Free recital
Sunday, August 12, 4 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar, popular mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler will present a concert of songs by Schubert, Charles E. Ives and Richard Strauss. Sharing the spotlight will be the brilliant Spanish pianist Javier Vasquez Grela. The entrance is free but donations for the Promusicis organization will be accepted.
Mexican art contest
Two of Mexico’s most distinguished artists, Jose Luis Cortez Hernandez, master of burnished pottery, and Jose Manuel Robles, painter of Mexican history, were in Ajijic last week to help kick off an art contest at the Lake Chapala Society’s Children’s Art Program. The pair helped introduce the contest and inspire the kids to appreciate the beauty of Mexican Folk Art. The contest is being sponsored by the Feria Maestros del Arte, whose mission it is to preserve and promote Mexican and indigenous folk art.
The children will paint and draw pictures of Mexican folk art — pottery, woodcarving, rug weaving, painting, jewelry or masks. The contest ends August 18 and awards will be made during the free art program at LCS on Saturday, August 25. The Feria will give 500 pesos to the first place winner, 300 pesos to the second place winner and 200 pesos for the third place. The winning entries will be exhibited and for sale at the upcoming Feria Maestros del Arte set for November 16 to 18 at Plaza de la Ribera, Rio Bravo 10 in Ajijic.
Anyone interested in the contest and/or folk art is invited to join in on the art class Saturday mornings at the LCS back patio from 10 a.m. to noon.
Naked stage
Next up for the readers’ theater at Rio Bravo 10A in Ajijic is “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” by Steve Martin, directed by Russell Mack on the boards August 24, 25 and 26 at 4 p.m.
The play takes place at the Lapin Agile Café, a bar in Paris, where Freddy is a bartender. First, a 24-year-old Einstein walks in and lays out his, as yet unpublished special theory of relativity while Picasso salutes his cubist manifesto. It’s every bit as funny as anyone would expect Steve Martin to come up with…but it’s not for kids.
The cast includes Zane Pumiglia, Graham Miller, Patteye Simpson, Ken Yakiwchuck, Candace Luciano, Tony Wilshere, Neal Checkoway, Jim Donnelly and Chris Lane.
The bar (the real one — not the one in the play) opens at 3:30 p.m. and the box office at 3:15 p.m. Reservations for the play are a must. Contact Ann Pinkerton at 766-5986 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The donation is 80 pesos.
Auditions
Lakeside Little Theatre (LLT) is holding auditions on Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, 10 a.m. to noon at the theater. The play is “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight,” a thriller by Peter Colley. It will be directed by Roseann Wilshere.
Wilshere will be looking for two men and two women. Rehearsals begin on September 1 and will run from Monday through Friday. Performance dates are November 2 to November 11. People auditioning for roles at Lakeside Little Theatre must be members of LLT. Memberships will be on sale at the auditions. LLT encourages and welcomes everyone interested in acting, new or experienced, to attend auditions for any of this season’s plays.
VIVA scholarships
A reminder that auditions for VIVA scholarships will be held on Monday, August 20, 1:30 p.m. in the home of Rosemary Keeling. Call Rosemary at 766-1801 if you would like to attend. Seven new students have applied so far and more may come.
Fall concert
VIVA will sponsor a concert on Thursday, September 13, 7 p.m. at the Gonzalez Gallo Cultural Center (old train station) in Chapala. The treat is chamber music of quintets for clarinet and strings by Carl Maria von Weber and Johann Brahms. The performers, well known to many from the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) are Julio Serna Villalobos (first violin), Robert Markus (second violin), Robert Nelson (viola) Laila Kannina (cello) and Xochitl Garcia (clarinet). Ticket sales for VIVA’s coming roster of events will begin on Friday, August 17 at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) and continue there every Thursday and Friday morning. Ticket prices have not risen in eight years and remain at 200 pesos for members and 300 pesos for non-members.