’s public programming manager James Douglas and produced by Coyne. Part of the film was shot in Barkerville and much of the cast and crew came from the combination of Barkerville and Prince George. “You can’t make stories like that up. It has all happened naturally and you have to think that it never would have happened at all if it weren’t for this event we’ve all fallen in love with,” Coyne said. “That’s why we want to tell the story of Northern FanCon in this interesting way, a book that will stand the test of time, it has longterm pop-culture appeal of its own, and always be there to show off FanCon and help explain to future generations where so much has come from - stuff we don’t even have words or ideas for yet.” This anniversary trade publication will be out in time for Northern FanCon’s fifth edition. Tickets are on sale now via the Northern FanCon website and/ or under the Events tab on their Facebook page. Winter & Spring 2019
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books
Book marks
50 Years for Arts CounciL
PHOTO LEFT: Trelle Morrow looks over An Arts Compendium’ the Community Arts Council of Prince George and District 50th Anniversary Book he edited. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten.
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca An Arts Compendium is a collection of the Prince George and District Community Arts Council’s early years. The book was released as part of the arts agency’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Trelle Morrow, the city’s most decorated and prolific writer of local history, was in charge of compiling all the materials from the various artists and arts groups from which the CAC was formed. He was also given access to the boxes of material held in the CAC’s own closet of saved materials dating back to 1968. The book included the input of such foundational organizations as the Prince George Concert Association, the Opus 1 Choir, Theatre Workshop, New Caledonia Orchestra, The Alaska Music Trail and other nowdefunct entities that enlivened the community’s quality of life half a century ago.
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It also included vignettes from modern organizations and included information about the structure and evolution of the CAC and the buildings that comprise their Studio 2880 complex on 15th Avenue. Morrow, a retired architect also celebrated for his building designs, is the author of 10 titles on the shelves of the Prince George Public Library, for which he has won three Jeanne Clarke History Awards, more (tied with the late Kent Sedgwick, who once wrote a book about Morrow) than any other writer. He is also an active member of the Prince George Heritage Commission. Morrow has a number of projects underway and is glad to have An Arts Compendium behind him. It was a different process for him, more akin to an editor than a writer, but he enjoyed having such formative information tucked between two permanent covers, all together. “I thought we had a pretty
good smattering of the city’s arts community at that time, and it makes up an important document,” he said. “I love the compendium medium for documenting local history. It could be five times bigger on future endeavours if someone could persevere. This was my first attempt at a compendium. As an experiment, I think it turned out to be a good platform, a good format, especially if you have someone pushing at people to contribute and dig up the information. That’s what you need. Compiling the information is important work, but you have to have quality information with which to work.” He hoped this first edition would lead, at future milestone years, to updated versions that would carry on building the legacy of the CAC and thus tell the story of the city’s quality of life and health of culture. The fragility of that knowledge is a problem in this city, he said. The documents and physical
items that represent different arts organizations have largely been lost almost as soon as they happened, and the same could be said for sport or business or municipal work. The UNBC Archives, the public library, the Exploration Place, the Railway & Forestry Museum, these all have their place in holding onto papers and other physical materials that represent our community for future generations, but a key institution is lacking, he said. “The city of Prince George will never be a cultural centre of the north until City Hall starts its own archives,” he said. “Archives are important, they should be available to the public, and municipalities need to run their own. And many do, but not Prince George.” An Arts Compendium is available in participating bookstores and at the Studio 2880 Artisan Gift Shop where the feature gallery has the companion art exhibition on display now.
