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 summer draws to a close and the Labour Day weekend approaches on Vancouver Island, my thoughts wander to the cool and wet weather of fall. I wonder if I will actually miss the summer heat that is beating down on Nanaimo as I write this newsletter. 

There is plenty to still enjoy in this last week of August, from the Summer Splash event at Westwood Lake Park on Wednesday evening to the final Commercial Street Night Market of the year on Thursday and a picnic party on Departure Bay Beach on Saturday.

Check out these events and more below.

Thank you for reading, 

Mick Sweetman

🖊️ What you said ⌨️

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“Coverage of what's happening.”

—  Merrick Anderson, from our newsletter survey

🔎 Watch for 🔍

Hush Pup will bring their brand of dreamy pop to The Vault Cafe with Vancouver’s KCAR and The Sheds on Thursday, Aug. 28. Photo courtesy of Mick Sweetman.

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

Let us know by sending Mick an email.

🎵 Listen 🎤

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m.: Power trio cover band Kevin's Bacon will play classic rock and 90s tunes at the End of Summer Splash in Westwood Lake Park as the final performance in the City of Nanaimo’s free Concerts in the Park series. There will also be games and crafts, swim lesson assessment with lifeguards and water safety tips with the city’s water safety education team. 

Thursday, Aug. 28, 9 p.m: KCAR, Hush Pup and The Sheds will play dream pop, indie rock, power pop and electro tinged rock at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $15. 

Friday, Aug. 29, noon: Doc Fingers will perform at Heritage Mews as part of the Old City Quarter’s free Sounds of Summer concert series. 

Friday, Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m.: The Blisters will play at The Queen’s. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door. 

Friday, Aug. 29, 8 p.m.: AHRF and The Shindigs will play an all-ages indie rock show at The Globe Live Studio. Tickets cost $10 in advance or $15 at the door. 

Friday, Aug. 29, 8 p.m.: Mexico City’s one-man punk band Octopoulpe will play The Terminal with Berlin’s experimental musician BÖ.SENBERG. Tickets cost $15.

Saturday, Aug. 30, 6:30 p.m.: Focused will play smooth jazz vibes at The Queen’s with support from Two Towns Apart. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

Sunday, Aug. 31, 3 p.m.: Blue Moon Marquee, Ida Diana Maidstone, Elise Boulanger and band, NEAVV and Brookie Boi will play at the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association's Picnic in the Plaza 2025 in Diana Krall Plaza.

Sunday, Aug. 31, 3 p.m.: The Michael Patrick Blues Band will play the Sunday Blues Jam at The Queen’s. Tickets cost $10.

🎭 View 🖼️

Thursday, Aug. 28, 5 p.m.: Join Germaine Koh in a playful art installation, League Nanaimo, on Thursday nights during the Commercial Street Night Market as she turns the Nanaimo Art Gallery into an experimental arena where visitors are welcome to jump, throw, dance, run and touch — all actions that are usually frowned upon in art museums. The theme this week is “Chess IRL.”

Friday, Aug. 29, noon: Register yourself or bring a group for a lunchtime tour of the Nanaimo Art Gallery’s current exhibition, League Nanaimo. Tickets cost $5 or are free for members.

Saturday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m.: Join Germaine Koh for a League Nanaimo community event in May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park. Free and suitable for all ages, drop in anytime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

⛹️ Meet 🎲

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 5 p.m.: Kate Braid and Daniela Elza will launch of their hot off-the-press memoirs, The Erotics of Cutting Grass by Kate Braid and, Is This an Illness or an Accident? by Daniela Elza at the Nanaimo Harbourfront Library.

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 5:30 p.m.: The Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club’s Fiver Race Series is back at Westwood Lake’s Full Binx trail. Entry is $5. 

Thursday, Aug. 28, 5 p.m.: The final Commercial Street Night Market of the season features artisan vendors, food trucks, musical performances, a vibrant kids’ zone and a new inclusive zone creating a festive family atmosphere.

Thursday, Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m.: Western Edge Theatre will hold its beer and burger Variety Act Fundraiser at The Queen’s. Tickets cost $35. 

Friday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m.: Doctors for Safer Drug Policy will gather at Nanaimo City Hall and then march to St. Pauls Anglican Church to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. People are asked to wear purples shirts to show support. 

Friday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m.: There will be an event at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for Overdose Awareness Day with a resources memory tree and naloxone training hosted by Island Health. 

Saturday, Aug. 30, 3 p.m.: The Picnic Party at Departure Bay Beach will feature Zumba, live music, swimming and games on the grass and in the water. Funds raised will go to the Nanaimo District Hospital Foundation’s NRGH Employee Wellness Fund. 

Sunday, Aug. 31, 1 p.m.: Make a paper dice to prompt your drawing and create your own game in Art Lab Sunday at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Free for members, $5 for non-members. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

Monday, Sept. 1, 11 a.m.: The Nanaimo Duncan and District Labour Council will celebrate Labour Day with live music, face painting, bouncy castles and free hotdogs at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith. 

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