I would like to congratulate the board of directors of the Pentastic Jazz Festival for continuing to support young musicians in our community.
It is good to know there are committed people in our community that work diligently to bring a variety of quality music to our region every fall.
Not only do the patrons of this festival support our music program but now any young person can attend the festival at a significantly reduced rate. In addition, the festival sponsored a free show Friday afternoon specifically targeted at the young musicians in our school community, this year the show was at Princess Margaret Secondary School. At the Sunday morning gospel service the audience contributed a significant amount of money to the music programs at Pen High and Princess Margaret Secondary Schools and my colleague Justin Glibbery and I would like to thank you for this donation. These funds will go to assist with student travel in our departments.
From all the music teachers in School District 67 a huge thanks to the Pentastic Jazz Festival for their continued efforts in supporting music education in our community.
Don Grant, music teacher
Penticton Secondary School
Princess Margaret Secondary School
Great to see that that the play The Vagina Monologues is to be performed again in Penticton after a long gap.
I urge people to see the production at Many Hats/ Nest and Nectar theatre March 10 and 11 which will benefit the South Okanagan Women in Need Society. Eve Ensler’s iconic play is still really relevant today.
I remember when I directed and performed in the very first performance of the Vagina Monologues in Penticton in 2002, we had a stage full of women of all ages and acting experience. The play caused quite a stir in those days. I remember we played to a sellout house at the Cleland Theatre, but there were some letters to the editors.
Strangely the people who complained the most had not actually seen the play.
Break a Leg to the cast and crew of this year’s Vagina Monologues.
I’ll be cheering you all on— if I can still get a ticket!
Pamela Campion
Penticton
In reply to the letter entitled Too easy to blame the wildlife submitted by Gladys Kusmack of Penticton in the March 8 issue of the Penticton Western News.
I want to congratulate Gladys for her well-balanced letter regarding wildlife. It can be such an emotionally charged topic and she was able to write it in such a way as to see both sides of the issue and offer solutions for our wildlife, other than shooting them.
Another letter suggesting that deer be shot for a charity meal didn’t take into consideration that some people are vegetarian or vegan and would not eat deer meat anyway, either for ethical, religious or health reasons.
Another letter suggested that they be shot to preserve profits for the fruit growers and another comment reduces them to rodents. Wildlife kill each other for food in order to survive. Humans do not have to kill wildlife to survive. Humans have encroached on wildlife territory, so perhaps we should figure out a way to co-exist with them, so that our legacy to our forebears is not made extinct. There are other alternatives, if one has the will to adopt them.
Heather Caron
Penticton