citizen scene
arts
unbound
Books inspire art In Two Rivers Exhibit Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca Throwing out books prompted the staff at the Two Rivers Gallery to get wordy with each other on the value of volumes. The process of purging their in-house curatorial library turned a page in the head of assistant curator Meghan Hunter-Gauthier and others on the gallery team. Before long their debates about which books to hold onto and which books to dispatch became the basis of the exhibition opening tonight at the downtown art facility. “Art is a great way to force people to think differently, challenge people’s perceptions. We had too many books. That process started conversations, and it grew into an idea that if we were having this conversation, if it was important in that way, then it must be something going on out in the broader public,” said Hunter-Gauthier. “Space is an issue with books. When do you store large numbers of books in some kind of tablet format and when do you want to have the physical thing? This issue of using technology or holding it in your hand is in play and, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a new issue. This exhibition is about our relationship with books and how
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we value books in contemporary times.” The show is called Unbound and features visual art that is about books, or may in fact use books as the basis for the visual creations. Hunter-Gauthier led a search for artists across Canada who had made bookish art. She collected works from five in particular: Jennifer Bowes, Robert Chaplin, Adam David Brown, Angela Grauerholz and Guy Laramée. It took months of searching. Hunter-Gauthier said there
was research done in the publications of the Canadian visual arts sector, archives were excavated, and other artists and institutions were consulted to find as much art as possible to consider for the exhibition. As art was discovered, she would make contact with the artists. “There was a long list, actually,” she said, underscoring how indeed the humble book was on the national mind in these changing times for the written and stored word. “All of these artists were brought together because their art considered books or
used books in some particular way, but not in similar ways. There is a great deal of variety here.” Chaplin’s work, for example, uses actual books in sculpture form. Most of them are so literally books that they have ISBN numbers (the identity code for published works). She said the conversation with the artists typically got started the same way. It was a cold-call. The artist would hear the pitch of the book being the central character in this scene. Would they be willing to include their work in that silent conversation? “You never know what you’re going to get when you start to plan an exhibition,” HunterGauthier said. “I really didn’t have a vision for the show, the vision materialized as the works became more certain.” The exhibit runs until March 31 at Two Rivers Gallery. Gary Pearson’s Excerpts From A Retrospective is also at the gallery until the end of March. PHOTO: The Malleus Maleficarum is part of the Unbound exhibit at the Two Rivers Gallery. Handout photo.
citizen scene
music
Metal Legends Blasting into PRince George Citizen Staff
For the first time ever, Judas Priest is coming to Prince George. The legendary heavy metal band will perform at CN Centre on June 14. Tickets for the show featuring special guests Uriah Heep are on sale now. Head bangers will want to see the group as they showcase their new music from their latest studio album Firepower, one of the band’s most successful efforts to date, while also showcasing the classics. Judas Priest is on a North
American tour starting May 3 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fl. and ending June 29 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The Prince George show is one of 32 next summer. Over Judas Priest’s almost 50year career, fans will remember classic albums like British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance, and Painkiller, as well as anthems like Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, and You’ve Got Another Thing Coming. Tickets on sale now at www. ticketsnorth.ca or charge by phone 1-888-293-6613.
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events
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Theresa Caputo Returning for Spring Show
Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff
chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca The Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo, who has a long-running TLC reality television series, said during a phone interview that it doesn’t matter if she’s doing a reading for one person or five thousand, her preparation is the same. Caputo will be making an appearance at CN Centre Saturday, April 6. “Yes, of course it is different having a one-on-one than having a group reading but how I look at these large groups is they are all the same,” Caputo said, who made her first appearance in Prince George in 2016. “There’s only so many souls that I can channel in a two-hour period and I know that the souls who are going to speak that night are going to deliver and heal so many people at one time - not just the person I am standing in front of and that’s the incredible thing about spirit.” When she’s getting ready to do PHOTO LEFT: Theresa Caputo, star of TLC’s reality television series, Long Island Medium, at CN Centre during her 2016 show. Theresa returns to Prince George on Saturday, April. Citizen file Photo by James Doyle.
a reading she just starts sensing and feeling things that don’t mean anything to her but are lifechanging to those with which she will be connecting. Caputo said she doesn’t want anyone to be discouraged about not getting a reading during the public forum. “Honestly, I find when spirit is in large groups, especially in an arena, spirit is able to move me around that space because I’m not on that stage, I will be down in the crowd because spirit is going to guide me around the arena and have me stop and deliver messages right in front of you,” Caputo said. “You’re going to feel as if you were in my home or your home reconnecting you with the souls of your loved ones.” There will be big screens set up so everyone can watch her in action and there will be a camera that will follow her around just like on her show, the Long Island Medium said. “It’s displayed so you’re able to see, feel and be a part of the amazing experience and witness everything up close and personal,” Caputo said. People often take to social media after a show and best describe the experience as life changing, even if they hadn’t been read personally, she added. “They say they realize that others needed to hear from their loved ones more than they did,” she added. “And to me, that is absolutely incredible and to realize that is beautiful. The reason so many people are affected is that there is going to be so many things said that night that you’re going to be able to connect with.” Caputo said there will also be times when some members of the audience will hear what she’s saying and think she’s gone crazy but when she starts describing details others in the audience will be raising their hands, being affected and connecting with her words. “People will see how it is changing their life and it’s absolutely incredible,” Caputo said, who said she doesn’t know
