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Concert series returns to Centennial Park

Two musical duos coming to 100 Mile House in July
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Rachelle Van Zanten. (Thom Barker photo)

The Cariboo Blues free community concert series is returning to the South Cariboo this summer.

The series, organized by Peter and Gail Thorne, of Slapback Music, consists of six performances by two different musical duos throughout July.

“The musicians we’ve chosen are ones we thought would be really suitable for our area and they’re all roots and blues musicians,” Peter said. “I think everyone would love to experience professional live music again.”

First on the schedule is the duo of Rachelle Van Zanten and Brin Porter. They will perform in Centennial Park from 6-8 p.m. July 8 and at 108 Mile Heritage Site from 1-3 p.m. July 9.

Peter describes Van Zanten as a great slide guitar player who plays the blues with an edge.

The following week, Doug Cox and Jeff Plankenhorn will come to town. The two of them play an upbeat style of music, Peter said. They will play in Centennial Park from 6-8 p.m. July 15 and in Boitanio Park in Williams Lake from 2-4 p.m. July 16.

Both duos will also perform private, invitation-only shows at the Lotus Music Club - the Thorne residence in 108 Mile Ranch - with the Van Zanten duo on July 10 and Cox and Plankenhorn on July 17 respectively.

Gail noted they were unable to organize concerts during the pandemic, which was disappointing. To ensure they would be able to run it this year, she successfully applied for a $7,000 festival grant. They’re also still looking for sponsors and invite anyone interested in helping out to contact slapback@shaw.ca.

“Everything is free which puts a lot of cost on us but it’s a really good way to expose people to music they don’t get exposed to in this area very often,” she said. “It’s going to be an exciting summer.”



patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net

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Patrick Davies

About the Author: Patrick Davies

An avid lover of theatre, media, and the arts in all its forms, I've enjoyed building my professional reputation in 100 Mile House.
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