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Lexi Bainas column: From ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to a backwoods after party

Frances Kelsey show, Sunfest ups its game, Imagine That! goes ‘en plein air’
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The Shimmy Mob will be performing in various places around the Valley on May 12 as part of a worldwide effort. (Submitted)

Frances Kelsey’s talented theatre students are putting on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland in the school theatre May 10, 11, and 12.

With a cast of more than 30 students, and featuring such favourite characters as the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat, not to mention Alice, director Anna Roberts and her team promise, “This show is bound to remind you of your childhood.”

Shows are at 7 p.m. nightly, with an extra 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, May 12.

Tickets are $15 each for adults, and $10 for students and seniors. Get them at Eventbrite.com, Mason’s Store in Shawnigan Lake, or at Ten Old Books in Duncan.

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The Cowichan Valley Shimmy Mob will again join their worldwide sisterhood of belly dancers — the world’s largest flashmob — on Saturday, May 12.

They will be performing at various venues around the Valley, so be sure to watch for them as they spread awareness of women’s issues and raise funds for local shelters.

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Holly Dias, the new marketing and public relations manager for Sunfest and Laketown Ranch, had some cool news to pass on this week.

Those folks who camp way up in the woods above Sunfest now have new things to look forward to.

First is the new Hilltop Hub in the upper campgrounds. Campers in Radar Hill, Outfield, Family and Canadian Tire can now enjoy showers, bathrooms, snacks and a water station only a few steps away from their campsite. There will also be a 24-hour security booth and First Aid tent.

The Hilltop Hub is just one of the big updates they’re working on this year at Laketown Ranch.

Something else to look forward to at Sunfest this year is the new Backwoods After Party.

After the last artist finishes on the main stage, head up to the Backwoods and dance the night away to your favourite local djs from 1 a.m. till late every night. There is no bar being offered but it will be a lot of fun right near those campsites.

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If you’ve been following Eagle Eyes — the Cowichan Valley’s wonderful new Eagles tribute act — you’ll be delighted to hear that they’ve got an unbelievable summer of gigs coming up including everything from Laketown Shakedown in their own hometown of Lake Cowichan on June 8 to seven dates in Oregon, four gigs in Washington State, several around the Lower Mainland and Interior of B.C. and several on the Island. And, according to band member, Jack Gunderson, “more dates are added regularly” to the list.

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Katie Daniel from Imagine That! is up and at ‘em this week with that collective’s May lineup of feature artists. Until June 1, look for Oil Paintings En Plein Air by Corrine Wilson and Joni Wilson, mother and daughter artists.“They spend a couple weeks a year on location, painting from nature in the Cowichan Valley or on the Gulf Islands, or in southern Alberta from Cochrane to the Waterton area. They paint with a group of similar-minded artists, hauling their gear into the bush, through rivers, or up mountain ridges for the perfect plein air locale.”

Also at Imagine That! is a display of pastels and watercolours by Doreen Green. A member of The Federation of Canadian Artists and The Society of Canadian Artists, her paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Toronto, Montreal, and western Canada.