how she does it but during the show she said she feels like the energizer bunny - super charged. Once she’s off the stage and back on the bus it’s a different story. “Give me five minutes - I take my make up off, I wash my face and I’m passed out,” Caputo laughed. Caputo is reflective when talking about the gift she said she’s been given. “This is my soul’s journey,” she said. “I’ve learned that I have to take care of myself. I meditate on a regular basis, I learned how to rest my mind, I take care of myself physically. I’m eating right and exercising and you know, just be kinder to myself. We all have to respect ourselves and realize we can’t put ourselves on the back burner.” After years of sharing her gift of speaking to dead people Caputo is certain about some things. “I know we’re all placed here on the Earth and each and everyone of us is special and have amazing gifts and it is up to us to find who we are meant to be here in the physical world,” she said. “I say this because since the age of four I always said to my mom I don’t feel right, I feel different than everyone else - I don’t feel like I belong here.” Caputo said her mom would assure her that she wasn’t adopted and she belonged and it took her until she was in her 20s to find a way to use her gift. “But I learned that in life in general when things happen we beat ourselves up,” Caputo said. “We don’t respect, love and honour ourselves like we deserve to be and even with the loss of a loved one we beat ourselves up with shoulda, coulda, wouldas and only ifs and all of these emotions do not give us the ability to heal. They serve us no purpose. Spirit acknowledges these negative emotions and are telling us to release them to be able to love, honour and respect ourselves the way we deserve to be and to know that they are still with us.” Tickets are on sale at www. ticketsnorth.ca. Winter & Spring 2019
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music
aaron ready to
rock
the north
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
played for Bryan Adams, Randy Bachman, he was a Legndary Heart with Barney Bentall, etc.) and guitar player (Sean Kelly, who Lee Aaron hasn’t been to Prince George in years and she is clapping was a regular with Nelly Furtado, Helix, and Carol Pope who is also her hands to be on the Cariboo on the CRTN lineup this summer) Rocks The North 2019 roster. are close friends who love to jump The last time Canada’s first on the bus whenever she fires it up. female hard rock star performed It has been more frequent, lately. in this city was in her jazz phase. “This whole series of rock She played at a little club called festivals that have cropped up Galitas (some remember it as The Other Art Cafe) that is now where around Canada the last five or six years, it just keeps growing,” social services organizations The said Aaron. “Was last year the Foundry and YAP Friends reside. first year in Prince George? Yeah. The time before that, she was This is only the second year, so the first rock act to headline a I’m excited to be part of it, they newly opened facility called The have all (across Canada) been über Prince George Civic Centre (the successful.” Headstones opened for her that It’s a chance to relive the old night). hits, but also a chance to showcase Yeah. It has been that long. new material, But in many for those classic ways that has She (Aaron) rock acts who been a reflection is confident have been so of the music Aaron landscape over the Prince George motivated. has been. In that period. audience will enjoy the 1990s she Hard rock faded reinvented her in popularity, the set list, no matter sound away from the way music got consumed how it gets arranged. the commercial metal she had changed its It changes from been fronting platforms and (to international still hasn’t settled event to stardom levels). into a comfort event. She had major zone, and she hits with Metal was at a point Queen, Whatcha Do To My in life where being a mother Body, Hands On, Power Line, and teacher (yes, Lee Aaron is a the sensual ballad Dream With teacher in Vancouver as well as an Me, the gutsy Sex With Love and international rock star) were more many others. important endeavours. This brought on 10 Juno Her kids are older now, so she nominations and gold- or can power up the rock show from platinum-level record sales many time to time. Her husband John times over. Cody is also her drummer (the But in the mid-’90s the industry drummer for a scad of big-name shifted and she jumped with it. acts, in all honesty), and her bass player (Dave Reimer, who has also Emotional Rain was a critical
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darling of an album, and while it didn’t rocket any singles up the charts tunes like Emotional Rain, Baby Go Round, and Had Enough were high musical quality that got solid attention from critics and proved she was more than her video images of the past. She joined with three-quarters of the band Sons Of Freedom to make a project album under the name 2 Preciious and again advanced a new sound. It was still hard, still guitar-driven, but edgy and contemporary. That has carried on. Songs from the past few years that critics have held the door for include Tom Boy, Popular, and within the last few months it’s Diamond Baby, Mistreated, American High, and a brand new single drops on Friday called I’m A Woman. It is often the case that when a classic rock act plays their new stuff, it has a dampening effect on the audience, but this material is strongly crafted and well received. She is confident the Prince George audience will enjoy the set list, no matter how it gets arranged. It changes from event to event. “When I’m doing these festivals, a contingent of the audience is a Lee Aaron fan but not everybody,
PHOTO ABOVE: Lee Aaron promotional photo. Photo courtesY of Cariboo rocks the North.
