2 THE INTERLAKE SPECTATOR Friday, April 30, 2010

Nuna festival showcases Manitoba and Iceland performers

By Roger Newman Th e artistic ties between Canada and Iceland will be strengthened by the fourth annual Nuna (now) celebration set for four weekends in May. Music, theatre and art by representatives of both countries will be featured during a series of performances and cultural events in Winnipeg, Gimli and Riverton. Nuna, part of the Canada Iceland Arts Festival, is organized by a fi ve-person committee of Manitoba artists and publishers, including Jon Samson of Winnipeg and Tristin Tergesen of Gimli. ?We started Nuna in Manitoba because there are a lot of similarities between the province and Iceland, ? says Samson, leader of the acclaimed Weakerthans rock group. ?Both are isolated and rich in culture.? The Gimli portion of Nuna kicks off Sat., May 1 with two events. The award-winning Icelandic documentary ?Dreamland? will be screened at 2 p.m. at the Lady of the Lake Th eatre in the Waterfront Centre. Author and co-director Andri Snaer Magnason will be on-hand for a question-and-answer session about the powerful film pitting corporate power against small communities in a struggle over unspoiled nature and energy development. A musical treat is in store the same day when FM Belfast and Old Folks Home entertain at 8 p.m. at the Gimli Movie Theatre. FM Belfast is a bouncy dance band whose renown in Iceland has spread throughout Europe while opening act Old Folks Home combines the harmonies of Winnipeg musicians Ricardo Lopez-Aguilar and Shaun Gibson. The Iceland-Manitoba combination will be repeated Th urs., May 6 when Olof Arnalds GREENHOUSES LANDSCAPING

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Photo by Birgir Isleifur Gunnarsson ABOVE: A scene from Humanimal, a performance by ?Me and My Friends?. The play will be presented in Gimli May 22, then again in Riverton May 23. and Christine Fellows perform at 7 p.m. at Gimli?s Johnson Hall. Arnalds, an Icelandic folk singer, has been praised by the New York Times for the quality of her voice. Fellows, a Winnipegger , is a singer, songwriter, recording artist whose latest album is ?Nevertheless?. Samson said two theatre companies will be represented in the festival for the fi rst time. ?Th eatre is an important part of the arts and we wanted to do it,? he said. Over 15,000 sq. ft. of the Highest Quality, Locally Grown Plants. 6 mi. north of Arborg on #326, 2 mi. west on #329, 2 mi. north on Rd 9E. Follow signs north of Arborg & west of Riverton. Outlets will open in Arborg at Co-op Hardware parking lot & in Fisher Branch at Countryside Lumber second week of May (depending upon weather)

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Hall Bookings and Information: Page ? 643 ? 5529 Coming from Iceland will be the ?Me and My Friends? theatre company, a group of 10 actors who will present ?Humanimal?, an amusing look at human behaviour , which won play of the year award in Reykjavik. After a show in Winnipeg, the cast will present ?Humanimal? and other works Sat., May 22 at 9 p.m. at Johnson Hall and Sun., May 23 at 7 p.m. at the Riverton Community Hall. Th e Gimli performance will be in English while the Riverton performance will be in both English and Icelandic. Th e other theatre is Der Geist Th eatre Co. of Winnipeg which will stage ?Th e Sound of Your Eyes Closing? Sun., May 23 at 3 p.m. at the A-Spire Theatre in Gimli. Authored by Winnipeg playwright Stephen Furmanuik, the play is a surreal thriller set in an Interlake Icelandic community in 1890. The concluding Gimli event will be a lecture by Laurie K. Bertram Sat., May 22 at 2 p.m. in the Lady of the Lake Theatre. Bertram, a former Winnipegger and PhD. candidate in the University of Toronto?s department of history, will discuss the cross-cultural phenomenon known as Vinarterta and its companion, coff ee. Samson said a Winnipeg highlight of the festival will take place Th urs., May 13 when a Nuna-commissioned mural by Icelandic artist Sara Riel is unveiled on the side of the former Birt Saddlery Building on Main St. in downtown Winnipeg. The unveiling of the naturalistic painting at 7 p.m. will be followed by a performance inside the building by Icelandic singer Daniel Agust Haraldsson. Winnipeg will also be the site of many shows during the four weekends, some of them featuring the same performers who will appear in Gimli and Riverton. Nuna is mounted with the help of many sponsors, including the Government of Iceland, Icelandair, Indus Automation Inc., Shelter Canadian Properties, Cash Store Financial and Discovery International Ltd. Tickets for the Gimli events at various prices are available at Tergesen?s or at the door. For full details of the festival, check the website at www.nunanow.com

TREE PLANTING ENHANCES EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND OUR PLACE IN ENVIRONMENT

Continued from front Students planted the trees around the school playground. ?A lot of them are on the edge of school grounds, creating a border within the vision rules, so nobody?s view would be blocked,? said Whiteside. ?The lilac hedge was supposed to be beside the school parking lot, but that may be moved.? Whiteside hopes present and future students benefi t from the new trees. ?We?re trying to connect them with Earth Day as much as possible and get them to think about what they can do to better the environment,? said Whiteside. ?These trees are tiny things and we want them to have something to do with planting them and tak- ing ownership, protecting them and watching them grow someday soon. They might not be at the school when it happens, but it will benefi t the school in the future.?

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Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

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