The Lake Chapala Society children’s art program will offer a summer camp running from July 22 through 26 with a selection of workshops in oil painting, watercolors, engraving, papier mache and jewelry-making.
There is modest fee for each course to cover the cost of supplies. Classes are filling up fast, but enrollment for remaining openings may still be registered during the regular art sessions held every Saturday morning, 10 a.m. to Noon.
The camp will close Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m., with an exhibition and sale of original works and reproductions on printed note cards.
Music Appreciation Society
Citing the lack of volunteer and community support, Kathleen Phelps, president of the Music Appreciation Society (MAS), has announced that the board of directors has decided to cancel the 2013-2014 season and terminate the society’s activities. Refunds are available to those who have bought season tickets for the coming season, she says.
Starting in the late 1980s, MAS was the first organization in Ajijic offering quality music and dance performances by an array of international artists. Phelps is currently working with attorneys to close the organization in an ethical and legal manner.
The Baldwin grand piano is the property of MAS and is still available to other organizations by filling out the proper form and paying a maintenance fee of 400 pesos. Forms can be obtained at the Auditorio de la Ribera or by calling Phelps at 766-0010.
Photography classes
Learn the basics of photography and Photoshop in a special six-week class taught by Jill Flyer at a convenient location in Mirasol.
Says Flyer: “You will learn how to operate your camera, both in automatic and in manual modes. There will also be compositional exercises ‘in the field’ to stimulate your innate creativity. In Photoshop you will learn all of the necessary preliminary tools so that you can adjust your photos. You can learn to do simple enhancements to family and travel photos or you can explore doing some more complicated creative art.”
The classes cost 600 pesos for the entire six-week session. They will be held Wednesdays at 2 p.m., from July 10 through August 14. A minimum of five students is necessary to hold a class.
Flyer is a well known photographer at Lakeside. Check out her photos and credentials at her website at www.mexploration.net.
For more information on this particular class, including payment and directions, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 766-3025.
Concert series
Choirs and vocal ensembles will be serenading audiences in the week-long Festival Internacional del Canto (International Song Festival), which kicks off Friday, July 12, 8 p.m. with a performance by Gaudium Femenis from Uruguay at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo in Chapala.
Subsequent concerts are as follows:
Sunday, July 14 – Voz en Punto de Concierto from Mexico City. Auditorio de la Ribera, 8 p.m.
Monday, July 15 – Coro Femenino de Monterrey from Monterrey. Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, July 17 – Camerata Vocale Sine Nomine y Vocal Voces from Cuba. Auditorio de la Ribera, 8 p.m.
Thursday, July 18 – Ensamble Vocal Veracruzano from Veracruz. Chapala City Hall lobby, 8 p.m.
All the concerts are open to the public free of charge.
The recitals are sponsored by Chapala Office of Culture and Viva la Musica.
Photo exhibit
A summer photographic exhibit featuring the innovative and classical works of Xill Fessenden will be held at Quattro Gallery (Colon 9, Ajijic) on Saturday July 13, from 4-6 p.m.
At the opening Fessenden will present and discuss some of her ecological projects and plans for her Rural Village Photographic Workshops in October.
Film Festival
“Callas Forever” will be the first movie screened in the Lake Chapala Society’s Summer Film Festival on Thursday July 11, 2 p.m. on the society’s grounds.
The film is a fictionalized account of the last days of opera singer Maria Callas and stars Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons and Joan Plowright.
All are welcome. Membership in the LCS not required for this program.
Art opening
An exhibit by artist Myrna Shreve, titled “Portraiture, Glow and Afterglow, Oils on Linen,” opens Saturday, July 6, noon, at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo, the former Chapala Railway Station, located at Avendia Gonzalez Gallo 1500.
LLT auditions
The premier of “Local Hero” will open Lakeside Little Theatre’s 49th season. Adapted for the stage from an original screenplay by Bill Forsyth and directed by Neal Checkoway, it is a modern fable about what happens when Big Oil meets wee Scotland.
The play marks Checkoway’s writing/directing return to LLT for the first time since his back-to-back hits “An Inspector Calls” and “Being There” in 2004-2005.
“Local Hero” offers opportunities for both seasoned actors and those who want to experience live theater via smaller roles. There great character parts for 15 men and five women. Auditions will be Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13. Registration is at 9:30 a.m., at the theater (Calle Allen W. Lloyd next door to Instituto Loyola).
Rehearsals start in late August, with performances scheduled October 4 through 13.
Contact Checkoway at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details and role descriptions.
Live music
Raices, a jazz band out of Guadalajara playing classics and some fusion, play Tuesday, Fridays and Saturdays for the next two weeks at Hacienda del Lago. The music starts at 6:30 p.m. A special dinner menu, more than 100 martini flavors and free gourmet botanas awaits. Call 766-0685 for more information.
Ryan Ragazzi sings songs from your favorite Broadway shows this Saturday and Sunday, July 5 and 6 at El Piano Rojo. The show starts at 8 p.m. Also at Piano Rojo Lakeside’s newest band, The Best Kept Secret, plays classic rock, country, blues and jazz every Thursday. Piano Rojo now has a dance floor. Call 766-2876 for more information
Summer concert
The second concert in the series of summer concerts organized by Viva la Musica takes place at St. Andrews Church on Sunday, July 21, 4 p.m. (the bar and seating open at 3 p.m.). The performers will be the Cronopios Ensemble and Cuauhtemoc Garcia.
Mexico City-based Cronopios seeks to promote chamber music in a wide range of styles and epochs. The ensemble is comprised of Martha M. Moreyra Garcia (violin), Diana Capilla (violin), Dulce Capilla (viola) and Diego Cifuentes (cello).
Cuauhtemoc Garcia plays the transverse flute. He has studied at the University of Guadalajara, obtaining a degree in music instruction and flute performance. In 1992, and in subsequent years he has performed as soloist with the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra.
From 1995 to 2000 he studied at the Conservatory in Versailles, France, receiving two gold medals for musical education.
The July 21 program will include Luigi Boccherini’s “Qunitet no. 3 in D minor,” Anton Reicha’s “Flute Quintet Op.105 in A major,” Dimitri Schostakovich’s “Quartet for Strings No.1 Op49,” Eduardo Gamboa’s “Transparencies” and Alberto Ginastera’s “Impresiones de la Puna.”