Featured Events in Parksville in May, 2025 (August Updated)

Juno award winning singer-songwriter-musician Cara Luft is that rare artist steeped in folk and traditional roots music almost from birth, yet willing to alter the fabric, stretch the boundaries and fearlessly bend genres and styles. A founding member of Canadian folk super-group The Wailin' Jennys and the brainchild behind Winnipeg's acclaimed powerhouse duo The Small Glories , Luft deserves her solid reputation as one of Canada’s finest live performers, armed with amazing tenacity, vision, energy and a contagious hilarity. To quote the roots magazine No Depression , “Luft has a rich tradition in folk music – it’s safe to assume that she knows her stuff – and upon listening it becomes quite clear that she is indeed a formidable songwriter and performer... [The] lovely Ms. Luft sets the bar for the talented few who’ll follow in her footsteps.” Cara has a spirit that drives her to connect with people, and for this she is loved everywhere she goes. Reviewers of her live shows talk about her compelling vocals, superb musicianship, humorous anecdotes, accomplished songwriting, ability to switch between styles and the charm of her stage presence. Cara’s the real deal, there’s nothing pretentious about her. And that sense of honesty, integrity, personality and spontaneity permeates both her music and her live shows. “Long may she reign!” (Lonesome Highway) Information Source: Knox Presents...@Knox United Church | eventbrite

Welcome to the Cascadia Fitness Challenge! Join us for a day filled with fun, fitness, and friendly competition at Parksville Community Park on Saturday, May 24th. This in-person event will test your strength, agility, and endurance in a series of 7 exciting workout challenges. Date: May 24th - doors open at 8am Challenge: 7 Epic Exercise Labours Please note: This is a tough workout. Get ready to be challenged! Sign Up Now – Spots are limited! Let’s see what you’re made of! Come out and show off your skills while enjoying the beautiful surroundings of the park. Don't miss out on this opportunity to push yourself and have a blast with fellow fitness enthusiasts. See you there! Information Source: Cascadia Martial Arts - Parksville | eventbrite

BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO :: Brownman Ali - electric trumpet & compositions :: Colin Sankey - 6-string electric bass :: Jordy McIntosh - drums ---- Ballenas S.S. Theatre proudly presents National Jazz Award winners for "electric jazz group of the year", the BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO, up from Brooklyn, NY, on tour on the West Coast, Canada in May, and whom NPR (National Public Radio) in New York City has called "the new standard in electric-jazz". Hear them on Spotify: www.Spotify.Browntasauras.com ---- Mon-May-05 -- PARKVILLE, BC @ Ballenas S.S. (in the school theatre) 135 Pym St., Parksville, BC, V9P 1G4 6:00pm - doors 7:00pm - show $10 - students $20 - adults ---- Presented by: Ballenas S.S. & Browntasauras Records ---- -- 2007 : National Jazz Award “Electric Jazz Group of the Year” -- 2011 : Trinidad High Commission citation: “Distinguished National" -- 2013, 2015, 2016 : 3x Toronto Independent Music Award winner -- 2014 : International Independent Music Award winner -- 2019 : International Songwriting Competition finalist -- 2023 : International Songwriting Competition winner -- 2024 : JUNO Award nominee ---- “Awards are nice, naturally, but to dig what Brownman is doing, you’ve got to see him live. I had a chance to do just that over the summer when Brownman fronted his killer trio ... I came away with a blown mind. This guy’s got chops galore, soul to match, and a sense of phrasing that recalls many of the greats, but suggests itself to be his own.” - Buffalo News ---- In recent years, when not touring the globe the Brooklyn based multi-award-winning Trinidadian-born trumpet player BROWNMAN ALI -- the last trumpet player for iconic jazz-hip-hop group Guru's Jazzmatazz -- spends much of his artistic time in the exploration of modern “chordless” jazz -> music produced without a chordal instrument (guitar or keyboard). He had previously explored this tonal quality for a decade with his highly lauded latin-jazz group CRUZAO, and more recently with his heavily decorated & now internationally acclaimed Miles Davis influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO. Taking a similar trajectory as the acclaimed 2009 debut release "Juggernaut", this highly energized bombastic trio’s 2013 sophmore release “Gravitation: A Study In Freefall” -- on Brownman’s own label Browntasauras Records -- shot to number 4 on the iTunes USA jazz charts and was declared “the new standard in electric-jazz” by National Public Radio (NPR) in New York City. Among a long list of awards & accolades, the trio would win an International Independent Music Award for "Jazz-Funk Album of the Year", 3 Toronto Independent Music Awards for "Jazz Group of the Year" and a National Jazz Award for "electric jazz group of the year". “The trio folds aspects of Black American Music into a chordless jazz framework”, states Brownman. “When we’re not playing originals, we often take classic standards from the 30s through the 50s and re-imagine them as if they were written today and being produced by, say, DJ Premier. The end result is something that hopefully sounds relevant in today’s musical paradigm, but still resonates with the history and lineage of the jazz tradition. And yeah - you’ll hear a lot of Miles Davis’ influence in that resulting sound”. The ensemble itself is aptly described by CODA magazine: “Brownman’s powerful electrified trio captures the essence of the later years in Miles Davis’ life, his electric period, without imitation. Brownman’s ELECTRYC TRIO is uniquely his own, yet echoes with the sounds of ‘Bitches Brew’ and ‘In a Silent Way’ right down to Miles’ use of electronics while still managing to stay grounded in the sounds of today. Clearly paying apt tribute to Brownman’s NYC mentor Randy Brecker, they are a truly impressive and energized modern jazz outfit.” Visit www.ElectrycTrio.Brownman.com for more info! ========================= QUOTES ========================= “Brownman’s powerful electrified trio captures the essence of the later years in Miles Davis’ life, his electric period, without imitation. Brownman’s ELECTRYC TRIO is uniquely his own, yet echoes with the sounds of ‘Bitches Brew’ and ‘In a Silent Way’ right down to Miles’ use of electronics while still managing to stay grounded in the sounds of today. Clearly paying apt tribute to Brownman’s NYC mentor Randy Brecker, they are a truly impressive and energized modern jazz outfit.” - CODA magazine "Colliding Black American Music traditions (hip-hop, soul, funk, r'n'b) with blazing virtuosic jazz improvising, this unique trio sounds relevant in today’s musical paradigm, while still speaking to the history of the jazz tradition." - New York Post "Brownman's Electryc Trio is lively, entertaining and hip ... the atmosphere is seriously funky ... the music's muscular and quick, much of it thrilling..." - Whole Note Magazine "Brownman is the real deal... this abundantly talented young musician was handpicked by the late MC Guru to blow the sinewy lines that made his Jazzmatazz project such a groundbreaking hybrid of jazz and hip-hop... with each appearance the buzz surrounding the bold and electric Brownman style has grown in amplitude." - Art Voice Magazine ========================= VIDEOS ========================= Check out the Brownman Electryc Trio on YouTube : www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFECA3E452FE2BC0D ========================= ABOUT BROWNMAN ALI ========================= Heralded as “Canada’s preeminent Jazz trumpeter” by NYC’s Village Voice, Brownman Ali - born on the small Caribbean island of Trinidad, & schooled in NYC - is a multiple award-winning NYC-schooled protégé to his teacher, Grammy-winning trumpet legend, Randy Brecker. He tirelessly leads 8 unique ensembles of his own including the internationally acclaimed Miles Davis influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO, and the award-winning CRUZAO latin-jazz quintet. All these ensembles record under Brownman's own much lauded BROWNTASAURAS RECORDS label, established in 2009. In high demand in the studio world with over 400 CD appearances to date, Brownman delivers stylistically authentic horn playing over a wide range of styles from bebop to hiphop having worked with the likes of Guru's Jazzmatazz (replacing Donald Byrd in that primordial ensemble), Mos Def, KRS-1, Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Jay-z, Missy Elliot, Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Gary Bartz, Chucho Valdes & far too many more to name here. He is considered to be one of the most unique and provocative improvising trumpet players in the nation today and is widely regarded as a vanguard for the evolution of Jazz in Canada. A highly decorated player, his awards & accolades include 2 National Jazz Awards (with 11 nominations over the years), 10 Global Music Awards, Montreal Jazz Fest's "Grand Prix Du Jazz" award, a CBC Galaxie Rising Star award, a SOCAN composers award, an International Independent Music Award for "Album of the Year", 3 Toronto Independent Music Awards for "Jazz Artist Of The Year" (9 nominations), multiple JUNO nominations, winning the International Song Competition (ISC), a Black Canadian Award nomination for "Jazz Musician of the Year", an induction into the WHO'S WHO IN BLACK CANADA, a Caribbean Music Award nomination, a Black IMPACT Award, a BRAVO! channel documentary on his life, NOW magazine naming him "Toronto's Best Jazz Musician", CBC Radio Canada named him "one of the most recorded trumpet players in Canadian history", NPR in New York calls him "the new standard in electric jazz", the Trinidad & Tobago Consulate General awarded him with a citation for being a "Distinguished National of Trinidad" and he has been listed by Air Canada as one of the "Top 10 reasons to visit Toronto". LINKS: Website(s): Venue: www.CounterpointBrewing.ca Label: www.Browntasauras.com Artist: www.Brownman.com Facebook: Venue: www.Facebook.com/CounterpointBrewing Label: www.Facebook.com/BrowntasaurasRecords Artist: www.Facebook.com/BrownmanMusic Instagram: Venue: www.instagram.com/CounterpointBrewing Label: www.Instagram.com/BrowntasaurasRecords Artist: www.Instagram.com/BrownmanMusic YouTube: www.YouTube.Brownman.com gets you to the Brownman Music Archive Channel where many Browntasauras Records Artists can be found. Spotify: www.Spotify.Browntasauras.com gets you to the entire Browntasauras Records catalog on Spotify. Support these artists! YouTube Music www.YouTube.Browntasauras.com gets you to the entire Browntasauras Records catalog on YouTube Music. Support these artists! Information Source: Browntasauras Records | eventbrite

