Welcome to The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture. Did a friend forward this email to you? Subscribe to this newsletter.

As the rain and darkness, not to mention a weather bomb, descends on Vancouver Island it’s a good time to remind yourself to try and get out of the house and seize the sunshine when it pokes through the clouds. Or attend one of the many concerts, performances, exhibitions and events that Nanaimo’s vibrant arts community creates.

This week has everything from hardcore noise punk to classical cello concerts and kitschy Christmas markets. 

In other news, Vancouver Island University (VIU) professor Neil Surkan was appointed the City of Nanaimo’s new poet laureate for a two-year term following Kamal Parmar. 

Surkan — whose poetry explores issues of community, queer parenthood, isolation, anxiety and hope — has published two full-length poetry collections, three chapbooks and has hosted poetry readings and workshops.

He will be reading at a holiday poetry showcase at the Harbourfront Library on Thursday, Dec. 5 with youth poet laureate Paige Pierce. 

"My hope is that my time as laureate will offer spaces for creation and reflection to our community,” Surkan said in a press release. “Poetry, to me, is best reckoned with — and savoured! — together. It can be the language we share."

If poetry is your jam, you might also be interested in catching 93-year-old Donald Olds at The Vault Cafe on Thursday as he brings his Dancing Dog Poetry and Music show to the stage.

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🔎 Watch for 🔍

This Friday, KMVP’s Kristjanne Vosper will bring her “dark drizzle forest punk” to The Vault Cafe with Ida Maidstone and Toronto’s Output 1:1:1. Photo by Mick Sweetman / The Discourse.

🎵 Listen 🎤

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m.: The Vault Cafe will hold its weekly open mic night. 

Thursday, Nov. 21, 9 p.m.: Donald Olds, 93, will perform The Dancing Dog poetry and music show at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $10.

Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.: Belgian cello octet Ô-Celli will play at The Port Theatre. Tickets cost $44 or $24 for students.

Friday, Nov. 22, 9 p.m.: Latin electronica-Afrobeat-cumbia fusion band La Chuparosa will play with DJ Rebel Selector at The Terminal Bar. Tickets cost $15.

Friday, Nov. 22, 9 p.m.: Local icons Ida Maidstone and KMVP will play with Toronto avant-goth trio Output 1:1:1 at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $15. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 9 p.m.: Chlorine Time Machine will warp in from Vancouver with its experimental, hardcore noise punk, with Tall Mary and Shearing Pinx at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $15. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 p.m.: LongWalkShortDock will play music inspired by 1980s video game electronic music with TrashTicks and Ms.Wndrlnd at The Queen’s. Tickets cost $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

Sunday, Nov. 24, 3 p.m.: Island Soul Choir will introduce its new music director Tom Arntzen with a performance of songs by Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Blues Brothers and Jon Boutté at The Port Theatre. Tickets cost $31.50 for adults and $8.50 for high-school students and younger.

Got the inside scoop of an event you think should be shared? 

Let us know by sending Mick an email.

🎭 View 🖼️

Thursday, Nov. 21 to Saturday, Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m.: Unboxing Bravery, a performance by Andi Rogynous (Lauren Semple), will “challenge perceptions and cultivate greater understanding and acceptance of the Trans and gender non-conforming community” at the OV Arts Centre. Tickets cost $28 for adults.

Friday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.: The 17th annual Urban Issues Film Festival will explore the theme of the city as an oasis. The films will be screened in Building 256, room 109 at Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo campus. Geography professor Dr. Juliane Collard will give a keynote speech. Tickets, pizza and parking in Lot N are free. 

Saturday, Nov. 23 to Sunday, Nov. 24: The Nanaimo Arts Council's 26th Annual Nanaimo Artwalk features 60 artists in 20 venues in the downtown and Old City Quarter.

⛹️ Meet 🎲

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 10 a.m.: Grace Nosek, author of the “eco-feminist thriller” Ava of the Gaia and the “hopeful fantasy about climate activism” Rootbound, will give a virtual presentation at the Gabriola Island Library to talk about climate justice advocacy.

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 11 a.m.: A vigil for Transgender Day of Remembrance to remember people whose lives have been lost to anti-transgender violence will be held in the quad at VIU’s Nanaimo campus.

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6 p.m.: The Transgender Day of Remembrance will be marked with candlelight vigil at the Nanaimo Bastion in downtown Nanaimo. 

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6:30 p.m.: Journalist Brandi Morin will speak at VIU's Indigenous speakers series about her work the need for Canadians to confront the ongoing impacts of colonialism. The talk is at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre and registration is free. 

Friday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m.: Magnolia Pauker, a professor in Studies for Women and Gender at VIU, will give a talk on “philosophical journalism” and the idea of the intellectual interview as part of the Arts and Humanities Colloquium series at VIU. The lecture will take place in the Malaspina Theatre. 

Friday, Nov. 22, 4 p.m.: The Shanon Kelley Realty Group will hold a burgers and beer fundraiser and silent auction at the Moose Hall in support of the Nanaimo Hospital Palliative Care Ward. Tickets cost $23.

Friday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.:  VIU’s men’s and women’s volleyball teams play the Douglas College Royals at the VIU gym. Women’s game at 6 p.m., men’s game at 8 p.m. Tickets are free for VIU students or $6. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society’s One in Spirit Festival celebrates diversity, equity, anti-racism, and culture at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. The festival will feature live music, dance performances, a community art project, interfaith dialogue and a Global Village Fair — where different groups will share their stories, games, art and cultural artifacts. Tickets are free.

Saturday, Nov. 23, 1 p.m.: VIU’s men’s and women’s volleyball teams play the Douglas College Royals at the VIU gym. Women’s game at 1 p.m., men’s game at 3 p.m. Tickets are free for VIU students or $6. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.: The Nanaimo Conservatory of Music will hold its annual Christmas Tea Fundraiser featuring live music, a tea service, a silent auction and a bake sale at 375 Selby Street. Tickets cost $25. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.: Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling returns to the Centennial building on 2290 Bowen Rd. for its Headlocks for Hunger event benefiting the food bank. Tickets cost $20 or $15 for youth aged 6 to 12 with an adult.

🎄 Holiday markets 🧑‍🎄

Thursday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: The Cedar and Yellow Point self-guided Christmas tour will allow you to visit artists, crafters and farmers for all your holiday needs. 

Friday, Nov. 22 to Saturday, Nov. 23: A Christmas Market at Dover Bay Secondary School organized by the Parent Advisory Council at Randerson Ridge Elementary will feature 90 vendors, two food trucks and raffle baskets. Admission costs $2 for adults,  free for children under 12.

Friday, Nov. 22 to Sunday Nov. 24: The Nanaimo Christmas Village takes over Cavallotti Lodge. Entry is free with an option to donate to The Great Nanaimo Toy Drive. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Christmas Craft Fair at the Nanaimo Yacht Club to benefit the Loaves and Fishes food bank. Admission and parking is free. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 10a.m. to 6 p.m.: The holiday market and winter fair at Superior Farms in Lantzville will feature festive lights, music and holiday shopping. 

Saturday, Nov. 23, 11a.m. to 3 p.m.: A Christmas Market at Nanoose Bay Cafe. 

Sunday, Nov. 24, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Triple Moon Magical Winter Market will sell jewelry, candles, pottery, apothecary, crystals, clothing and decor and feature walk-in tarot readings at 76 Bastion Street.

See you around town,

— Mick and The Discourse team

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