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Lexi Bainas column: Top talent just can’t resist a chance to play Cowichan Valley

From Jann Arden, Dean Brody, and MacMaster and Leahy to Jack Knox: they know a good crowd
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Cowichan fans have nearly trampled themselves hurrying to secure tickets for Canadian diva, Jann Arden, who plays the Cowichan Theatre on Nov. 19, to a sold-out crowd. (Submitted)

The Cowichan Performing Arts Centre is welcoming Canadian superstar Jann Arden this coming Monday.

Don’t bother trying to get a ticket, though. The show, not unexpectedly, is sold out.

That’s just another indication of the quality of talent that is being brought to the Cowichan Valley’s biggest stage.

Still in November, fans can enjoy performances by Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy — Canada’s first family of Celtic music — on Nov. 25, and Dean Brody — country megastar — on Nov. 29, and a variety of other shows.

Check out cowichanpac.ca for more details. I’ll have more on both shows next week.

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Fans of the Times Colonist’s Jack Knox will be interested in this note I received from Heritage House Publishing. The author will be at Volume One Books from 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24 to chat and sign your copy of his latest book, On the Rocks with Jack Knox: Islanders I Will Never Forget.

The book, a collection of stories about remarkable people who shape the unique culture of Vancouver Island, shows a more serious side of Knox, who is best known for his humorous writings.

“While On the Rocks does have some laughs in it, it is not primarily a humour book,” Knox says.

“Rather,” he adds, “it’s a book about ordinary people among us who have led extraordinary lives. They’re the ones I stumbled across in a career spent poking my nose around Vancouver Island.”

Knox’s two previous books, Hard Knox: Musings from the Edge of Canada and Opportunity Knox: Twenty-Years of Award-Losing Humour Writing, were B.C. bestsellers that were both considered for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 2017 and 2018.

Knox says part of his inspiration for writing On the Rocks comes from the trust he receives from people who share their stories with him. Often these are personal stories that have never been revealed to anyone.

“It’s a big deal to let a stranger enter your life and package you up for public consumption,” he says. “After 40 years in newspapers, I sometimes take this for granted. I shouldn’t.”

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Everyone knows by now that Eagle Eyes, the new hit Eagles tribute act, has strong roots in Lake Cowichan but now I hear from Ross Forrest that his cousin, Steve, is starring as Tom Petty in the tribute show, Pure Petty, coming to the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre on Friday, Nov. 23, starting at 7 p.m.

Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/events/495088777639655/.

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Vicky Gamble has sent me a note saying: “The students of the Cowichan Valley International Student Program are holding a Music Showcase on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Frances Kelsey Secondary School to raise money for the Starfish Foundation, a local, Rotary-based foundation that provides backpacks of food to children in the Cowichan Valley that need it. The international students are using their talent to spread awareness of this local cause and would love for the public to attend! Admission is by donation, with many great prizes to be raffled off.”

This is another one not to miss.

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Chemainus Classical Concerts’ Ann Mendenhall says her group is “thrilled” about their second concert of the season on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m.

Called “Transcendental Genius”, it features “pianist extraordinaire Shoko Inoue” who will be sharing “the spiritual heights and depths of masterworks by Schubert, Carl Vine and Liszt. I always employ well-deserved superlatives when describing these concerts, but in this case I struggle to find any that match my feelings about this performer,” Mendenhall says, pointing out that reviewers worldwide have raved about Inoue.

Shoko Inoue is a Steinway artist and Tom Lee Music of Victoria will be supplying the piano.

Instead of its usual venue, this concert will take place at the Chemainus United Church with the audience returning down the street to St. Michael’s for the “Meet the Artist” reception.

For ticket information, go to www.ChemainusClassicalConcerts.ca or phone Eleanor at 250-748-8383 to reserve your seat in advance.