Information Source: Canadian International Council V I | eventbrite

The Too Short to Suck Film Festival and Awards Show is an annual celebration of storytelling through short films, showcasing works that are 2 minutes or less in duration. Organized by Conflux Gallery, New Memories, and Parksville Arts Center, the festival invites filmmakers from all backgrounds to explore the art of concise filmmaking, from narrative to experimental, animation, and more. The event culminates in an awards show recognizing the best in several categories, including Best Cinematography, Best Animation, and Judges’ Award. Held annually in Parksville, NY, TSTS fosters creativity, community, and collaboration, providing a platform for local filmmakers to share their work and connect with fellow artists. This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program , a program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Delaware Valley Arts Alliance . Information Source: Parksville Arts Center | eventbrite

Valdy , is a Canadian folk and country musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for "Rock and Roll Song", his first mainstream single. Valdy is the winner of two Juno Awards for Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year and has received seven additional Juno nominations. His fourteen albums, including four which are certified gold, have achieved sales of nearly half a million copies. His distinctive voice can be heard on classic, country and campus radio; songs reflecting joys, struggles and accomplishments in all of our lives, spiced with a wry wit. "Valdy remains one of the country's purest and most credible storytellers." Toronto Star "He's a master of country, folk, rock and blues, and the catch is that whatever the sound, people know that Valdy is sincere." Saskatoon Star Phoenix Information Source: Knox Presents...@Knox United Church | eventbrite