The historic Astor Theatre in Liverpool will undergo a multi-year facelift. (Rick Conrad / File photo)

The building that houses the Astor Theatre in Liverpool will get more than $1 million in upgrades this year, as part of a two-year, $3-million plan to modernize the historic building.

The Region of Queens owns the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre and leases it to the Astor Theatre Society.

Municipal councillors recently approved spending $1,050,000 this year and another $2,079,000 next year to install modern heating and cooling systems, air conditioning and long-delayed accessibility improvements.

Eric Goulden, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, says he’s excited and grateful that the work is going ahead.

“All of these improvements are needed to update a 125-year-old building to today’s standards. … Most people don’t realize how busy we are and how much it’s needed to have a common point for people to get together and enjoy entertainment, but also learn and experience various crafts and meetings and that sort of thing. The vibe is very positive.

“We’re very, very pleased with the direction that we’re going in. We think that the next two years are going to be very positive for the Astor Theatre and a lot of the improvements that have been long overdue are going to take place.”

The Astor is limited in what it can offer in the warmer summer months, because the facility has only ceiling fans for cooling and air circulation in the theatre.

The region hired DSRA Architecture to detail what the building needs to improve operations and meet modern building codes. 

The region plans to upgrade the facility’s electrical supply and install a modern HVAC system, including heat pumps, that will allow the theatre to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round.

It also plans to install a platform lift so that people with mobility issues can access the second floor.

The washrooms will also be upgraded to comply with provincial requirements for accessibility and universality.

A new fire escape will be installed from the second-floor balcony, which will allow for wheelchair-accessible seating upstairs.

And the backstage area will be expanded by 765 square feet to allow more room for storage, a workshop and dressing rooms.

The architects also said the building’s insulation needs to be upgraded for better energy efficiency and to protect the wood structure from humidity. So far, that has not been included in the planned work.

Goulden says that the upgrades will allow the Astor to offer more to its patrons at any time of year. 

“We can’t do reliable programming in the summertime because of the lack of air conditioning, the lack of proper ventilation in the theatre. So it will give us at least another two months of programming that we can do in the summertime.”

He said the theatre is also shopping for a new movie projector to enhance its film offerings.

“Movies are going to be a big part of our growth. We will probably be the best movie experience on the South Shore.”

Councillors unanimously approved the work.

“I just have to say that I’m excited to see actually a plan for the updates at the Astor,” District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault said. “It’s been a long time coming. 
So I’m very grateful for it.”

Mayor Scott Christian said the Astor board will continue to look for grants and other funding to try to offset some of the cost for municipal taxpayers.

Representatives from the municipality and the Astor plan to meet early next week to discuss the upgrades.

“I’m really quite excited about the future,” Goulden said. “A lot of good things happening at the Astor.”

Here’s a breakdown of the work planned at the Astor:

Year 1 (2026/27 fiscal year):

• $245,000 – second floor platform lift (six months to install)
• $175,000 – emergency egress from balcony (three months to install)
• $210,000 – electrical upgrades (six months to complete)
• $420,000 – Phase 1 heating and cooling upgrades (six months)

Year 2 upgrades – 2027/28 fiscal year ($2,079,000):

• $1.4 million – backstage addition
• $315,000 – Phase 2 heating and cooling upgrades
• $168,000 – second floor washroom accessibility upgrades
• $196,000 – main floor washroom accessibility upgrades

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Velta Vikmanis is the new executive director of Liverpool’s Astor Theatre. (Rick Conrad)

Liverpool’s Astor Theatre has a new executive director.

Velta Vikmanis took over the job on Oct. 1, part of a new management team at the historic theatre.

“As a practising artist myself, I know the significance and the importance of the Astor,” she said in an interview Thursday.

“It carries a tremendous history in the community. 
And having had a show here myself, and then having the pleasure of stepping onto the board earlier this year, it just seemed like my skill sets from health-care administration and operations experience really lends itself to what the Astor needs in this moment. And so I was happy to step up and just say, ‘Yeah, I’m willing to give it a go.’”

Lori Smyth, who had been the Astor’s box office manager, will take on a new role as theatre manager.

Joe Lyndon will look after the theatre’s technical needs, including light and sound for shows.

Vikmanis moved to Liverpool with her husband in 2021 and has been actively involved in the community since. She is a volunteer and former board member at QCCR, and a volunteer at Queens Manor. Before she took the job as the Astor’s executive director, she was a member of the Astor Theatre Society board.

