Date of event June 13, 2013, 7-9pm
Location of event The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
 

Is democracy as we know it in danger? In the 2013 Milton K. Wong Lecture, one of America's leading political philosophers and public intellectuals revisits the case she made 20 years ago in Democracy on Trial, (originally broadcast as the 1993 Massey Lectures). Drawing on examples from America and other parts of the world, Jean Bethke Elshtain explored the politics of race, ethnicity and gender identity in an attempt to open up a dialogue and move us beyond sterile sectarian disputes. Like Democracy on Trial, Democracy on Trial Revisited will generate wide debate and controversy.

Jean Bethke Elshtain is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago. In addition to her many award-winning books, Professor Elshtain writes frequently for journals of civic opinion and lectures widely on themes of democracy, ethical dilemmas, religion and politics, and international relations. In 2011, she was honoured with the Democracy Service Award, previously given to the Dalai Lama, Lech Walesa, and Vaclav Havel, among others.

Tickets are free and available at the door beginning at 5pm on the evening of the lecture, June 13th.

Register online or call 604.822.1444 to reserve a seat.

Date of event Saturday June 8th
Location of event St James Hall 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano 

Kate will be performing all new songs from her latest project: Queer Across Canada, an album for LGBTQ youth and families. All folks are welcome!

Sure same-sex marriage is legal these days, and gay people don't get fired from their jobs like they used to, but the growing number of queer parents and openly queer youth means that young people are facing homophobia like never before. Moved by stories of depressed queer teens and kids with queer parents feeling isolated and ostracized, award-winning lesbian singer-songwriter and musical comedienne Kate Reid embarked on her most audacious recording project yet. She conducted 74 interviews with queer parents, queer kids, and straight kids of queer parents and used them to create Queer Across Canada, a pioneering collection of songs for queer families that bursts with a spirit of radical celebration of the rainbow spectrum.

Kate's hilarious stage presence and her sometimes-witty, sometimes-heartbreaking songs about LGBT life have endeared her to audiences across the country, helping spread the gospel of acceptance and welcome well beyond its usual demographic. She was voted "Discovery of the Year" in the 2009 Critic's Poll published in the Canadian folk music magazine Penguin Eggs. She earned a standing ovation during her debut Canadian festival performance at Guelph's Hillside Festival, and she has performed at the Edmonton Folk Festival, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, and countless Pride events. She's also been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award and a Toronto Independent Music Award.

With Queer Across Canada, Kate is now developing a musical education kit to help teachers formally introduce both the songs and their lessons to their students. The kit includes the 17-song CD and an educational resource for the classroom, which pairs activities and exercises with the songs. Kate's goal is to help teach about gender and sexual diversity, homophobia and heteronormativity, while also promoting acceptance of diverse people, families and communities.

Tickets for $20 ($16 members) available online at www.roguefolk.bc.ca, in person at Highlife Records & Rufus' Guitar Shop or call the Rogue Ticket Hotline at 604-736-3022.

http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev13060820.html

Date of event Sunday June 9th
Location of event St James Hall 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano 

Their music is fresh and original… creative and expressive, honest and sincere, played on bluegrass instruments but not defined explicitly by the style… What sets them apart is how well they navigate the minefield that any artist in a pioneering genre faces: crafting intelligent music without sounding pretentious; paying tribute to immediate precursors without being derivative; charting a daring and original course without a whiff of preciousness. – The Bluegrass Blog

Joy Kills Sorrow are fronted by BC singer Emma Beaton, who was nominated for "Traditional Vocalist of the Year" at the Canadian Folk Music Awards 2010 and won "Young Performer of the Year" at the age of 18 at the Canadian Folk Music Awards 2008. She quickly caught the ear of bluegrass super-star Laurie Lewis, who says she has a "voice like a laser." A classically trained cellist, she formerly studied at Berklee College of Music and has worked closely with Crooked Still's Tristan Clarridge and Rushad Eggleston.

This Boston-based string band brings together an eclectic mix of musicians who each have classical and/or jazz conservatory training, though collectively, they ambitiously utilize their years of study to hone a new acoustic territory yet discovered by many of today's top artists. It's an amalgamation of lamenting music of the heartland, singular stories of heartache and laughter, beautiful string arrangements, and five musicians who grew up listening to indie-rock, jazz, and pop music that churn out impressive tunes with an incredibly contemporary sensibility.

A new 7 song EP will be released on June 4th. Wide Awake features six riveting new original songs that showcase singer Emma Beaton's soulful, enveloping voice on lush acoustic arrangements fleshed out by Matthew Arcara on guitar, Wes Corbett on banjo, Jacob Jolliff on mandolin and Zoe Guigueno on bass. The EP also includes a cover of the Postal Service's 2003 electro-pop single "Such Great Heights," which Joy Kills Sorrow has been performing in concert for a while after learning the song during a residency at the Lizard Lounge in Boston.

