Jazz singer David Post teams up with Portland, Ore., jazz guitarist John Stowell for a scholarship benefit concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth (BAAY) Theatre, 1059 N. State St.
Post, the founder of BAAY, has just returned from headlining engagements at top Russian jazz clubs in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and in Minsk, in Belarus. (He is elated to have had those opportunities, he says). Stowell has just returned from critically acclaimed performances in South America and Europe.
Together they will explore not-often-performed compositions by Bill Evans, as well as other jazz.
Tickets, $15, are available at the door. Half of the proceeds support BAAY scholarships. Details: david@baay.org.
STELLA ART BAR PLANS OPEN HOUSE
Downtown Bellingham's newest art bar, Stella, 311 E. Holly St., will host its grand opening from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, with music by Kevin Chryst and friends.
Music is scheduled every Friday and Saturday evening. Upcoming events include a reception for artists Brandi Fairbanks and Troy Terpstra at 6 p.m. Jan. 17, and a performance by Bellingham's Brazilian-jazz/samba duo Bossa 31 - guitarist John Miller and percussionist Joel Litwin - at 8 p.m. Jan. 26. Details: stella311.com, there website in progress.
WRITING CIRCLE FOR PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS
I heard Bellingham poet Matthew Brouwer at the last SpeakEasy poetry event in November at The Amadeus Project and I was enthralled by his vibrant, active reading of his work.
Brouwer is a teaching artist who enjoys working with people who are undergoing chronic physical challenges. He has performed his poetry in throughout the West and leads workshops in the public schools for middle-schoolers.
His interest in working with chronic sufferers arises from his own lengthy journey with myofascial pain syndrome, which for a time rendered him virtually unable to walk.
Later this January, he's leading a writing circle, which he calls Kintsugi, (inspired by the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery) for people with chronic medical conditions.
Matthew's hope is that the writing circle becomes a setting where chronic sufferers get to act as the experts of their own experience and identify places in their lives where they still have agency and power. Through the process of creating and sharing their writing alongside others in similar circumstances, participants can begin to better understand their emotions and experiences and develop improved strategies for self care.
The circle is open to all forms of writing, with no previous experience necessary. The main goal is to encourage self-expression, so the focus will be on offering positive support unless a participant requests more critical feedback. The majority of time will be spent on writing and sharing work, interspersed with brief reflections on the process of writing and living with a chronic condition.
Sessions will be two hours offered weekly. The group will include six to eight members, all of whom will have undergone a preliminary interview to ensure they are a good match for the circle and can commit to at least six weeks with the group.
The program is an affiliate program of Allied Arts of Whatcom County. Because participants may have financial struggles, the writing circle is free, although donations are appreciated. Details: matthewbrouwerpoet.com.
PICKFORD HOSTING STUDENT FILM COMPETITION
The Pickford Film Center's 2013 Guerilla Film Project is accepting student registrations. The project is an annual competition for high school students from Northwest Washington. Teams of three to five students write, shoot, cut and edit a 3-minute narrative film in less than 65 hours.
All film entries are required to use a specified line of dialogue and select props. This year's competition will be held over Presidents Day weekend, Feb. 14-17, at Pickford.
The competition is open to the first 25 teams that register. Registration is due by Feb. 1. Cash prizes will be given to the top three teams.
Details: pickfordfilmcenter.org/page/Guerilla-Film-Project.aspx or email Terri Krantz at guerilla@pickfordfilmcenter.org.