She also had an exhibition of her work at the theatre in May 2024.

“Right now, we have a great synergy between the board and the staff here at the Astor, and we’re really hoping to capitalize on that momentum as we move forward, so that we can just continue building and moving the Astor forward into the next decades.”

Katy Hopkins had been the theatre’s manager of operations for many years until she resigned in September.

In a news release announcing Vikmanis’s appointment, chairman Eric Goulden thanked Hopkins for her “dedication and support for the Astor”.

“My first main priority,” Vikmanis says, “is to continue with all of the variety of programming that Katie Hopkins, the previous general manager, had put into place and making sure that all of those artists are honoured, their contracts are honoured and that patrons can continue to come into the theatre uninterrupted.”

Vikmanis said she wants to continue the entertainment mix that the Astor has been offering, from popular tribute band shows to movies to live theatre. And she wants to continue to welcome community groups to use the Astor space, and expand on some of the things happening there now.

She said she wants to explore showing a livestream on the theatre’s big screen of some performances from New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

And she’d like to give new artists more opportunities to exhibit at the Astor.

“I really do feel like I have put my best foot forward in the community. Ever since I arrived here, I’m really committed to being a resource and a support within our community. 
So the relationships that I’ve already established throughout the community, I hope will help and support all that’s going on within the theatre and just further enhance that momentum that we seem to have going right now.”

Goulden also announced on the news release that Easton Goodwin, who has appeared in various Astor productions, has been hired as a theatre staff member.

The Astor is close to launching its new website. And it’s been working with the Region of Queens, which owns the building, to improve the building’s accessibility.

In April, the theatre secured a five-year, $500,000 funding commitment from the J&W Murphy Foundation to help beef up its programs and promotion.

CURRENT ASTOR THEATRE SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• Eric Goulden, Chair
• Lynn Cochrane, Vice-Chair
• Loris Azzano, Treasurer
• Star Donovan, Director
• Patricia Simms, Director
• Dan Williams, Director

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

QCCR hosted a session on Thursdy to generate ideas for events on the Liverpool waterfront and elsewhere. (Rick Conrad)

A food truck festival, a chili cookoff and Movies on the Mersey were among the dozens of ideas for Liverpool’s Privateer Park tossed around Wednesday evening at Queens Place Emera Centre.

QCCR hosted a community meeting to generate ideas for more events on the Liverpool waterfront and elsewhere in Queens County.

Station manager Norm Amirault said he wanted to hold the session after seeing some comments on Facebook about people wanting more to do in Privateer Park.

“And honestly, I’d felt that way myself,” he said in an interview. “You have this beautiful park, and you wonder why there aren’t more activities going on there. 
I always thought if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. … And based on the feedback tonight, there’s a ton of good ideas out there that people really do want to see more activities there.”

About 20 people discussed ideas for a more vibrant waterfront, like holding more seasonal festivals similar to last March’s Light Up Queens Winter Night Festival, more events targeted toward youth, encouraging more performing arts besides music in the park. And there was even talk of a Beatles festival.

Min Smale is the secretary-treasurer of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. She’s also the chair of the Privateer Days committee, which holds the popular annual festival in the park every June.

She was impressed with people’s ideas.

“I think they’re fantastic, and I think it’s really going to revitalize both the waterfront or Privateer Park as well as some of the smaller, lesser-known venues across Queens.

“I think it was great to see the younger folks come in here and enjoy the conversation. They need to be involved in the music and the entertainment scene here.”

One of those young people was Easton Goodwin. He and some of his high school bandmates were at the event.

“I’m glad I came out tonight. 
Usually, not a lot of people like me come out to this kind of thing. And it’s such a great opportunity, you know? There’s a lot of voices in Queens County that really need to be heard.”

“We definitely do have some highlights, such as the Astor Theatre, a lot to explore there, but also, you know, a group of teens want to hang out Friday night, where do they go? 
So, some spots for people to just explore, hang out with friends, and more opportunities for the youth.”

A couple of roadblocks exist in turning the ideas into reality — finding enough funding and volunteers. 

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton told the group that while the municipality can’t fund everything, there could be some money available for certain events.

Amirault said he’ll collect the ideas into some common themes, and then approach some local groups like the chamber to try to get things going.

“Maybe as we talked about bite sized pieces, partnerships, and focus on a few things and do them well. Maybe that’s a reasonable first step.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Steph Peaks is hosting a drag show at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Chase Hudson)

Liverpool’s Astor Theatre has welcomed a wide array of performers to its stage over its 120-year history, from Rita MacNeil to the Royal Shakespeare Company to Mr. Dressup.

