February 2, 2010:
Poetry at The Artel, 205 Sydenham Street. The February reading will be the 10th in a monthly poetry open mic reading series launched in May, 2009 at the Artel. After a successful launch, all readings have been very diverse in voice, texture and content - and from comments after, the evenings have been enjoyable, even inspirational. This poetry series' ambition is to offer a compassionate setting for poets to come and share their work - and for others to relax and absorb. The open mic series at the Artel is a monthly event and the venue itself is warm, inviting and acoustically sound. The Artel is considered a "safe place" embracing diversity on a number of levels. This is an open event so feel free to invite or bring friends as well. Each reading has had a number of people come to support someone they know who is reading, or simply to come to listen and watch - and enjoy. This month's reading, scheduled for Tuesday, February 2nd at the Artel (corner of Queen and Sydenham Sts.), will run from 7:00 to 10:00pm, with a short intermission part way through and with limited food and beverage provided (and since my chili seemed to be a big hit last month, I'm planning on doing it again). It is also a free event, but donations would be greatly appreciated and will be given directly to the Artel for providing their space and their assistance. If you have or know of a project, exhibit, space or anything else related to the artist community please feel free to come promote it, or if you're not able to attend - contact me either here on fb or by way of email and I will promote it at the reading myself :) My email address is: bruce.kauffman@hotmail.com.

February 4, 2010:
Kingston Arts Council (KAC) presents a workshop on: Taxes for Artists, Artisans and Musicians - Making The Most of Your Deductions. 7-9 pm Thursday, February 4 at The Wilson Room inside the Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL) Main Branch, 130 Johnson Street. Speaker: Matt Hucheon has bee preparing personal income taxes for small business owner, including artists and artisans for over 15 years. He specializes in helping self employed people organize their records, and is able to explain the complex fianancial ideas in fun and engaging ways to non-financial people. www.artskingston.com  613.546.2787 info@artskingston.com.

February 4, 2010:
Tom Cochrane & Red Rider at the K-Rock Centre. Tickets on-sale now by visiting www.k-rockcentre.com, by phone 1-877-KLIVE 99 (554-8399), or in person at the K-Rock Centre Box Office Gate 4, 1 Barrack Street.

February 4, 2010:
Local filmmakers now have until February 12 at 5:00 pm to submit their short films for the 2010 Kingston Canadian Film Festival. www.kingcanfilmfest.com

February 5, 2010:
Black History Month Afro Beginnings Music Celebration at The Grad Club, 162 Barrie Street. Hosted by the African Caribean Students Association.

February 5, 2010:
This year, make CFRC your Valentine! CFRC's fifth annual Funding Drive takes place February 5-14, 2010. The goal for this year’s campaign is $25,000, which they hope to raise during 10 days of exciting live radio programming and community events. CFRC also have some wonderful gift incentives this year, including organic cotton tote bags and long-sleeve t-shirts, as well as music and gift certificates. Visit cfrcradio.com/blog for events details, or call 613-533-2121 for more information. Mark your calendars, and show CFRC a little love! 

February 5, 2010:
Ban Righ Noon Hour Speaker Series presents A Tasting of Teas with guest speaker Leslie Allen. Tea Guru and Owner of Tulipwood Teas. Give your taste buds a treat!  Attend a tutored tea tasting given by Leslie Allen of Tulipwood Teas.  Learn a little about the world of tea while savouring white, green, oolong, black and pu-erh teas. 12 Noon at Ban Righ Womens Resource Centre, 32 Bader Lane. Free admission, everyone welcome. 613-533-2976 www.queensu.ca/dsao/ind/banrigh.

February 6, 2010:
Kingston Punk Productions, Kingston, Music Scene and Fun House Concerts presents DaZoque! Swamp Ward Orchestra, Peter Deachman and CFRC Radio Hosts at The Mansion, 506 Princess Street. Part of the annual CFRC 101.9 FM Fundraising Drive!  10pm   $10-20 sliding scale *part of the fundraising drive, be kind!* 19+    CFRC 101.9 FM is Kingston and the area’s campus and community radio station, broadcasting continuously since 1922.

February 9, 2010:
Queen's Drama Department presents Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Directed by Craig Walker, Our Town features many of your friends as part of the cast and crew of this fantastic show! Show dates: Feb 9-14, 16-18. Shows start at 8:00pm, with a matinee performance at 2:00pm on the 13th. Tickets are $10 for students/seniors, $15 for everyone else. They may be purchased at the drama desk in the basement of Theological Hall or at the door. For more information, please visit www.queensu.ca/drama.

