1. St. Patrick’s Day is still a week away, but perhaps you want to get into the spirit early during Surrey Museum’s Celtic Fest, happening Saturday (March 12) at the facility in Cloverdale. From 1 to 4 p.m., expect to hear and see plenty of Irish and Scottish entertainers and artists, including Gerry Bradley and Sasha Pawluik (of the band Small Potatoes), accordion player Allen Barnett, SFU Highland Dancers, Steel School of Irish Dance and bagpiper Kyle Banta. Also, members of the Westcoast Calligraphic Society will be doing demos, and I’ve heard that bagpipe lessons will be part of the fun. More details are online at Surrey.ca/heritage, or call 604-592-6956.
2. Songs are performed in English, French and Spanish during “Piaf and So Much More,” a concert featuring Winnipeg-born singer/songwriter Joëlle Rabu this Saturday night (March 12) at Centre Stage. Rabu has been described as “Edith Piaf, Bette Midler and Carol Burnett all rolled into one extraordinary performer,” and she’s currently touring with her pianist son, Nico Rhodes. As a bonus, show-goers will be among the first to hear about the next season of programming at 200-seat theatre, located at Surrey City Hall. Show time is 8 p.m., and tickets are available by calling 604-501-5566 or clicking on Tickets.surrey.ca.
3. Want some poetry served with your honey? Join Surrey’s poet laureate, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, local poet Heidi Greco and Dr. Mark Winston for “Honey, Hives and Poetry,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 15 at City Centre Library. The event will offer a sweet mix of poetry reading, writing workshop and honey tasting, the latter thanks to Winston, a bee scientist, SFU prof and author of “Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive,” winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award (2015) for non-fiction. Event admission is free, but guests are encouraged to pre-register by calling 604-598-7426. More details are posted at Surreylibraries.ca/programs-services/5843.aspx.
tom.zillich@thenownewspaper.com