Whales and Seals and Eagles Oh My!

Well here it is the middle of winter, and though the shops have been battened down, the tourists have come and gone, and we have seen the flow and ebb of boats and fishermen,  there is still a lot of commotion "in" the bay!

For the last few weeks we have had schools of herring and mackerel in the bay making the water almost bubble! The sea gulls have been spread out along the surface with eagles perched on the neighbouring trees and seals resting with full bellies on the ice pans! Yet, most exciting of all is the whales!
We have seen Humpbacks, Fin whales and Minkies so far! Most of the activity (that we know of) has been at the end of the south arm of Bonne Bay, which we know as "Up the bottom".

If you come up for a drive bring some snacks and maybe a thermos of something hot! If you're around town after 2pm the local legion is a great place to warm up and have a coffee, beer or chips!
(At the moment we aren't open, but we are currently insulating the pottery area! Updates to come in the next post!)

Taryn Kawaja and Peter Lannon Friday Concert

Halifax-based composer, pianist and singer Taryn Kawaja is known for her "dark resonating chord combinations, thick dramatic piano riffs, and emotionally saturated vocals." She is on tour in Newfoundland August 20th to September 1 with Peter Lannon. Peter is an accomplished young St. John's songwriter and a member of super-cool band City on the Coast.

You can check out a video of Peter's song Anchor here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4yrZfp0-8

Their first show is tonight (Thurs) at Swirsky's in Corner Brook - Taryn's hometown! They will be singing and making magic at Galliott Studios tomorrow.

For more details visit the Facebook page for this
tour:
www.facebook.com/events/1474503472849081/

Taryn's website: tarynkawaja.bandcamp.com

Writers at Woody Point

We've arrived at one of the busiest weeks of the year in the little town of Woody Point! There are so many incredible names on the bill this year and it is guaranteed to be a memorable time. Galliott Studios is an important hub during the festival. It is the perfect meeting place: friendly faces, tasty snacks, excellent coffee and the best deck/warf in the world.

It all begins today (Tuesday) at 10:30pm with a party for festival volunteers (food and drinks!), and will unfold as follows:

Thursday 7-9 am CBC will be broadcasting live from the shop with novelist Miriam Toews.

Friday, 9:30 am readings by poet and children's author George Murray.

Friday, 2pm Matinee concert with Anita Best and Sandy Morris. Anita was just presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society this past Saturday at the folk festival in St. John's! Not to be missed.

Saturday, 9:30 am Readings by novelist Kathleen Winter.

Sunday, 9:30 am Readings by Joan Clark.

Sunday 2pm Matinee concert with Katie Baggs.

Sunday  4:30 pm Locals Read: if you are a writer with a connection to the Bonne Bay area, you can read during this event! Sign up at Galliott Studios anytime this week.

All of these events are free. We look forward to seeing you! Check for updates here and on our Facebook page throughout the week.

The full Writers at Woody Point schedule can be found at http://www.writersatwoodypoint.com/schedule/.

Surprise Treats, Pretty Flowers, and Matthew Hornell

Guests at Thom Coombs' show this past week got a tasty surprise: "Goat cheese, dandelion trickle and dried pansy crustini" followed by "smoked seal and fiddlehead pesto on toast". YUM! You can't beat good music combined with good food.

Matthew Hornell is no stranger to Woody Point but you are in for a serious treat this time around. In addition to Matthew's original folk songs, he and sideman Andrew Sneddon will be playing some songs from their newly released bluegrass EP THIS FRIDAY at Galliott Studios. I was lucky enough to see them play at the LSPU Hall in St. John's this past week and it was SO good and SO fun. The EP was recorded live in a Nova Scotia church and the jacket was letter-press printed and hand-folded. That's commitment, folks! This little gem is only available at live shows or Fred's Records in St. John's, so take this opportunity to get yourself a copy.

In other news, the Woody Point Regatta was a huge success, and tons of little crafters came out to Galliott Studios. The craft was tricky but with some great help from parents, everyone was able to take home a pretty homemade flower! 

Thom Coombes Monday Night!

Meet Thom Coombes from St. John's band Thom and the Tomcats. He writes and plays adorable indie rock/pop/folk songs, and lots of them - the band has five albums for sale on their bandcamp site (thomandthetomcats.bandcamp.com/merch).
You can also stream their songs on CBC radio three (which I am doing right now as I write! I am enjoying it immensely. http://music.cbc.ca/#!/play/artist/Thom-the-Tomcats)

Come to Galliott Studios for a charming solo performance this coming Monday, July 27. Hope to see you there! 

Mayhemingways Sunday Night!

Tomorrow evening at Galliott Studios you can catch the Mayhemingways from Peterborough, Ontario. This duo tours the east coast often and has become a favorite of Newfoundland audiences. They are very busy this time around: in St. John's they played at the Ship Friday night and a daytime house show at the Lady Palace. Tonight (Saturday) they are at the Grates Cove Cafe (Note: If your travels take you to the Avalon this is little restaurant/gallery is well worth the drive from St. John's!), Tomorrow they'll head west to play Galliott Studios. The final Newfoundland stop for this tour is at Flynn's Pub in Corner Brook on Monday night.

Check them out! Excellent music and really lovely people.

Have a listen to some of their tunes at mayhemingways.wordpress.com.
Watch a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECy7G0AhJV8.

the Mayhemingways

Artist Talk This Friday!

Hello, friends! Summer is really happening now and we hope you are all having a great time no matter the weather! Here are a few little updates we wanted to let you know about:

This Friday, July 10 at 7:30pm join us for an artist talk with Jessie Knirsch. You can view some of her beautiful artwork at www.jessieknirsch.com.

If you attended last week's book talk and discussion with Miles Howe and Annie Clair, you will be interested to know that Mi'kmaq land defender Annie Clair has an upcoming court appearance. you can find out more here: https://vimeo.com/122691310. Donations to help with legal fees can be sent to supportannie@riseup.net.

And finally, here are a couple of snaps of the cruise ship Ocean Endeavor out in Bonne Bay, taken from our back door yesterday. Happy July!