February 9, 2010:
Kingston Canadian Film VIP Passes, Three Film Passes and tickets for the CARRY ON SERGEANT! Gala are on sale now. www.kingcanfilmfest.com

February 10, 2010:
Folkies Without Borders; A Benefit Concert For Doctors Without Borders at the RCHA Club, 193 Ontario Street. Tickets $5 at the door (additional donations welcome). RCHA members get in free. Featuring: Barbara Gillespie, Acoustimus, Trevor Strong & Brian Flynn, Spencer Evans and Bob Robertson.  8pm  19+

February 11, 2010:
Cubafest Lives! Leoni Torres and his 8-person Band! A presentation of Cubafest Kingston - Ontario Cuba Cuban Festival at Confederation Place Hotel, Ontario Street. Celebrate Valentine's Day early with us! Cuba's legendary Leoni Torres in Kingston for one night only. Tickets on sale now and going fast: Buffet Dinner & Dance - 6:00pm - 8:00pm - $50 / Dance Only - 8:30pm - 11:30pm - $20. Tickets on sale through Cubafest Kingston, Brian's Record Option, & Tara Fine Foods.

February 11, 2010:
CFRC 101.9 fundraiser featuring Owl Farm, Music Maul, PS I Love You, False Face, and The Gertrudes at Time To Laugh Comedy Club, 394 Princess Street. www.timetolaugh.ca. Doors 8pm, Show 9pm.  Cover TBA   19+  CFRC 101.9 FM is Kingston and the area’s campus and community radio station, broadcasting continuously since 1922.

February 11, 2010:
The Grand Theatre Classical Remix Series at the Regina Rosen Auditorium, 218 Princess Street presents Angèle Dubeau and her gorgeous all-female string ensemble La Pietà will perform de Falla, Philip Glass, Piazzolla, and more. Balcony and Orchestra seating available. Performance starts 8pm. Charge by Phone 613-530-2050 www.kingstongrand.ca.

February 13, 2010:
The Draught House and Billards, 1677 Bath Road presents: Childhood Development Center Fundraiser. Saturday February 13th at 12:00pm The Draught House will be hosting a 13 hour musical marathon. This is an all ages event. $7.00 at the door, children 12 and under get in free. All proceeds will be going to the Childhood Development Center in Kingston. Bands scheduled to perform: (1pm - 2pm) Stone City Limits, (2pm - 3pm) Vorasek, (3pm - 5pm) Picket Fences, (5pm - 7pm) Little California, (7pm - 10pm) Rubberneck and (10pm -2am) Rock Bottom. The Childhood Development Center is located at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston. The CDC helps children with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, speech problems to name a few. Donations will be accepted at The Draught House on the day of the event. A tax receipt is available for donations over $20. For more information you can contact The Draught House at: 613-389-0088. For more information on The Childhood Development Center please call: 613-544-3400.

February 15, 2010:
Kingstonians anxious for spring can get a taste of it at the City's Greenhouse located at 111 Norman Rogers Dr. (across from Centennial Public School) which will open to the public from 2pm to 4pm on February 15 and 22, and March 1, 8 and 15.

February 16, 2010:
The 10th annual Kingston Canadian Film Festival feature film line up has been announced and includes anticipated films like Cooking With Stella, J’ai tué am mère and The TrotSky, and retrospective screenings of the best Canadian films of the last ten years. VIP Passes available at many fine locations including The Screening Room, 120 Princess Street.

February 18, 2010:
Ban Righ Noon Hour Speaker Series presents Artist, Erin Milliken. A newly returned resident of Kingston, Erin Milliken, will display some of her body of "couples" paintings, a palatably imperfect, playful and sensitive collection on display from January through to mid-February.  In a culture that can be oppressively isolating, Erin strives to remind people of their humanity and of the complex beauty of relationships and communication.  These colourful and accessible water colour and acrylic paintings will be the starting point for her talk. 12 Noon at the Ban Righ Womens Resource Centre, 32 Bader Lane. Free admission, everyone welcome. 613-533-2976 www.queensu.ca/dsao/ind/banrigh.

February 18, 2010:
Ann at Home - 15th Anniversary Celebration of the Ann Baillie Building National Historic Site as Home to the Museum of Health Care. Spend an afternoon at the Museum of Health Care during Heritage Week and enjoy A Curator's tour of our nursing gallery, Storytelling tours with nursing grads who once called the building home, A special "behind the scenes" look at our basement collection storage facilities, A free cocoa and cookies reception Co-organized by the Kingston General Hospital Nurses' Alumnae and the Museum on Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the Museum of Health Care (Ann Baillie Building National Historic Site 32 George St.,). Admission: Free. All are welcome. For more information, contact: Museum of Health Care, 613-548-2419, museum@kgh.kari.net, www.museumofhealthcare.ca.