We are very excited to invite them back in BC. Welcome home Emma!

www.joykillssorrow.com

Tickets for $20 ($16 members) available online at www.roguefolk.bc.ca, in person at Highlife Records & Rufus' Guitar Shop, or call the Rogue Ticket Hotline at 604-736-3022.

www.roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev13060920.html

Date of event Thursday June 20th, 8pm
Location of event St James Hall 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano 

Performing from his new albums: Love and Laughter. With: Steve Dawson (Guitar) & Rob Becker (Bass) plus Guests.

If you've ever seen Ralph Shaw you'll know he is an unparalleled showman with a knack for engaging an audience. His music has been described as hilarious, inspirational, outrageous, touching, and thought provoking. See him perform original songs from his two new albums (produced by multi-award winner Steve Dawson) accompanied by some of Vancouver's finest musicians.

His Love CD: a collection of songs about every aspect of Love: finding Love, the exultation of falling in Love, lost Love, the comfort of a long term relationship and the transcendence of eternal togetherness.

The Laughter CD covers subjects as diverse as conversing with dogs, the childhood friend who became handyman at the Mustang Ranch (Nevada's famous legalized brothel), the building of a ukulele case, the British vicar who got his legs waxed for charity, the art of learning to yodel and more moments from his unusual life as Canada's "King of the Ukulele."

Ralph's critically acclaimed book, The Ukulele Entertainer, his many CDs and ukulele instructional DVDs have delighted, and transformed, thousands of new ukulele players. Experience the performer who entertained Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, for the 2010 Winter Olympics. And be royally entertained by The King of the Ukulele himself!

www.ralphshaw.ca

Tickets for $20 ($16 members) available online at www.roguefolk.bc.ca in person at Highlife Records & Rufus' Guitar Shop or call the Rogue Ticket Hotline at 604-736-3022

http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev13062020.html

Date of event Friday Jun 21st, 8pm
Location of event St James Hall 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano 

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem bring fiddle, guitar, bass and junk percussion to bear on 100 years of American music, from Appalachian ballads to original tunes. Their sound is “tight, with stylish, unexpected choices” (Acoustic Guitar), a mix of New Orleans grooves, old-time gospel harmonies, bluesy swing fiddle, and fiery electric and acoustic guitar. All four musicians sing lead, with Arbo's transparent, connecting alto at the helm; in four-part harmony, they can shake the rafters or hush the room. They have a knack for plumbing the human condition with an infectious joie de vivre: “Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem dig deep into their collective souls, finding joy in the moment, peace in the harmonies, and rapture in the rhythmic drive.” — The Hartford Courant.

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem draw from the deep well of American roots music, and have an adventurous way of mixing things up. They'll hang a 200-year-old Georgia Sea Islands song over a New Orleans groove. They'll set original lyrics to an Irish fiddle tune, then layer it with a groove on a South American box drum. A Leonard Cohen cover gets a clawhammer banjo; Springsteen gets high-octane, bluegrass-style harmonies – and band's originals range from Unitarian funk gospel tune to 1950s swing. With influences from Doc Watson to Django Reinhardt, from Ghanaian drumming to the funky Meters, and from Fiddlin' John Carson to Bob Dylan, daisy mayhem celebrates America's rich musical past and brings it into the present. These are four musicians who pick up what's lying around – from tin cans, to old songs, to human stories – and create something new.

The band has earned a reputation for delving deep and their new album, Some Bright Morning, offers up their trademark mix of traditional material, unexpected covers and smart, probing originals. But this isn't a Sunday morning record. It's an all-week, all-year, all-life kind of album, one that leaps from love to loss, through longing and fear, into hope and play. It is a tincture of ukulele, banjo, recycled percussion, standup bass, fiddle and guitar. It is a salve of spine-tingling four-part harmony. It levies the healing power of four musicians who have played together for twelve years and are still reaching for it.

www.raniarbo.com

Tickets $24 ($20 members) available online at www.roguefolk.bc.ca, in person at Highlife Records & Rufus' Guitar Shop, or call the Rogue Ticket Hotline at 604-736-3022.

www.roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev13062120.html

Date of event July 6-7, 2013
Location of event Richmond Nature Park

EVENT:            EXOTIC REPTILE SHOWDATE:               Saturday & Sunday, July 6-7, 2013TIME:                11:00 am – 4:00pmPRICE:              By Donation                                            WHERE:           Richmond Nature Park, 11851 Westminster HwyAGE:                 All Ages The West Coast Society for the Protection and Conservation of Reptiles will be at the Richmond Nature Park with a hands-on show of exotic reptiles on Saturday and Sunday, July 6 and 7, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Meet the animals and talk to the people who know reptiles best. Children must be accompanied by an adult.  Phone 604.718-6188 or visitNature Park Programs Page for further information.

Date of event September 27 and 28, 2013
Location of event 788 Quayside Drive – New Westminster Boardwalk

The Fraser River Discovery Centre invites you to join us in celebration of BC and World Rivers Day. In honour of the Fraser River, RiverFest will be held on the Westminster Quay boardwalk in New Westminster. The festival will consist of live entertainment; artists and artisans; community, environmental, and conservation organizations; and crafts and activities for children and their parents. This event is free to the public, so come celebrate with us on Friday, September 27 from 4-9PM and Saturday, September 28 from 11AM-6PM. We guarantee there will be something for everyone!