so I try to include a lot of the singles, the hit songs, things they’ve heard on the radio so you’re not alienating people,” she said. “I would say half our show is new, though. We’ll play all the video singles from the past two albums so the people who are Lee Aaron fans will know that, and I have a whole other set that’s blues, and a whole other set for Europe that we streamline differently when we come back to Canada. I switch it up, so we’re not bored, too, and it keeps it fresh for us. I can promise you, though, it will not be boring. It will be fun.” Aaron will kick off the 2019 Cariboo Rocks The North event on Friday, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. She’ll be followed by Streetheart and Trooper that night. Dougs and the Slugs, Sass Jordan, Chilliwack and Glass Tiger take over the stage Saturday, Aug. 10, with Carole Pope and Rough Trade, Helix, The Romantics and Loverboy wrapping things up Sunday, Aug. 11.
PHOTO ABOVE: Roughly 5,000 people packed Canada Games Plaza in September 2017 as Glass Tiger performed during Thank You PG celebrations. Glass Tiger returns for this year’s Cariboo Rocks the North music festival. Citizen photo by James Doyle.
Cariboo Rocks
schedule announced Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca The bands were unveiled this fall for the upcoming Cariboo Rocks The North festival, and now the daily schedule has been disclosed. The event is the biggest annual music festival to ever be held inside the city’s borders. Last year was the inaugural set of concerts by a who’s who of classic rock. Now, primary promoter Pacific Western Brewing is lining up the sophomore roster. For three days, tourists and residents alike will converge on Exhibition Park in front of CN Centre to hear another stellar collection of rock. The event will launch with power as Lee Aaron rips the lid off, and it will close with the legendary hits of Loverboy. In between are nine other acts that all come packing their own heat.
According to Cariboo Rocks The North organizers, these 2019 acts have a combined 27 platinum records, 17 gold records, and 18 Juno Awards. Tickets are available now at the TicketsNorth website or in person at the CN Centre box office.
Here’s the lineup: Aug. 9 Lee Aaron – 6 p.m. Streetheart – 7:15 p.m. Trooper – 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10 Doug & The Slugs – 3:30 p.m. Sass Jordan – 5 p.m. Chilliwack – 6:40 p.m. Glass Tiger – 8:30 p.m. Aug. 11 Carole Pope & Rough Trade – 3:30 p.m. Helix – 5 p.m. The Romantics – 6:40 p.m. Loverboy – 8:30 p.m.
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citizen scene
books
PHOTO: Former Prince George resident Kim Purcell reads a passage from her book This Is Not A Love Letter during a visit to Books and Company in February 2018. Citizen Photo by James Doyle
author’s prince george book
named to best of 2018 list Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca A Prince George writer telling a Prince George story was listed as one of the best books of 2018 for the adolescent audience. The annual NPR (National Public Radio) Book Consierge publishes a list of 300 top titles that were released in the past year. Kim Purcell’s novel This Is Not A Love Letter was on that exclusive list of 2018’s Great Reads. “It was out of the blue for me, so very exciting,” said Purcell, who grew up in Prince George and now lives in the Los Angeles area. “Being on the list of their
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top books brings it to national audiences everywhere. Having that reach for NPR will be huge for it.” A lot of other “best of ” book lists take the suggestions of the NPR list, so Purcell is now bracing for more positive feedback. The story is fiction. It tells the tale of a popular young black man who goes suddenly and mysteriously missing while out for
a jog. The circumstances of the disappearance and the search for him both serve to uncover streaks of prejudice and bias in the young man’s community, and cause his girlfriend to realize for the first time what schisms and weaknesses existed unseen under her white blanket. “A fast-paced and heartbreaking
It was out of the blue for me, so very exciting. Being on the list of their top books brings it to national audiences everywhere. – Kim Purcell
story about racial tension, depression and loss in a small town in the Pacific Northwest,” said NPR’s book critic Amal ElMohtar. “Jessie is writing letters to her boyfriend Chris, with whom she recently broke up – just before he vanished. Chris is one of very few black people in a mostly white town, and Jessie grows increasingly afraid that he’s been murdered. The first-person narration is relentless and raw, as Jessie confesses things to the absence of Chris that she never was able to say to him in person.” The story drew strongly from Purcell’s own experiences when one of her closest friends in high