But this coming Saturday, a different kind of artist will sashay onto the Astor stage.

The Steph Peaks and Friends Drag Show will feature eight drag performers, some kings, some queens.

Out of drag, Steph Peaks is Chase Hudson, a 27-year-old pastry chef in Halifax. Hudson says they plan to deliver a show like no other. 

“I like to say expect the unexpected,” he said in a recent interview.

“We have 22 performances in the entire show. We have solos, we have duets, we have high-energy dance numbers, we have a couple of emotional slower ballads. We have a couple of live singers coming to the show.

“(A 19+ show) and a drag queen with a microphone? It can only go one way. I think going in with no expectations is probably the safest bet, but be prepared to leave wanting so much more.”

Hudson got his start in drag on Halloween four years ago. Living in his hometown of Annapolis Royal, he says doing drag was his way of coming out to friends and family.

“Instead of saying that I personally was gay, I decided drag was an easier pipeline to trickle that in. And then after that, I started doing solo shows in Annapolis,” he says. “I like to think that this was a shock to everybody around me. I’ve been told that not a single person has been surprised. … My mom wasn’t surprised, my grandparents weren’t surprised. I just sort of said, ‘OK, I’m gonna do a show.’

“My daycare teacher, she came to my first show, and she still says to this day that it makes the most sense to her because I would boss everybody around at daycare in the dressup closet and get everybody dressed up and choreograph numbers. Apparently, it’s been a long time coming.”

Hudson says he knows how lucky he is.

“Not everybody has their Mom coming to shows with shirts that say Mama Peaks on it. Doing this and having the reaction from family and friends and people I grew up with with open arms, it’s made it a lot more special than I ever thought it could have been.”

Those first shows to about a dozen people in his hometown quickly gained a larger following. And soon, Hudson as Steph Peaks was touring to Toronto, Ottawa, New Brunswick and P.E.I. Peaks has also played to thousands at Halifax Pride.

“Drag has gotten me out of my shell so much,” he says. “Chase isn’t the most confident person. And I know it sounds crazy because you think you put on a lot of makeup and a wig. Chase is still there, but there’s something about it for me that lets me escape the day-to-day stresses. It’s such an escape from being me that it makes me feel so me.”

Hudson says watching Drag Race, getting ideas online and “a lot of trial and error” helped him develop his character and her name, a play on what he does as a pastry chef, whipping cream to stiff peaks. He asked a friend in Calgary to help him with the name. They sent him six to eight bakery-themed options.

“When I was coming up with my character, I always said I didn’t want to be a carbon copy of somebody or something else.”

Steph Peaks will be hosting the show in Liverpool and performing, with seven other artists — Randi E. Rogenous, Brooke Rivers, Mike Hunt, Katanna Skin, Andrew Guinness, X and Halifax drag icon Elle Noir.

“Listen, listen, when you get a good show, you have to bring the top-tier performers down.”

While drag has become more mainstream in the past few years, it’s also come with some considerable backlash. When the Astor announced the show on Facebook, some comments were so bad that the theatre had to issue a statement confirming their support for the LGBTQ+ community, performers and audience.

“It’s scary because at the end of the day, the eight of us who are coming to do the show, we’re coming to do one thing only and that is to entertain and get a little attention for ourselves. And if that is threatening or makes some people uncomfortable, … the best thing I can say is if you don’t want to go, don’t buy a ticket.

“That night, there are going to be so many people in that theatre that are there to have fun and are there to show love, and support the queer community and support drag as an art form.”

And Hudson says there will be lots to love on the Astor stage on Saturday night, with lip-syncing and live-singing divas, and some real show stoppers. He’s had a preview of what awaits the audience, and he says he’s “gotten goosebumps, I have cried.

“There are some seriously emotional numbers that these people have dedicated to some important people in their lives. And then we have Mike, who is top-tier vocals – they could be on that stage the entire 22 performances and I would still enjoy the entire show. And then we have the chaos of Randi, chaos embodied in human form, and everybody else is bringing such different drag that I think no matter who’s on that stage, (the audience’s) eyes will be glued.

“I think people should look forward to a show that Liverpool has never seen yet. There are so many things cooking behind the scenes for this show that I think if you don’t come to the show, you’ll hear from a friend that it was otherworldly. There’s something about a drag show in a theatre setting where these artists can truly do whatever they want because they’re not limited to the venue size that make this show next level.”

