FESTIVAL: CUMBERLAND WILD
Where: Cumberland Village Park, Cumberland
When: Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21
Tickets: $75-$85 from cumberlandwild.tickit.ca
Why: Three events over two days make up Cumberland Wild, the constantly evolving (and always interesting) festival held in the heart of Cumberland. The main event on Saturday, which runs until 11 p.m., includes sets from Balkan Bump, Shred Kelly and Diamond Cafe, and is followed by the silent disco, wherein headset-wearing patrons dance to music piped into their headphones from DJ Shub and The Librarian, among others. Another 12-hour day takes place on Sunday, which makes for a lot of activity in a short amount of time. Cumberland loves to support its own, so the festival will be the area’s central focus throughout the weekend — and for good reason.
JAZZ: RAY GALLON
Where: Hermann’s Jazz Club, 753 View St.
When: Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $25 from hermannsjazz.com
Why: Pianist-composer Ray Gallon will make his Victoria debut this weekend with two performances at Hermann’s Jazz Club. The lifelong New Yorker (who teaches at the City College of New York) will join the Angela Verbrugge Quartet for the local bandleader’s Saturday night showcase, followed by a show of his own at the View Street club on Sunday with accompaniment from John Lee and Russ Botten. Gallon recently finished recording with double bassist Ron Carter and drummer Lewis Nash, two of the most recorded sessionists working in jazz today. That association bodes well for Gallon’s upcoming debut.
ART: HOMELAND
Where: Errant Art Space, 975 Alston St.
When: Through Aug. 28
Admission: Free
Why: Featuring the poetry of Ghfran Alakash and visual art of Farid Abdulbaki, this exhibit journeys through the pair’s native Syria, a country whose pre- and post-war history figures prominently in their work. Now based in Victoria, the Syrian exports have created a stirring assembly of words and images, with no shortage of emotional arrest. Loss looms over the exhibit, which is open each weekend at Errant Art Space in Vic West through Aug. 28, but the idea of hope is never far from Abdulbaki’s canvasses or Alakash’s pages.
mdevlin@timescolonist.com
