Skip to content

A night for ladies to let loose

The 14th annual Girls Night Out, a fundraiser for the Port Moody Arts Centre, is Oct. 19.
fatima
Fatima Amarshi (at front) is the new managing director of the Port Moody Arts Centre, which is marking its 20th year and, next Friday, hosts its 14th annual Girls Night Out at Port Moody city hall.

The year before the Girls Night Out fundraiser started for the Port Moody Arts Centre (PMAC), Erica Sigurdson was at the St. Johns Street venue with a couple of other comedians.

The organizers remembered her act and invited her the next year to entertain at their inaugural soirée — for ladies only — at Port Moody city hall.

Fourteen years in, Sigurdson is still a fixture at the annual bash.

And, for this year, she’ll be the emcee at the event that not only gives women a “night off” but also marks the 20th year for the city’s arts centre.

“It’s always just a fun night, especially seeing some of the same faces who have been attending since I was a wide-eyed 28 year old,” Sigurdson told The Tri-City News last week.

For the Oct. 19 show, which is expected to sell out this week, Sigurdson has lined up three female comedians to kick up the giggles: Molly Wilson, Colleen Brow and Yumi Nagashima.

Wilson, who is best known for her show Molly’s Comedy Cabaret, is an Ovation award winner who has toured Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Brow, meanwhile, will perform a condensed version of her Vancouver Fringe Festival production, Ten Tips for a Collapsed Uterus; she is the host of Vancouver Co-op Radio’s The Storytelling Show.

And Nagashima, an actor whose credits include HBO’s The Man in the High Castle and CBC’s The Debaters, is soaring high with her stand-up routines; recently, she was featured on Andy Kindler’s Alternative show as part of the Just For Laughs northwest edition.

Wilson, who has previously worked with The Sparkle Project and other campaigns, said she’s always happy to support the arts.

“Theatre and music really gave me a second home and allowed me to explore my creativity and vision,” she said. “I love being a part of a fundraiser that’s enabling others to experience the arts.”

Still, comedy won’t be the only offering on the menu.

Prior to the performances, there’ll be beauty demonstrations and about $4,000 worth of raffle prizes to bid on in the Galleria. Appies will be served, a cash bar will be available and tunes will be spun by DJ Mike Felstein of Top Dawg.

And for guests wanting to take a dive into creativity, PMAC faculty instructors will be hand at three artist stations.

Fatima Amarshi, PMAC’s newly hired managing director, said the centre hopes to raise at least $10,000 for its operations through ticket sales and draws.

However, donations will also be accepted for PMAC’s 20 for 20 campaign to boost its endowment fund in its anniversary year; that $20,000 drive is more than half complete. she said (go to pomoarts.ca/get-involved/20-for-20).

• Sponsored by Scotiabank, PCT, Odlum Brown, Flavelle Oceanfront and Maryn & Associates LLP, Girls Night Out is Friday, Oct. 19 at Port Moody city hall (100 Newport Dr.). For tickets, call 604-931-2008 or visit pomoarts.ca/girlsnightout.