West Kootenay Regional Arts Council

“Uno” by Raul Pous Facha
2025-05-08 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-09 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-12 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-13 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-14 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-15 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-16 12:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-19 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Vancouver) and 13 more dates | VISAC Gallery, 1501 Cedar Avenue, Trail, V1R 2J5
Meet Raul: Architect, Artist, and Digital Fabrication Visionary

“I’m Raul, an architect and artist of Mexican origin, now based in Canada since 2022. My lifelong fascination with materials and manufacturing techniques has deeply influenced my approach to design. While I’ve always appreciated the artistry and individuality of handmade products, I’ve also recognized the challenges they face in achieving precision and consistent quality.

This curiosity led me to digital fabrication, where I discovered the power to translate complex designs into reality with precision and control. Through the fusion of technology and craftsmanship, I am able to create pieces that retain the unique essence of handmade work while elevating their quality and accuracy.”

Exhibition Dates: March 10 – 20, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 13 from 4:00pm-5:30pm

Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 12pm-4pm

To learn more, visit us at: https://visacgallery.com/exhibitions/#unoraulpousfacha

Live Painting Demo: Verne Busby
2025-05-14 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Edmonton) | Effusion Art Gallery, 1033 7th Ave, Invermere, BC
Effusion Art Gallery in Invermere is thrilled to welcome St. Albert artist Verne Busby on Saturday May 17th this May Long Weekend!
Verne will be transforming a blank canvas into a work of art live on-site and Effusion will be featuring his stunnign new collection of original regional paintings May 17-23.
You definitely want to stop by to view his work and to watch his creative process unfold. Verne really is an acrylic paint master!

Changing Seasons Across the Kootenays
2025-05-15 - 2025-06-08 | 167 Deer Park Avenue, Kimberley, BC, V1A 2J5, 167 Deer Park Avenue, Kimberley, V1A 2J5
“Changing Seasons Across the Kootenays” A Solo Exhibit by Kimberley Artist Lynne Zentner Now Showing at Art Gallery Kimberley
We are proud to present “Changing Seasons Across the Kootenays,” a serene and heartfelt solo exhibition by local artist Lynne Zentner, available from May 15 through June 8, 2025.
Lynne’s collection pays tribute to the beauty and diversity of the four seasons in the Kootenays. Rooted in her deep connection to nature, each landscape painting is a visual love letter to the forests and mountain views she’s encountered during her many hours of “forest bathing,” solo camping, hiking, and skiing across the region. Her acrylic paintings capture not only the changing colours of the seasons, but also the mood and atmosphere of being lost in nature.
“I hope some of the love and beauty I’ve poured into my work will leak through to the viewer,” says Lynne, “and maybe even inspire a smile!”
Born on the wide-open prairies, Lynne’s artistic adventure began against a vast natural backdrop and blossomed into a professional career quite literally painting backgrounds bringing animated worlds to life as an artist and colour designer. With over 15 years in the Ottawa animation industry—including work with Funbag, Lacewood, and Hinton Animation for productions like Flash Gordon, Anthony Ant, and Watership Down—she has mastered a wide range of media and styles. Since changing careers and becoming an English language teacher, she has embraced landscape painting as her way of sharing her vision of the world.
Why should you visit? Because this exhibit is more than beautiful art—it’s a celebration of the wild, magical place we call home represented in paintings that invite visitors to experience the seasons of the Kootenays through the eyes—and heart—of a passionate local artist.
Everyone is invited to the opening reception on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 7 pm. Whether you’re a longtime admirer of Lynne’s work or a newcomer, this is a show that will move you—and perhaps change the way you see the landscape around you.
Where: Art Gallery Kimberley, 167 Deer Park Ave, Kimberley, BC.
When: May 15 through June 8, 2025 | Monday through Wednesday, by appointment and Thursday through Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm.

Nelson Sketch Comedy Revue: Volume II
2025-05-15 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-05-27 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Vancouver) | The Capitol Theatre, 421 Victoria Street, Nelson, British Columbia, V1L 5R2, Canada
After selling out the Capitol Theatre in November 2024 with the premiere of Nelson Sketch Comedy Revue, we’re back—bigger, bolder, and weirder than ever.
This show is a love letter to the phrase “Keep Nelson Weird.” It’s a live show packed with fast-paced, scripted comedy. Each scene is short, sharp, and completely original—written and performed by the cast. Expect the return of Nelson News Tonight—and if you don’t know what that is… well, we won’t spoil it for you.
What audiences said about our last show:
“That was such an amazing show! Maybe the best I’ve seen in Nelson, honestly. Please do it again!”
“I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.”
“We loved it so so much and can’t wait to see the next show!”
“PEOPLE IN THE BATHROOM CAN”T STOP TALKING ABOUT HOW GOOD THE SHOW IS!!!! AHHH!!!!!”
The Cast:
Jaymes Bowman
Michelle Hart
Emma Hill
Ruby Horton
Kait Hundt-Lippett
Ruth Krulitsky
Jonathan Ramos

With special guest, Jackie Atkins!

