The Moose Jaw Cultural Centre has some new show dates listed on its events calendar for this fall and it is more than ready to welcome Moose Javians back through the doors of the beloved Mae Wilson Theatre.
After several months of closed doors, the Cultural Centre reopened in July and executive director Derik Cronan is happy to see Moose Jaw interested in the three upcoming shows scheduled for the end of 2020.
On Oct. 22, Edmonton artist Mike Plume will open the trifecta for the Cultural Centre with a show promoting his newest album, Lonesome Stretch Of Highway, released on May 22. Tickets are $30 plus taxes and fees.
Next, award-winning Regina country artist JJ Voss will take the stage on Nov. 19, fresh off a number of Saskatchewan Country Music Award wins and a new album titled Come Along With Me also released this spring. Tickets are $25 plus taxes and fees.
And finally, prairie favourite Jeffery Straker will be returning with A Very Prairie Christmas on Dec. 1 and 2, which has sold out at Casino Regina the last three years running and expanded to include the Moose Jaw stage last year. Tickets are $28 plus taxes and fees.
The gallery space in the Cultural Centre is also hosting a new exhibition currently, bringing things a little closer to normal for the event centre.
Plantscapes from the Prairies by Maple Creek artist Geoff Phillips is on display until Nov. 21, as part of a touring exhibition from the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils called Arts on the Move.
The exhibition features large canvas paintings showcasing prairie nature from all over southern Saskatchewan, each of which Phillips rolled up and hiked out to remote locations to sketch and paint on scene.
“It's a great way to kind of look at things a little bit different than we normally do, especially with them being such large scale canvases,” said Cronan. “You see so many intricate details that you might miss, normally, and the artist's interpretation of them.”
The exhibition is just the first of upcoming tours from OSAC, said Cronan, with more yet to be announced.
The Cultural Centre is glad to have some things scheduled after a difficult few months of uncertainty, said Cronan. He estimated that over 60 events have been either cancelled or rescheduled this year due to the pandemic, and the loss in traffic has been tough on the venue.
“It feels great to have shows back on the calendar,” said Cronan. “It’s been a strange several months, we’ve been continually busy with postponing shows [but] it's great to get back into the swing of things here and I’m very pleased with the support we’ve had from the community. It’s been great to see and gives us a little bit of hope for the first half of next year.”
Fortunately, tickets are already selling well for the upcoming shows and Cronan shared that despite being open and operating, there are a few things different at the Cultural Centre right now.
Only 125 tickets will be sold for any upcoming show, out of the theatre’s 400 total seats, and the box office is offering tickets in blocks of up to six for groups attending from the same home bubble.
A buffer of three empty seats is required between any audience members or groups, and while masks are not required in the building for visitors, the Cultural Centre staff will be wearing them and guests are strongly encouraged to as well.
As one more precaution, tickets for any of the upcoming shows are only available to purchase by visiting or calling the Box Office, to ensure that people are briefed on all the COVID-related safety measures in place before they arrive for their event.
Information about upcoming shows can be found on the Cultural Centre’s website, and the Box Office can be reached during operating hours on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in person or by calling 1 (306) 693-4700.