The Steph Peaks and Friends Drag Show is at 7:30 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 27 at the Astor Theatre. Tickets are available through Ticketpro or at the Astor box office at 902-354-5250.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

The members of Crafternoon get together every Tuesday at the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows. (Rick Conrad)

A group of artisans gathers at the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows every Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. to work on projects, chat and make new friends.

The group began in 2021 with three women from the neighbouring community of Eagle Head. Craft novice Karen Costello got together with rug hooker Cathie Mourre and knitter Donna Sampson Dowling.

The group welcomes everyone who wants to work on their craft or learn a new one. It now counts as many as 25 people, mostly from Queens County, but some also travel from Lunenburg County.

Members say they enjoy getting together for four hours each week to bond around a shared love of creation. And they say they’re always looking for new people to drop in.

QCCR stopped in on a recent Tuesday to talk to some of the members.

Listen below

Bruno is one of the regulars at Crafternoon at the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows. (Rick Conrad)

Rug hooking and a variety of other crafts are worked on Crafternoon at the Seaside Centre. (Rick Conrad)

The artisans group at Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows has about 25 members in total. (Rick Conrad)

The Liverpool International Theatre Festival has issued a call for submissions for its 2026 event. (LaRocque Photography via Liverpool International Theatre Festival Facebook page)

The Liverpool International Theatre Festival is now accepting applications from amateur theatre troupes around the world to participate in the 2026 festival from Oct. 14 to 18.

“LITF is one of the Top 10 amateur theatre festivals in the world, and we’re incredibly proud to invite
troupes to bring their stories and artistry to our community,” festival chairperson Jean Robinson said in a news release.

“Each festival is a vibrant celebration of culture, creativity and connection.”

LITF features five days of performances which are usually one-act plays, along with workshops and many social events, which give audiences an opportunity to connect with the artists. Local residents are also given a chance to host the actors, writers and directors in their own homes, enhancing the cultural exchange component of the unique festival.

Amateur theatre groups can download the application form and guidelines from the festival’s
official website at www.litf.ca.

Justin Freeman launched Letterswitch Publishing on Saturday in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

In a town without a bookstore, starting a publishing business might seem like a leap of faith.

But Justin Freeman of Liverpool says he’s realizing a childhood dream by launching Letterswitch Publishing. 

“I’m content to just put out beautiful books that entertain and educate and encourage new parents, and parents of young kids especially, but everybody in a family,” he told QCCR.

“I hope it goes off well. Publishing is not exactly the most robust industry to be jumping into feet first at the moment, but I’m hoping with kind of the niche aspect of it and keeping things small and focused that it’ll be a success.”

Freeman unveiled his micropublishing company on Saturday at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. The stay-at-home Dad moved to the area a few years ago with his young family. 

“(We) moved to Liverpool in 2022 after my son was born. My wife got a job at the hospital … and this is home now. We’re putting down roots and are looking forward to a lot of years here.”

Freeman says he’ll be concentrating at first on publishing his own work through Letterswitch. 

His first book was on display on Saturday. Called A Little Grieving, he partnered with a pediatric crisis counsellor on the parent’s guide to helping your child through the grieving process. 

He also plans a kids’ picture book called One Veggie, a middle-grade chapter book called Molly Moss Runs for Office and a western novel called Crimson Shadow.

“It’ll be a slow rollout. I’m a stay-at-home dad and I’ll just try to get things rolling here in the next couple years. But once both kids are in school, I look to open up to other authors and just get a nice catalog of titles.”

Freeman grew up on a farm in Missouri. He had an eclectic career before moving to Nova Scotia with his wife, Dr. Alison Freeman, and their kids Molly and James.

“I was formerly a police officer in Missouri in the city of Springfield. I was also a minister for a few years, and sold shoes and grew up on a farm and just have a varied background that kind of informs and inflects different writing. Thus all the different type of books that are coming out.”

The name of the company comes from how he met his wife, when he was still on the farm in Missouri and she was at home in Nova Scotia.

“Essentially, back in 2000, I was on the family farm using ICQ, a messaging app, and this message pops up saying, ‘Do you want to catch up?’ It was obviously a misdirect, but I went to reject it and something told me to accept it, so I did. And it was somebody looking for somebody named Justin Freeman that they had met in Massachusetts. And instead of typing MA for Massachusetts, they typed MO.