school, Al Rivas, really did go missing on a jog along the Prince George riverside trails in 1989. “It is really neat to see it in Canadian bookstores, and I’ve done quite a few school visits in British Columbia. There’s something super special about that,” said Purcell, describing how her secretly Canadian story was spread first across the U.S. by her American publisher, then repatriated in a subliminal way back to Canada when a distribution deal got it into the marketplace in this country. “What I experienced, and a lot of our friends experienced when Al went missing, was total shock,” she said. “The next step was to explore what could have possibly happened? This incredible person who really did make a giant positive difference in a lot of people’s lives - it was unimaginable. He was a straight-A student, amazing athlete, super kind, personable. How on earth could he possibly be missing? We had to look at was
it possible that a hate crime may have been committed?” Then his loved ones had to ask if the search effort was as fulsome as had the victim been blonde-haired and blue-eyed. The first motivational rule of any writer is “write what you know” so this was a natural subject for Purcell to work with anyway, but she was extra compelled to shine this light because of the common traits across North America when the central protagonist is a visible minority. “We need to be uplifting voices of colour, writers of colour should be published much more widely than they currently are, in Canada the voices of Aboriginal writers must be heard more, and as a white woman writer I felt it was important to talk about white bias and white privilege and how our experience of whiteness is so impactful from the time of birth onward,” she said. Her own “best of ” recommendation was for people to read the book White Like Me by
author Tim Wise and, as she did, let it squeeze open the windows of consciousness about your own natural and inevitable biases. “This particular book opened my eyes to how much racism hurts everybody,” Purcell said. “We all know that racism hurts people of colour and homophobia hurts people who are homosexuals, but that hatred and that judgment spreads to everybody.” This Is Not A Love Letter will soon be released on paperback, and new books by Purcell are in the
works, again with subject matter scratched from the scenes of her Prince George.
Winter & Spring 2019
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citizen scene
music
Canadian rockers James, Bentall
returning to Prince George Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca At the 1989 Juno Awards, two Vancouver-based rockers – Colin James and Barney Bentall – were both nominated for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. That trophy went to Glass Tiger, instead, but Bentall and his Legendary Hearts took home the award for Most Promising Group while James won the Most Promising Male Vocalist category. It was their first two nominations and first trophies each for Canada’s crowning music award. Looking back, it was a spark of prophecy for both of them (the Most Promising Female Artist that year was Sass Jordan, so you could call it a hattrick) since James earned his most recent Juno nomination in 2017 in the oldschool Blues Album of the Year category while Bentall’s most recent band The High Bar Gang was nominated in the old-school Traditional Roots Album of the Year category. They are a pair of roof-raising, foundation-shaking rock ‘n’ rollers when they want to be, and they are also lauded for wiping off the modern bells and whistles and still standing head and shoulders above the rest when it’s just them and their acoustic instrument. Colin James and Barney Bentall are coming together to Prince George where they will bear-hug the spirit of 1989 and all the stage-power they’ve generated since then in Canada and around the world. The Colin-Barney show will happen at CN Centre on March 23 for a Saturday night warmup event for Cariboo Rocks
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Winter & Spring 2019
the North 2019. They are bringing along a third performer as well, to make it a mini-festival. James and Bentall will be joined by Americana blues-rocker Marty O’Reilly, who is on the latest vanguard of modernist musicians who know where their roots grow back in the bluesy dirt. James is headlining the showcase on the strength of his latest album Miles To Go, his 19th disc since that 1988 self-titled debut. He’ll show it off on a 23-city tour of Canada that includes Prince George. It’s a CD that shines a strong light on where modern rock comes from. According to concert organizers, Miles To Go is a “collection of carefully curated songs handpicked from some of the greatest blues artists” and lovingly redone by one of the world’s great blues guitarists alive today. All ticket buyers for this event will be entered in a draw to win a pair of weekend passes to Cariboo Rocks the North 2019 – scheduled for Aug. 9, 10, and 11, 2019, at Exhibition Park. Tickets to see the Cariboo spring fling with James, Bentall and O’Reilly are available at the CN Centre box office or via the ticketsnorth.ca website.
