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On Monday night, dozens of community members wearing orange shirts packed the gallery of the Nanaimo city council meeting to ask that an upcoming show by outrage comedian Ben Bankas at the city-funded Port Theatre be cancelled. 

It was an emotional and sometimes raucous affair as Nanaimo resident Benjamin Bollich put some of Bankas’ offensive jokes about residential “schools”, the killing of Renee Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis and racialized immigrants on the public record as he presented to council. 

As city council debated a motion to publish a statement and send a letter to The Port Theatre asking it to review its booking policies, people in the gallery turned their backs on Mayor Leonard Krog and Coun. Ian Thorpe who opposed the motion, citing concerns about government censorship. 

We spoke with local residents who attended the meeting as well as experts on how municipalities and venues can respond when performers or groups with values that don’t align try to book city-funded spaces.  

As anyone who has waded through the online discourse about this controversy on Facebook knows, Bankas is a polarizing performer and his increased notoriety has led to a sold-out show in Nanaimo next month.

Originally, we were not sure if this rated a full story as we are cautious about not giving more attention and a platform to someone who feeds off division and converts it into his own financial gain.  

However, once it became apparent that Nanaimo city council was going to take action, as limited as a simple statement and a letter to The Port Theatre is, we saw that this story moved into the public interest and we wanted to contribute to coverage that went a little deeper than just a play-by-play of the council debate. 

You can read my story below and, as always, we are open to hearing what you think about the issue. You can email us at nanaimo@thediscourse.ca and we may print thoughtful letters to the editor that are 100 words or less in our next newsletter. 

Thank you for reading,

Mick Sweetman

🖊️ What you said ⌨️

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“Well rounded list of events that I otherwise wouldn’t know about. Interesting content. Very pleasing to the eye. Thank you for creating it.”

— Ashley, from our newsletter survey

Why Nanaimo city council won't ban Ben Bankas

Community members want proceeds of sold-out show by outrage comedian to be donated to Nanaimo Pride and Indigenous organizations.

The Discourse is teaming up with Cowichan Valley International Women’s Day again to host a unique event featuring regional changemakers and artists. They’ll be speaking to issues affecting women, including non-binary folks, on Vancouver Island and beyond. This year’s guiding question for the event is: How does consent make for a better community?

You are invited to join us on Sunday, March 8, at 11 a.m., at the Cowichan Public Art Gallery, traditional and unceded Quw'utsun' territory.

Speakers include:

Debra Toporowski, (Qwulti'stunaat), Cowichan Valley MLA

Corina Fitznar, educator and literacy specialist

Kiera Chealine, Indigenous poet, mother and advocate

And more

To cover the costs of hosting this event, we charge a small fee. If this cost poses a barrier to entry, please just show up. No one will be turned away.

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

Let us know by sending Mick an email.

🎵 Listen 🎤

Thursday, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.: The Keep Right Jazz Quartet and friends will play the Green Olive Pub. Admission is free. 

Thursday, Feb. 26, 9 p.m.: Hollerado frontman Menno Versteeg will play an indie rock show with special guests at The Vault Café. Tickets cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door. 

Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.: Uncle Strut & The Shindigs at The Globe Live Studio. Limited tickets available at the door.

Friday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.: Nirvana Tribute: Unplugged in Nanaimo will perform at The Queen’s. Tickets cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

Saturday, Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m.: Ophelia Falling, Witchkiller, Valley Of Despair and Caedmon's Dream will play a metal show at The Globe Live Studio. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door. 

Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.: Dan Bandeira Parker and friends play Kurt Cobain's classics with Soft Serve Nirvana, a fundraiser for a sauna at Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community. Suggested donation is $10.

Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.: Open mic poetry love edition presented by Speak Up! Nanaimo will be held at 577 Fifth St. Admission is free.

Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m.: Mark Crissinger will headline the Sunday Blues Jam hosted by the Nanaimo Blues Society at The Queen’s. Tickets cost $10.

Tuesday, March 3, 8 p.m.: Bob Wiseman and Mike Boguski from Blue Rodeo will unveil The Vault Cafe’s new piano and “take turns dismantling and reimagining what a solo piano set can be.” Advance tickets cost $30 or are $35 at the door. 

Tuesday, March 3, 8 p.m.: Smut Slam, the “internationally infamous adult only storytelling open mic” will be in Nanaimo for a one night stand at Sip Neighbourhood Pub. Tickets cost $15.

🎭 View 🖼️

Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.: Men On Boats, the “true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane-yet-loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River,” runs at The Bailey Studio until March 8. Tickets cost $28. 

Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.: Clown Fish, “Paul Tedeschini’s story of loss, the power of choice and a healing journey that continues to this day,”  runs at the OV Arts Centre until March 1. Tickets cost $28 for adults, $24 for seniors and $15 for youth under 30. 

Friday, Feb. 27, noon: Take a lunchtime tour of Bleached by the Sun: Perspectives on Chinatown at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Tickets cost $5.

Friday, Feb. 27, 4 p.m.: Opening reception for the exhibition Convergent featuring new work by Anne Ramsden, Jesse Gray, and Yvonne Vander Kooi at the VIU VIEW Gallery. Admission is free. 

Sunday, March 1, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.: A small town in France preparing to welcome a Ukrainian refugee family is surprised when a Syrian family shows up instead, in Julie Delpy’s touching comedy of integration, Meet the Barbarians (Les Barbares). The film is screening at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre’s Shaw auditorium. Tickets cost $15. 

Sunday, March 1, 4 p.m.: Miss Boots (Mlle Bottine), a film about a troubled opera composer who adopts an 11-year old orphan, will screen at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre’s Shaw auditorium. Tickets cost $15. 

Wednesday, March 4, 6 p.m.: The VIU Muslim Women’s Club will screen Sudan, Remember Us in Building 200, Room 203 at Vancouver Island University. Admission is free.

⛹️ Meet 🎲

Thursday, Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m.: Haley Healey, a former education student at VIU, will read a chapter from On Their Own Terms: True Stories of Trailblazing Women of Vancouver Island on Emma Stark, the first African-Canadian school teacher on Vancouver Island in 1874. The reading is in recognition of Black Histories and Futures Month. The VIU/Portal Magazine Portfolio Series event will be held at The Vault Café.  

Friday, Feb. 27, 10:30 a.m.: Amel Aldehaib in conversation with Dr. Magnolia Pauker will discuss A Pan African Feminist Blueprint for Peace in Sudan on Microsoft Teams.

Friday, Feb. 27 to Sunday, March 1: The Central Vancouver Island Orchid Society’s Annual Orchid Show & Sale will showcase orchids in bloom with displays, sales and education at the Nanaimo North Town Centre.

Friday, Feb. 27, 4:30 p.m.: The Wounded Warriors Run will arrive in Nanaimo and be hosted for dinner at Royal Canadian Legion Mount Benson Branch 256. You can also join the runners for breakfast at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 10 on Saturday morning at 7:45 a.m. before they depart at 8:45 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 28, 4 p.m.: Join the Island Crisis Care Society as people walk on The Coldest Night of the Year in support of charities serving people experiencing “hurt, hunger and homelessness.” The walk will start at John Barsby Secondary School. 

Saturday, Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m.: The Nanaimo African Heritage Society presents the Harlem Night Black History Gala and Dinner at the Bowen Park Complex. Tickets cost $40.

Sunday, March 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Nanaimo Seedy Sunday is a local event where you can purchase locally produced seeds, participate in a seed exchange and gain knowledge to grow your own successful garden at Nanaimo District Secondary School.

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