“And we struck up more conversations, postcards from abroad, kept up over the years, and then 15 years later, wound up meeting finally, fell in love. I’m now married to Alison and we have two beautiful kids. And so the letter switch is an homage to that switched letter that started our entire story.”

For the launch event, Freeman teamed up with local artisans to feature some of their work, including local baker Gabby’s Bread Basket, who catered the event, and the Covey Candle Company, who created a couple of limited-edition scents. 

“And there’s also a piece that I commissioned by local artist Katie Kripp called Bound for Novel Passages. And it’s a sailing ship with books for the sails and it just represents a new journey for me and some other creatives I look to work with. I find myself surrounded by creative people here in Liverpool and I wanted to work with a few of them for the launch.”

People at the Letterswitch launch, like Jaqueline Duck of Liverpool, said it was exciting to have a publisher in the area.

“I think that’s amazing because there are writers here and they have to go and find a publisher. If we have one in Liverpool, it makes everybody’s life that much easier. And it’s good business.”

Freeman says that while he’ll be busy for the next few months on his own work, he’d still like to hear from people interested in his new venture.

You can find Letterswitch Publishing at letterswitchpublishing.com or email Freeman at hello@letterswitchpublishing.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Eric Goulden is taking over as chairman of the Astor Theatre Society in January. (Photo courtesy of Eric Goulden)

The Astor Theatre Society will have a new chairman to begin the new year.

Eric Goulden will take over on Jan. 1.

The resident of Beach Meadows is a community volunteer and retired entrepreneur. Since buying a house here with his wife Karen in 2013, he has developed and restored many older buildings on Liverpool’s Main Street and in Milton.

He’s been a full-time Queens County resident since September 2020.

At an event at the Astor last week, Goulden told QCCR he’s looking forward to heading the theatre’s board of directors for the next few years.

“I’m amazed at this building and the history behind it,” Goulden said, “and I really feel that if we can stabilize a lot of the operational side of things, I think it’s got a lot of growth and I think it’s going to be very, very welcoming and a safe place for everybody.”

Goulden will be taking over from John Simmonds, who has been chairman since September 2020. He will continue on the board as past chairman.

Simmonds helmed the board through Covid and helped revitalize the theatre. He also was chairman during some turmoil at the theatre in the past year, with the resignation of popular director and producer Ashley-Rose Goodwin.

But Simmonds said the community is once again rallying around the Astor. He said he’s looking forward to working with Goulden and the rest of the board.

“We have a good board, they’re communicating amongst themselves very well so I think we will do some good things. It’s onward and upward, so we’re excited.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Julie Babin crochets one of the items that will be up for auction at the LRHS Japanese exchange art auction on Friday night at ADJA Studio and Gallery on Main Street in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

It will be the first foreign exchange trip for Liverpool high school students since before the pandemic.

And they and their parents are holding a fundraiser on Friday night to help get them there.

Ten students from Liverpool Regional High School are planning a cultural exchange next year with kids from a high school in Yokohama, Japan through the Nova Scotia International Student Program.

Julie Babin is one of the parents organizing a silent auction and fundraiser at ADJA Studio and Gallery on Main Street in Liverpool, from 7 to 9 p.m. It will feature local visual art, crafts and baked goods donated by people from the community.

“There will be anything from knit items, photographs, stained glass, paintings, jewelry, all kinds of cool stuff to help these kids get their goal met and get to Japan.”

People will be able to bid on items at the gallery on Friday night. And the auction will continue on Facebook next week.

Babin says the students are working hard to reach their fundraising goal for the two-week trip. 

“They’ve been working their little fingers to the bone to try to fundraise for the past six months. They’ve been doing beef jerky fundraisers, we have a fudge fundraiser going on, 50/50 tickets, bottle drives.”

She says the Queen’s Enviro Centre in Brooklyn is accepting donations of bottles for the trip. People just have to tell them it’s for “the Japan trip”.

The group has to raise $5,000, with each student expected to pay another $3,500. 

Babin says they’re pretty close to their group goal. But any money raised above $5,000 will help lower the students’ expenses.

“If we can get that, the kids feel pretty good. … It’s exciting for them to see it slowly go up. We have a couple of more things on the horizon but we’re really hoping that this fundraiser gets us to that goal.”

Her 16-year-old son, Desmond Danylewich, is one of the 10 students going on the trip next July. 

She said he’s excited to experience Japanese food and culture first-hand.