Colin James Promotional Photo
citizen scene
theatre
come on
the
feel noise
At Rock of Ages Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca For those who like to rock, there are some musicals for you and at the top of the heap is Rock of Ages. This glam metal retrospective is a romp through the hair-band heyday. This isn’t a play that uses the approximate sounds and attitudes of the acid-washed denim of the ’80s and ’90s, it uses the actual songs that dominated the airwaves in that fist-pounding, head-banging era. Rock of Ages comes to CN Centre on May 10, bringing with it Heaven Isn’t Too Far Away, Don’t Stop Believin’, To Be With You, I Wanna Rock, Nothin’ But A Good Time, Wanted (Dead Or Alive), Here I Go Again, and a hotshot playlist of power-rock. The play hits the high notes of Pat Benatar, Quiet Riot, Night Ranger, Damn Yankees, Styx, Starship, Joan Jett, Quarterflash and many more familiar artists. In addition to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductions, Grammy Awards and platinum records garnered by the original artists, this musical theatre
production also earned five Tony Award nominations (including best musical, sound, costume, direction and lead actor) and won the Theatre World Award for the acting of original cast member Wesley Taylor. Since it opened in 2009, it has opened the curtain on more than 2,300 performances on Broadway alone. It has also toured internationally and was made into a 2012 major motion picture with an all-star cast (Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin and many more in support of lead actors Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta). “It’s 1987 on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip when a small-town girl meets a big city rocker,” said CN Centre general manager Glen Mikkelsen by way of synopsis. “As they fall in love in L.A.’s most famous rock club, Rock of Ages allows fans to rock out once again to their favorite ’80s hits.” The Prince George performance happens one night only. Tickets are on sale (starting at $49.50) at the CN Centre box office or on the TicketsNorth website. Winter & Spring 2019
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citizen scene
music
Hootstock
changing its tune for 2019 Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca Hootstock has come in to roost. The annual eclectic music festival near 100 Mile House is not shutting the gate, but it is getting closer to home. The show was having success, so much so that the handmade event needed to settle down or risk flying the coop. “Well Hootstock 2018 was an incredible success. The artists performances were exceptional as always, with 30-plus acts on five stages over the weekend,” said Steve Roy, one of the main organizers. “Unfortunately as with a lot of small festivals we struggle with the ‘commercial’ success of Hootstock,” Roy continued. “Our
family and friends have always subsidized the event by supplying the sound equipment, countless hours of labour and much in-kind support as well as thousands of dollars each year.” If the family and friends put in a lot of time, supplies and money, Roy and his wife Astrid Hensey lived and breathed it, almost year-round. Roy said there was a lot of love for the Hootstock event, but there was also a lot of apathy around their town and it was taking the fun out of the experience. “Astrid personally spent so much time and effort before the event on advertising, community outreach, social media, and during the event making sure everyone was happy and fed that she mostly missed
citizen scene
theatre
Two Prince George shows set for
Menopause: The Musical 20
Winter & Spring 2019
the performances and visiting with friends that we see on an infrequent basis,” he said. “For myself personally, and my buddies, we spent a week before setting up and a week after breaking down. So needless to say we get fairly burnt out. Coupled with the lack of commercial success as far as getting folks out to the event and the total lack of local support, we have decided to change things up.” The festival will go on, but it will be simplified. Instead of the spacious Forest Grove community grounds, the show will go on with a new name reflecting the new location. “For 2019 and beyond it will be called Homestock and it will be held at our farm in Forest Grove the same weekend, third one in July,” Roy said. “This event will be word-of-mouth only with invitations sent out to previous supporters of Hootstock. The event will not technically be a public event. The performances will not be as intense, so only one main performance stage, with a jam stage, so a little more casual.” That’s not to say there won’t be effort put into the presentation. Roy, Hensey and festival friends will be building a new mainstage plus a community kitchen “and
some artwork in the forest, something I’ve wanted to do for years.” The farm already has ample camping, drinking water, outhouses and those basic amenities. Musicians are invited to perform, but there is now a formula for payment in lieu of contractual guarantees. Acts will get remuneration based on a combination of their playing time in balance with attendance revenues. The shows will also be set up for acts to record their sets either by video or audio feeds through the sound board. “We are encouraging anyone that would like to perform to contact us and we will see if we can fit you in. I’m sure we can,” said Roy. “We have already had much interest, so get a hold of us sooner than later. We are super stoked for what is to come and we didn’t want the idea of Hootstock to become extinct, so we have just evolved into another form. I am looking forward to what will be.” Anyone with an interest in attending Homestock or performing there can reach out at the previous event’s email address: hootstockfestival@gmail.com.
