Dear Editor,
The Rotary Variety Show on Saturday, November 22nd, at Cates Hill Chapel, was a great success. It was a true variety event, showcasing a huge range of Bowen talent.
Singer Carlos Vela-Martinez opened the show with “Already Home” accompanied by dance students from Perform Art Studios. Bowen poet Jude Neale read several of her touching and funny poems. The young string duo of Nicholas Belluk and Liliana Orlikow had our toes tapping with their lively fiddling, and comic Marylee Stephenson had us giggling with her “Cuddles and Cars” routine.
The second act began with Graham Ritchie doing justice to several Shakespearean monologues – one in the dark. Shari Ulrich thrilled us with her lovely songs, including the poignant “Making friends With Gone.” Jackie Minns and Bawn Campbell performed a hilarious skit about a psychiatrist and his new patient. Martin Clarke recited several poems, and we did indeed believe that he was “a very sensitive man.” Nicole Thomas Zyczynski and Malcolm Shewan closed the show with gorgeous piano and Scottish pipes compositions.
Many thanks go to the performers, to the volunteers who put the show together, to the donors and sponsors including the Snug Café, to the designers who did the posters and ads, to the publicity folks, to the bar staff, to the tech guys, and everyone who helped on the night.
A special thanks goes to Phoenix for (always) cheerfully selling tix. Thanks also go to Bawn Campbell, who had the original idea for the show, coordinator Sheena Ashdown, stage manager Nancy Joyce, and to the fabulous emcee, David Cameron.
The Bowen Rotary Club put on this fundraiser for the Africa Village Project and for Rotary projects on Bowen. The Club invites you to their meetings on Thursday evenings at Collins Hall. Come find out about Rotary!
Sheena Ashdown and Bowen Island Rotary