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime to go and get to just immerse yourself in the culture of Japan. He’s looking so forward to trying real sushi and real tempura. It’s going to be exciting for him.”

Babin said it will also be interesting for students and parents to host 20 Japanese students in Liverpool for 10 days in April. 

“So every one of our students will have two Japanese students come stay with them. See what eating Canadian food is like, going to school in a Canadian school. And then they’ll also get to go on excursions.”

Babin says they’ll be accepting art and craft donations for the auction right up until Friday evening. 

“If you made it, we will appreciate it.”

And she says most of the kids going on the trip will also be at the fundraiser on Friday.

“7 to 9, come by, see the art, maybe lay a couple of bids, meet the kids. They’re pretty stoked to talk about their hopes for it and they’re really excited for the Japanese kids to come here.”

The LRHS Japanese exchange art auction begins at 7 p.m. on Friday at ADJA Studio and Gallery at 177 Main St. in Liverpool. You can leave donations for the fundraiser at the gallery. And you can also follow the event on Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

QCCR acknowledges the support of the Community Radio Fund of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative.

Kim Jackson, president of the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 9, organized the National Indigenous Peoples Day event in Liverpool on Friday. (Rick Conrad)

People from indigenous communities across Canada celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day on Friday.

In Liverpool, the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 9 organized an event at Great Oak Park near the Hank Snow Home Town Museum on Friday afternoon and evening.

People from around Queens County turned out for the cultural celebration featuring dancing, drumming, a vendors market with Mi’kmaw artisans and some traditional foods.

QCCR spoke to Kim Jackson of Milton, president of the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 9, and other people at the event.

Listen to the story below

Sue and Chres Jensen, owners of Gallery 244 in Brooklyn, are holding a Carnival at the gallery on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. (Rick Conrad)

Since Sue and Chres Jensen moved to Nova Scotia from Alberta three years ago, they’ve carved out a distinctive space for the creative community at their gallery in Brooklyn.

And they’re using it to host an event called Carnival that’s just as unique on Saturday.

The owners of Gallery 244 are planning to showcase art, music, poetry, henna body art, laser engraving, hula hooping and even some osteopathy at the free event. And food truck Mama Pita will be onsite too.

Sue Jensen, who is also a musician, said she wanted the event to be as individual as their gallery and the other artists they’ve met.

“I wanted to do something that would be different,” she said Wednesday.

The couple live in East Port Medway, and opened the gallery a couple of years ago, turning a building that used to be a gas station into a space that now features work from half a dozen local artists. It also features a cozy music room in the old service station’s attached garage.

Saturday’s carnival will feature Sue and other musicians playing throughout the afternoon.

Chres says they want their gallery to be a welcoming place for anybody who creates.

“This acts like a mini hub for artists and people to stop in, play music, talk about art, or literature, try to be creative. It’s growing every year.”

Chres works in different media, but with a distinct musical theme. Many of his pieces feature deconstructed string instruments like guitars or ukuleles in sometimes whimsical, sometimes elaborate scenes. Since they opened the gallery, he says, many people have donated their old guitars for his art.

“It’s worked for us really well. My studio where I came from, maybe it’s as big as this room which is 16 by 20 and I have eight, nine, 10 times more space (here).”

Chres says the couple quickly realized the abundance of artists of all kinds in the area.

“Even Brooklyn as a small microcosm is a vibrant arts community. We have a wood carver here, we have MJ (Dominey) and she paints and this lady over here she has crafts. And then you expand it to Liverpool, it’s just a dynamic area for arts and music.”

That’s what they hope to showcase on Saturday from 1 to 5. 

And don’t forget the hula hooping. A friend of theirs is a hula hooper, so they invited her to demonstrate her craft. And then a few other people contacted them to do the same thing.

“We have a dark horse who’s too shy to advertise but is actually a freak hula hooper,” Sue says.  “It was just a fun (thing), maybe the kids will bring their hula hoops.”

That co-operation and collaboration are some of the things the couple love about their new community.

“Everybody just seems to be working together so that everybody can have fun and be creative,” Chres says.

Saturday’s event is also a fundraiser for the Mill Village fire department. Sue says they have just one goal for the carnival.

“For people to participate, that’s our goal. To show up, to see what’s here. … We just want them to come. If you want to watch, watch, if you want to participate, participate.”

The gallery is at 3549 Highway 3 in Brooklyn. For more information, you can check out Gallery 244 on Facebook or their website at gallery244.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below