February 18, 2010:
Beautiful Inferno hosts the Prison City Showcase with theBELLCURVE, Far From Venus, Clockwize Sound and Spread the Secret at Time To Laugh Comedy Club, 394 Princess Street  www.timetolaugh.ca. All proceeds to the Haiti Relief Fund. Doors 8pm.  $5 advance tickets or $7 at the door.  19+

February 20, 2010:
Dance the winter blues away to Tim Hallman singing live at the Seniors Centre. Come to meet new people or bring a friend. Cash bar and a light snack served later in the evening. 56 Francis St. 613.548.7810. $9 in advance, $10 at the door

February 20, 2010:
Classic Albums Live at the Grand Theatre, 218 Princess Street presents Supertramp's Crime of the Century. Balcony and Orchestra seating available. Performance starts 8pm. Charge by Phone 613-530-2050 www.kingstongrand.ca.

February 20, 2010:
The Glenburnie Public School Parent Council has decided to hold a dance and silent auction to fundraise for a SMART Board for the students of G.P.S. Click here to see what it looks like. Tickets are available for purchase at the Glenburnie P.S. school office and also Norton Electronics, 440 MacDonnell St. Tickets will sell for $15.00 per person or $25.00 per couple. Ticket price includes midnight buffet and entertainment at the Storrington Lions Hall. The night's entertainment will be provided by Rudy & Saddle Up. Everyone is welcome.

February 23, 2010:
Ban Righ Noon Hour Speaker Series presents Trapped in the Hall of Mirrors? The Culture of Surveillance after 9/11 with guest speaker Dr. David Murakami Wood: PhD, MSc, BA (Hons). Dep’t of Sociology. Since 9/11, there has been a flourishing cultural response to the global surge in security and surveillance in literature, film and the arts. These works range from simple dystopias or reflections on the banality of control, through libertarian 'geek' critique, to calls for justice and resistance. This talk looks at a range of such movies, novels and artworks and asks, firstly, whether there is really an obvious division between pre- and post- 9/11surveillance culture and, secondly, whether these works offer us any more than multiple reflections of society, leaving us trapped in an endless hall of mirrors.. 12 Noon at the Ban Righ Womens Resource Centre, 32 Bader Lane. Free admission, everyone welcome. 613-533-2976 www.queensu.ca/dsao/ind/banrigh.

February 24, 2010:
Andrzej Maciejewski will speak about William Notman, great 19th Century Canadian photographer. The 7 PM lecture will be accompanied by a slide-show. Out in the Sticks Cultural Centre, 2838 County Road 6 in Yarker. Entry is free. www.outinthesticks.ca.

February 25, 2010:
First time in Kingston! Sweeney Todd; The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - The School Edition! Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler, Directed by Anne Marie Mortensen, Choreography by Chelsea Swain, Stage Manager Judy Roberts. The recent Tim Burton movie starred Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter as the partners in gore. Adam Eliot and Hannah Smith lend their gifted voices to the merchants of mayhem. Anton Kaduck is a revelation as the hanging judge. Megan Ready-Walters and her sweet soprano voice makes her the perfect ingenue. The Gothic church that is The Wellington Street Theatre is the perfect environment for Fleet Street and its sordid neighbourhood. Adam Eliot's Sweeney Todd arrives back in England after being unjustly sentenced for crimes he did not commit. All he ever loved has been taken from him and he is looking for revenge. He falls in with Hannah Smith's Mrs. Lovett, and between them they go on a murderous spree, which ultimately consumes them in the fires of hate. Three performances only! Thursday, February 25 - 7:30 p.m. / Friday, February 26 - 7:30 p.m. / Saturday, February 27 - 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $15 General admission. The Wellington Street Theatre, 126 Wellington Street. Tickets available online www.bottletreeinc.com, the Grand Theatre Box Office (surcharges apply) and at the door, if available (cash only). Limited seating, so buy now to avoid disappointment.

February 25, 2010:
Hearthmakers Energy Co-operative is a Kingston-based enterprising non-profit organization that provides services and programs to improve the environmental sustainability of Eastern Ontario homes and communities. See us at booth 75 on the 2nd floor at the Kingston Home Builders Home and Trade Show! Runs from 9:30am on Thursday, Feb 25 to 5pm on Sunday, Feb 28. For more information contact Hearthmakers at (613) 547-8122, by email at info@hearthmakers.org, or visit our website at www.hearthmakers.org.