Saturday, February 25, 2023

Two more local events to celebrate Black History Month in Niagara

 With Black History Month set to come to a close for another year later this week, just a quick reminder about a couple of local events happening in downtown St. Catharines that are very worthy of your consideration.

The always adventurous Suitcase in Point theatre is partnering with BlackOwned 905, Niagara Artists Centre, Meridian Credit Union and Future Black Female to host a variety show for Black residents to showcase their talents in recognition of Black History Month.

Residents who participate will get paid to do so but the show is free admission if you wish to attend as a spectator.  The deadline to apply to perform is now passed but you can still catch the show later today from 4 to 7 pm,   There will also be a vendor market hosted by BlackOwned 905 in addition to the talent show.

If you're interested in going, stop by the Niagara Artists Centre on St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines this afternoon.

Next Saturday, March 4th, although technically after the end of Black History Month, will be the evening you can catch an important film screening at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

The film is The Scar of Shame, directed by Frank Perugini in 1929 and featuring an all-Black cast.  Produced by Colored Players Film Corporation in Philadelphia, the silent film is a social melodrama about an impoverished young woman who escapes her abusive father and is rescued by an aspiring composer.

This is a co-production with the Film House at the PAC and our local professional chamber ensemble Gallery Players, and the players will actually perform live improvised music during the screening, much as it would have been back in 1929 when the film first premiered.

This is really a lost art form and when you come right down to it, the musical success of such a venture comes from it not actually being noticed, as it is just a seamless package.

Performers for the evening will be Douglas Miller on flute, Eric Mahar on guitars, and Penner Mackay on percussion.  Local film critic and curator of the Movie Night series, Joan Nicks, will provide the introduction to the performance at 6:45 pm next Saturday evening.

For tickets or more information go to either the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre or Gallery Players websites and you should be able to link up from there.

Have a great weekend!

February 25th, 2023.

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Black History Month events continue downtown at the PAC

 I know Tuesday is Valentine's Day and all, but it's a manufactured holiday and I will be spending it alone again this year anyways, so why bother writing about it?!

Instead, I thought I would update you on the events still to come this month at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines relating to Black History Month.

There's been plenty to take in already and the next week or so will continue with several events planned, beginning with a couple of Film House presentations this evening.  

At 6 pm there will be a screening of the U.S. film from 2018, "Sorry to Bother You", the debut film for director Boots Riley.  It's an R-rated film starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Jermaine Fowle and is presented by The Film House in collaboration with the Brock University Communication, Popular Culture and Film Student Society.

This is part of the Essential Cinema program designed to bring student-led programming to Niagara and basically form part of a list of films deemed to be must-see.  Each film in the series will be preceded by a short presentation by the student programmers.

"Sorry to Bother You" follows Cassius "Cash" Green as he starts a new job at a telemarketing company.  The film comments on race, class division and the dark side of American business, and the role of Green proved to be a breakout role for Lakeith Stanfield.

Reserved seating can be booked by contacting the PAC box office; tickets are general admission and there is a discount for Film House members.

At 9 tonight there is the second of three screenings this month of another Film House presentation, Saint Omer, with the final screening coming up Thursday of this week at 2 pm.  Directed by Alice Diop and rated PG-13, this film came out just last year and is in fact France's official Oscar entry this year.

Starring Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda and Valerie Dreville, Saint Omer follows the novelist Rama, who attends the trial of a mother accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her on a beach in northern France, leaving her to fall victim to the rising tide.  But what comes out at the trial it turns out shakes Rama's convictions and calls into question our own judgment.

Seating is once again reserved with a discount for Film House members, and the film is in French with English subtitles.

Moving over to Partridge Hall for a live music event, the PAC presents the acclaimed Nathaniel Dett Chorale in a programme entitled "Harriet Tubman:  When I Crossed That Line to Freedom".  It's a two-act opera that tells the story of Harriet Tubman, the legendary Underground Railroad conductor who began life as a slave herself.  The story is told in the context of Tubman's tight-knit family of lively characters, based on recent biographies of Tubman.

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is Canada's first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles and was founded and is still directed by Artistic Director and conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.

Their namesake, of course, had close ties to Niagara.

The performance takes place a week from tonight, February 18th at 7:30 pm and tickets are available through the PAC box office.

Finally on Sunday, February 19th at 2 pm there's another Film House presentation at the PAC, the U.S. film from 2021 entitled "In Our Mothers' Gardens", directed by Shantrelle P. Lewis.  Rated NR, the film celebrates the strength and resiliency of Black women and Black families through the complex and often humorous relationships between mothers and daughters.

The film stars Tarana Burke Tina Farris and Shantrelle P. Lewis.

This is a free screening and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Moderator Sodienye Waboso Amajor, a Dora-nominated Nigerian/Canadian artist living and working here in Ontario.  Panelists are Katwe Henry, Nicola Hasmatali and Chidera.

There is lots to discover this month celebrating Black History Month, both at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines and various other locations around Niagara and indeed Ontario as well.  Take the time if you can to see what you can discover this month and throughout the coming year!

Have a great weekend.

February 11th, 2023.