Directed by Michelle Hart
This 90-minute production, including an intermission, features mature content—parental discretion is advised.
Due to the incredible response to our last show, we’re thrilled to add a second performance! Don’t miss your chance to catch us at the Capitol Theatre on May 15 or May 27

Speaker Series with Cindy Devine: Cultivating a Champion
2025-05-22 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Vancouver) | Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre, 1100 Hwy 3B | Junction of Hwys 3B & 22, Rossland, BC, V0G 1Y0, Canada
Get ready for an evening of epic stories, serious inspiration, and a whole lot of trail talk! We’re stoked to welcome Cindy Devine—world champion downhill mountain biker and absolute legend—for a ride through her incredible career, starting at 6 pm on Thursday, May 22 at the Rossland Museum.
Cindy will share how her active childhood laid the foundation for becoming the very first UCI World Downhill Mountain Bike Champ in 1990. She’ll chat about the wild early days of competitive mountain biking, what it was like blazing trails as a female racer in a male-dominated sport, and how the scene has evolved over the decades.
As an inductee in the World Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame, and most recently, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, Cindy’s legacy is the stuff of two-wheeled dreams. Lucky us—she calls Rossland home!
Whether you’re a mountain biking fanatic or just love a good story, this is one talk you won’t want to miss. Admission by donation. Bring your friends—let’s ride!

Author Event: Tom Langford at the Fernie Museum
2025-05-22 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Edmonton) | Fernie Museum, 491 2nd Ave, Fernie, BC, V0B 1M0
Join writer and academic Tom Langford to present this new and welcome addition to Fernie’s history!
Doors at 7pm. Free Admission.
Nibbles and cash bar included, and early-release copies will be available for purchase.
The Canadian postwar economic boom did not include the Crowsnest Pass and Elk Valley. The Lights on the Tipple Are Going Out tells the story of our fight for survival.
Underground mine closures began in 1950, prompting various attempts by coal companies, labour unions, leftist political parties, municipal governments, and business groups to save the local economy. Efforts to reindustrialize in the mid-1960s brought unregulated, pell-mell growth, unsafe working conditions, and extreme pollution. Starting in 1968, however, the tide turned again as new mountaintop strip mines were built to produce metallurgical coal for Asia-Pacific steelmakers.
Today, in the face of the climate crisis, green steel manufacturing is being developed that eliminates the use of CO2-emitting coal. In the coming decades, as this book argues, the Crowsnest Pass and Elk Valley will need to stress ecosystem restoration, sustainable economic activities, and the inclusion of First Nations at the centre of economic decision making in order to embrace a future beyond coal.

Witches Spring Market
2025-05-25 11:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver) | Taghum Hall, 5915 Taghum Hall Rd, Nelson, V1L 6Y4
Witch Market and interactive events!! May 25 2025 Taghum Hall 11-5

*Tarot, Palm and Oracle readers, established locally as well as reputable readers from Kelowna.

*Vendors that will put a spell on you with their witchy, wacky and spiritual wears. Not your average market!!

*Workshops every half an hour to drop in on and learn about Wicca 101, How to set a crystal grid, sacred smoking, singing and breathing, music and how to read palms.

All for $2 at the door

Abby Wilson Book Launch
2025-05-31 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | Nelson Public Library, 602 Stanley St, Nelson, British Columbia, V1L 1N4, Canada
Author and artist Abby Wilson, who runs the popular website West Kootenay Hiking, has just published a brand new hiking book for the area. She’ll launch the guidebook West Kootenay Hiking on Saturday, May 31 at 7:30pm in a multimedia presentation at the Nelson Pubic Library. The book features 77 of the best hiking trails in the West Kootenay region of southeast British Columbia and features clear layouts, detailed topographic maps, and elevation profiles. The launch event will include breathtaking slides showing some of the trails as well as some background about Wilson’s journey from blog to book. There will be plenty of time for questions, and Otter Books will be on hand with copies for sale.

Wednesday Bunker Tours
2025-06-04 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Vancouver) | Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery, 502 Vernon Street, Nelson, V1L 4E7, Canada
During the height of the Cold War, in the 1950s and 1960s, nearly 50 bunkers were constructed across Canada. In 2017, the Nelson Museum began work on restoring the space and opening it to the public. You can join a tour of one of the Museumʼs best-loved spaces!

From iodine pills and Geiger counters to board games and ashtrays, visitors get a glimpse of the vast measures taken to create normalcy in an extraordinary time.

Wednesday Bunker tours run seasonally from June to September. Saturday Bunker tours are offered year-round. Click on the link to register. Adult admission required – children under 19 are always free!
