This has grown to be my favourite time of the year in the Okanagan valley; the fruit trees are blossoming, the grapevines are shooting out verdant green buds, and the evenings are lengthening. In another month or so, the lakes will be warm enough to swim after work (despite my years in the north, I am still a big sissy when it comes to jumping in cold water! There are people swimming here in May, the hearty souls!). The outside is calling…so why have I started a bunch of inside projects?!! They were too good to resist, is the short answer.
Firstly, I was convinced by Barbara Younger to throw my hat in to a fundraising auction of re-purposed violins. Fourteen local artists have each received a no longer useable violin and are making it into art. there were literally hundreds of concepts whirling a jig around my head, but fortunately the muse settled down onto one. I will post pictures of the transformation and the finished piece when all is done. The pieces will show at Leir House and around Penticton for the month of May before being auctioned of at a fundraising dinner at Theo’s Restaurant in June. Proceeds go to Penticton Academy of Music, and will help support programs like the free summer camps they run to allow music to be accessible to all children. When I think of how much joy music brings to my life, I am glad that I can do something to give back.