What kind of New Year's resolutions have you set for yourself? If one of them is to either get out and meet new people or to exercise your creative spirit, then you're in luck as there's lots of great options to choose from.
If it's something in the visual arts that you're looking for, the Kelowna Art Gallery is accepting registrations for its Winter art classes and workshops for youth and adults. Classes start in January and run through early March.
Registration is now underway and the gallery encourages creative types to take advantage of these high-quality, intimate classes. Anyone registering before Jan. 11 will receive at 10 per cent discount. For more information, you can either go online to
kelownaartgallery.com, drop by the gallery or give them a call at 250-762-2226.
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If it's music lessons you've always been promising yourself, then the Kelowna Community School is a really good place to start.
The school offers classes for beginners to advanced students. While the best time to register is in September, there are some instructors who will accept students in different disciplines in January. To find out more, give the school a call at 250-860-1737 or go to their website at kelownacommunitymusicschool.ca.
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The Lake Country Art Gallery has a new exhibition opening Wednesday, Jan. 9, called Things I Bumped Into in The Dark. It features contemporary art from Okanagan based artists. It will also feature abstract paintings of Montreal-based artist Lesley Anderson, the mixed media, painterly collages of Newfoundland-based artist Danny Woodrow, photo vignettes based on walks taken in Nelson by Toronto-based artist Sandra Rechico, and the site-specific, photo-based work of Vancouver-based artist Joey Dubuc and Vancouver / Kelowna-based artist Kristoff Steinruck.
The show will run through to Feb. 8 with two different artist talks. The first features River Lewis, Julia Prudhumme and Kevin Spetifore on Saturday, Jan. 12. The second talk is listed as Art Historical & Contemporary Connections Talk with Laura Wylie on Saturday, Feb. 2. For more information, contact the Lake Country Art Gallery at lakecountryartgallery.ca or give the gallery a call at 250-766-1299.
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The Kiwanis Performing Arts Festival is accepting registrations at kelownakiwanisfestival.com.
This year, they're bringing back the dance discipline. I'll be curious to see how this does. Once upon a time, the dance portion was extremely popular and for many dancers in the city, it was a goal to work towards from the time the Christmas shows ended through to competition date.
However, the Kelowna Kiwanis Festival decided to pull the pin on the dance component a few years back.
Since then, the Great Canadian Dance Competition has come in and picked up the competitors.
I hope dancers will consider participating in both events. Time will tell.
As for the rest of the festival, there are all different age categories, including an open category where adults can compete.
Disciplines range from solo piano to choral groups; spoken word to strings.
To learn more about the festival, check out the website listed at the beginning of this piece or give the office a call at 250-860-5033.
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The Kelowna Art Gallery has announced a fundraiser on March 23 called Appetite for Art. It's the most significant fundraiser of the year.
Guests will walk the red carpet into a sparkling wine reception, followed by dinner that brings 15 culinary offerings from five of the region's finest chefs.
There will be art work from
40 different artists on display, open for display and to be bid on.
The evening culminates with a live auction on selected works of art and some highly valued non-art items, such as get-aways, dining packages and entertainment night outs.
For more information on tickets, give the gallery a call at
250-762-2226.
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There's an interesting conference coming up for those interested in music fueled by faith. The Levite Summit will take place at Willow Park Church Feb. 15 and 16.
It will offer training for musicians, dancers and artists.
You can find all the information you'd need at levitesummit.com.

- Glenna Turnbull is a freelance writer who has covered the Okanagan arts and entertainment scene for many years. Her column appears each Thursday in eVent. Email
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