Whistler’s best-kept secret—The Point Artist-Run Centre (PARC)—is getting set for another busy summer of arts, music and theatre programming on the shores of Alta Lake.
PARC kicks off its busiest season with live music every Sunday in the heritage lodge. Launching the concert series are hillbilly jammers, Giddy-Up Go Daddy, on July 2, followed by Sea to Sky singer-songwriter Kera Willis trading off sets with Squamish fiddle and banjo duo, Kricket & Claw, on July 9. That night, locals Alison Hunter, Anne-Elise Keefer and Jeanette Bruce, who make up Trio Alysium, play their “Songs for a Summer Evening.” Then, on July 16, The Courageous Mountain Rangers hit the Point stage, before Vancouver’s Doc Fingers joins special guest Tom Keenlyside, who will be bringing his sax and clarinet, on July 23. On July 30, Pemberton singer-songwriter Austin Ross trades sets with Lil’wat Nation blues artist and slide guitarist Archie Peters.
The concerts will be held under the lakeside tent, or inside the lodge, weather depending.
“We have a great setup under the lakeside tent for sunny days,” said PARC’s artistic director, Stephen Vogler, in a release, “but moving inside is just as spectacular with a really good sound system, the bar and kitchen open, and a view of the lake and surrounding mountains.”
The Sunday Concert Series, which runs from 3 to 6 p.m., will return in late August, with artists still to be announced.
“Be sure to come out and support our local and visiting musicians on Sunday Afternoons at The Point,” added Vogler, “and to mark the Flag Stop Festival in your calendar––a celebration of Sea to Sky and B.C. theatre, music and comedy produced by Whistler’s own artists.”
The Point’s signature annual event, the Flag Stop Theatre & Arts Festival, returns for its 12th edition from Aug. 8 to 12. Building on last year, when several satellite events were held outside of its usual home on Alta Lake, the festival gets rolling on Aug. 8 and 9 at Florence Petersen Park in the village, where organizers of the local smash-hit comedy show, Laugh Out LIVE!, will debut their new summer show, featuring improv, sketch comedy, stand-up, and more.
Also, some of the material emerging from PARC’s summer children and youth Theatre and Music Camps, which begin July 3, will be presented at Florence Petersen Park as part of the festival.
Flag Stop returns to its home base at The Point on Aug. 11 and 12, when the iconic floating stage will be home to live bands as well as two different plays: one starring locals actors from Whistler and Squamish, the other being developed by Vancouver producers and performers.
That’s on top of PARC’s 2023 Indigenous Artisan Showcase, which takes place next Friday, June 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Point, located at 5678 Alta Lake Road.
Tickets for the Sunday Concert Series are $15, and go on sale June 23. Tickets for the Flag Stop Theatre & Arts Festival go on sale July 4.
Find more information, and tickets once they’re available, at thepointartists.com.