Citizen staff
Canadian cast joke about their woeful hot flashes, mood swings, wrinkles, weight gain, memory loss, too much sex, not enough sex and more. These women form a sisterhood and a unique bond with the audience as they rejoice in celebrating that menopause is not “The Silent Passage” anymore. The laugh out loud, 90-minute production, gets audiences out of their seats and singing along to brilliant parodies from 25 classic hit songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. The hilarious musical has been seen by millions and entertained audiences across the world. The show plays to consistently sold-out crowds from coast to coast, receiving standing ovations every night.
Menopause: The Musical will bring songs and laughter to Prince George for two shows at Vanier Hall on May 4. Ticket prices range from $65$55 (plus service charges and taxes). They are available via the TicketsNorth platforms. Menopause: The Musical is now in its 17th year of production. It is recognized as the longest-running scripted production in Las Vegas. This original Off-Broadway musical comedy is set in a department store where four women meet by chance while shopping for a black lace bra. After noticing unmistakable similarities with one another, the all-female, all-star
events
your source for Local
february
Current – May 15th Every Wednesday
Current – March 28th Every Thursday
Location: Nechako Branch, Prince George Public Library For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Teen Anime Hour – Nechako
Location: Nechako Branch, Prince George Public Library For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current - April 15th Every Monday
Wheelchair Basketball
Location: Northern Sport Centre, 3333 University Way For more info or tickets: northernadaptedsports.ca Current – May 14th Every Tuesday
Baby Time
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 14th Every Tuesday
Storytime
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 14th Every Tuesday
Reading Buddies
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 15th Every Wednesday
Double Digits
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 15th Every Wednesday
Lego Time
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Lego Time Nechako
Current – May 16th Every Tuesday & Thursday
Free Homework Help
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 22nd Every Wednesday
Dr. Tech by Appointment Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 23rd Every Thursday
February 25th
Stuffy Sleepover
February 26 & 27
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca February 25th
Northern Lights Mulled Wine Festival Location: Northern Lights Estate Winery, 745 Canfor Pulpmill Road For more info or tickets: northernlightswinery.ca February 26th
Dr. Tech: Computer Basics Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca February 26th
Logan McKillop & Madeline Roger
Location: Nancy O’s Restaurant For more info or tickets: facebook.com/Nancyospg/
Prince George Cougars Vs. Spokane Chiefs Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd. For more info or Tickets: ticketsnorth.ca
February 27th
Tens to Teens Gaming Hour
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Turn the page for more events!
Writers Lab
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 28th Every Tuesday
Teen Alliance
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Current – May 28th Every Tuesday
Wheelchair Rugby
Location: College of New Caledonia, 3330 22nd Avenue For more info or tickets: northernadaptedsports.ca Current – June 24th Every Monday
New Horizons Adult Band Location: First Baptist Church, 483 Gillett St. For more info or tickets: albanclassical.org February 25th
Pajama Storytime
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca Winter & Spring 2019
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February 27th
March 2nd
March 8th - 10th
March 22nd
Dr. Tech by Appointment Nechako
Taste of India
World Cup Indoor Soccer Tournament
Teen Fortnight Nerf – Spring Break
February 28th – March 20th Various Dates
March 2nd & 3rd
Location: Nechako Branch, Prince George Public Library For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Miracle Theatre – Ted Price and Anne Laughlin
Location: ArtSpace, Above Books & Co., 1685 3rd Avenue For more info or tickets: miracletheatre.ca
February 28 - March 20 Various Dates
Location: Prince George Civic Centre, 808 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: theatrenorthwest.com/tickets
Cariboo Cougars vs. North Island Silvertips
March 9th
March 4th - 27th Every Monday
March 9th
Location: Kin 1 Arena For more info or tickets: cariboocougars.ca
Teen Tabletop Meet Up
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca March 4th
Gaming Series for 19-30 yrs.
