SURREY — What can we do on a rainy day? We’ve had so many of them this spring, so the wise money is on planning indoor activities. Eat. Read. Take kids to a live show. Oh yes, I have a great list of things to do that are not reliant on the sun shining through.
Eat. Jill Tunbridge is mounting a fundraiser for Flamenco Del Mar, her dance company. Spanish Nights is Thursday, May 18, 6 to 9 pm at the Hemingway Pub House, 14995 Marine Drive, White Rock. Of course you will do more than eat – you get dance performances as well as your choice of burgers and beverages. Tickets are $25, available at Christopher’s Chocolates &Gifts, at 12894 16th Ave., South Surrey. Need more info? Email Jill at jilltunbridge@hotmail.com for information.
I keep thinking that I will someday take flamenco lessons. And I would take them from Jill, for sure. She takes regular trips to Spain to keep current with this art form, and she is definitely passionate about being creative in more than just dance. She has written an e-book – “for the movie theatre of your mind,” she says. Called Fairy of The Night and Still, the book is now available at Smashwords.com for $4.99 (USD). This fairy tale is best read aloud, to someone you love. Close your eyes and open your imagination, so that it’s wide, wide open. Good for those rainy days.
Read. Surrey Youth Theatre Company, or SYTCO, presents The Boxcar Children on Saturday, May 13 (7 p.m. curtain) and Sunday, May 14 (3 p.m.) at Kent Street Activity Centre, 1475 Kent St., White Rock. Sponsored by The City of White Rock, Peninsula Arts Foundation and Semiahmoo Arts, this production’s wonderful tale of courage appeals to children as well as adults. The book of the same title, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, is recommended by the National Education Association as one of the top 100 books for children, and the story has been adapted for the stage by Barbara Field. All seats for this show are $10, and tickets are available at the door. The show is recommended for kids aged six and older.
Yes, May 14 is Mother’s Day, so this performance includes a special Mother’s Day Tea. Surrey Youth Theatre Company, noted for its theatre education and for past 20 years, has brought books to life on stage. For more details about the show and company, visit Surreyyouththeatre.ca, or email sytco@shaw.ca. The internet always works on rainy days.
So you don’t actually have to read a book in order to understand the content. But reading a book – a real, actual printed book – is a great rainy-day activity. It seems that kids these days are more interested in digital delights, and are reading regular books less and less. So here is a shout-out to Surrey Libraries and its collaboration with other libraries throughout the region on the Grand Reading Link Challenge.
For the second year in a row, a Surrey team won the Grand Reading Link Challenge! Congratulations to Erma Stephenson Elementary, which topped 166 teams in 32 Surrey schools as well as teams from Coquitlam, Port Moody, North Van City and Fraser Valley. This year’s Challenge was hosted by Surrey Libraries at Kwantlen Polytechnic University on May 3. Teams of six children from Grades 4 and 5 read and become familiar with a set of six selected books. For the challenge, they answer questions about the characters, plots and settings – more than just reading, it’s about understanding. Being able to read is a great gift. Don’t squander it. And you don’t need to save it for a rainy day.
Maybe we won’t have so many rainy days by the time June gets here, but just in case, here is a flash announcement: Pacific Showtime Men’s Chorus has added an extra performance of Private Eyes, a comedic, musical murder-mystery, on Wednesday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. The scheduled two shows sold out in two weeks, so get in on your chance for this extra performance, at Crescent Legion (branch 240), at 2643 128th St., South Surrey. Tickets can be ordered from any chorus member, through their website, Pacificshowtime.com, or by calling Denny O’Donovan at 604-536-7983. May the only thunder we hear will be thunderous applause!