On these days when the outside world is plunged into the deep minuses, I feel lucky to be able to stroll (fully covered in wool and down) down to the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and spend some quality time indoors. There’s a fabulous show on there this winter, Who’s Your Mother?, which features half a century’s worth of work by female artists on PEI. I love that though it’ll be icy for a few months more, I can stare off into the horizon of Terry Dunton Stevenson’s Fall Tide Out and be transported to another world. Art is some powerful stuff…

After a recent gig, I was milling around the reception enjoying one of the fine craft beers that are brewed here on the Island. And I got to talking to a fellow who, after expressing his enjoyment of the concert, stated that he wasn’t a music maker himself. Upon a little further prodding, he mentioned that he was, in fact, one of the founding organizers of the Indian River Festival. Thing is, maybe there’s more than one way to make music…

So, I feel gratitude for all the organizations that support the arts and make the world a better place to be an artist. The galleries, the festivals, the colleges, the clubs, and the symphonies. Particularly, I’d like to thank the Prince George Symphony for presenting a work of mine, After the Dawn Out Comes the Sun, this winter. I appreciate that even though I’ve made the move to the Atlantic coast of the country, my music can keep living on over in British Columbia.

And in the midst of the snow season, it’s nice to think ahead to warmer times. There are an awful lot of festivals across Canada that I’m pretty glad exist. And I’ll have a chance to visit a few of them in the coming year, so keep your eyes on the Events page for the info as it comes. In the meantime, you’ll find me in wool socks, a cup of tea in hand…