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Miracle Theatre presents the comedy, “Halfway There”
March 6th
Location: ArtSpace, Above Books & Co., 1685 3rd Avenue More info or tickets: miracletheatre.ca
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Minecraft Monday – Spring Break
March 6th
Refashion Without Rules
march
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
March 1st
2019 International Women’s Day Breakfast & Inspirational Stories Location: The Ramada Plaza, 444 George St. For more info or tickets: Tickets available at The Ramada Plaza Sales Office
March 8th & 9th
Cougars vs. Portland Winterhawks Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd. For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca March 8th – 10th
BC Ringette Provincials 2019
March 1st
TGIF Nerf
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Location: Kin Centre Ice Arenas, Kin 1, 2, 3 – 2187 Ospika Blvd S. & Elksentre Arena – 4833 Heather Rd. For more info or tickets: pgringette.ca
March 2nd
March 8th
Central Interior Heritage Expo
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
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Winter & Spring 2019
Location: Prince George Dome, 2588 Recplace Drive For more info or tickets: facebook.com/events/246399592705564/
International Womxn’s Day Punk Show Location: Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St. For more info or tickets: ominecaartscentre.com
Dining in the Dark
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
WINNER! March 22
Location: Coast Inn of the North, 770 Brunswick Street For more info or tickets: cnib.ca
2 0 1 3 T O N Y AWA R D
®
Pineo & Loeb, Inc. Line Elevation Tour & Special Guests
Location: Heartbreakers, 1192 5th Avenue For more info or tickets: facebook.com/events/761629180883390/ March 9th
REAPS Annual General Meeting
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: reaps.org March 13th
Gardening Series: Growing and Using Herbs Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca March 16th
Cougars vs. Kamloops Blazers Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd. For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca March 16th
Kinky Boots - The MusiCAL Location: CN Centre, VENUEOspika NAME GOESBlvd. HERE 2187 DATE XX - DATE XX For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca KINKYBOOTSTHEMUSICAL.COM
March 23rd
Colin James & Band Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd. For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca March 23rd
Scotch & Social March Event
Location: Theatre Northwest, #36-556 North Nechako Road For more info or tickets: theatrenorthwest.com March 28th – April 17th Various Dates
Theatre NorthWest Family Gaming Afternoons Presents: Meet My Sister! Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca March 19th
Sensory Storytime – Spring Break
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca March 22nd
Yoga Adventures – Spring Break
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Location: Theatre Northwest, #36-556 North Nechako Road For more info or tickets: theatrenorthwest.com March 31st
Alban Classical presents: A Sunday Afternoon Concert – 1920-60 Jazz Favourites Location: Trinity United Church, 3555 5th Avenue For more info or tickets: albanclassical.org
april April 1st
Gaming Series for 19-30 yrs. Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca April 4th - 7th
2019 Kelly Cup
Location: Prince George Golf & Curling Club, 2601 Recplace Dr. For more info or tickets: facebook.com/events/1148485685326957/ April 5th & 6th
Friends of the Library Book Sale
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca April 6th
Theresa Caputo The Experience - Live! Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd. For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca April 13th
Reveen – The Legend Continues Location: Vanier Hall, 2901 Griffiths Ave. For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca April 20th
PG Crime Stoppers Spring 2019 Shred It Fundraiser Location: CN Centre Parking Lot, 2187 Ospika Blvd. For more info or tickets: site.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca April 24th
Dr. Tech by Appointment Nechako
April 27th
May 12th
Bel Canto Choirs Spring Contest
Alban Classical presents: A Sunday Afternoon Concert – Obbligato
Location: Our Saviours Lutheran Church, 3590 Dufferin Ave. For more info or tickets: facebook.com/BelCantoChoirsPG
Location: Trinity United Church, 3555 5th Avenue For more info or tickets: albanclassical.org
April 27th
Climb for Cancer 4th Annual Event
Location: Northern Lights Estate Winery, 745 Prince George Pulpmill Rd. For more info or tickets: facebook.com/climbforcancerpg/
May 10 & 11
Prince George Quilters’ Guild Presents ‘Fly Into Spring’ Quilt Show Location: Prince George Golf & Curling Club More info or tickets: princegeorgequiltersguild.ca
may
May 10th May 4th
Menopause the Musical Location: Vanier Hall For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca
Rock of Ages –Tenth Anniversary Tour Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd For more info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca
May 18th
Family Gaming Afternoons
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca May 26th
O Sole Trio
Location: The Prince George Playhouse, 2626 Recplace Dr For more info or tickets: pgso.com May 29th
Dr. Tech by Appointment Nechako Location: Nechako Branch, Prince George Public Library For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
May 6th
Theatre NorthWest presents: Jack and the Bean Location: Theatre NorthWest, #36-556 North Nechako Road For more info or tickets: theatrenorthwest.com May 6th
Gaming Series for 19-30 yrs.
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca May 9th
8 & 9 Nerf With Moms
Location: Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
Location: Nechako Branch, Prince George Public Library For more info or tickets: pgpl.ca
May 3 - 4
Fancon 5 Location: CN Centre, 2187 Ospika Blvd. More info or tickets: ticketsnorth.ca
Winter & Spring 2019
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