Biggar & District Arts Council

John Muirhead combines powerful songwriting, poignant storytelling, audience participation, and a passion for performance into a compelling live show sure to give any fan of folk/Americana an unforgettable evening. Joined by his close friend and touring partner Trevor Dubois, John guides his audiences through a performance filled with his own original songs (streamed over 1.5 million times on Spotify), covers of old folk favourites, and interpretations of new pop hits, all expertly woven together with stories of his life as a travelling troubadour. From fingerpicked folk confessionals to roaring full-band singalongs, John’s award-winning songs have touched audiences across the world. With a combined online following of over 100,000 and hundreds of shows across Canada, Europe, and South America, John is building a vibrant, tight-knit community around his stories and songs.

Aliya, an award-winning Toronto-based comedian and Canadian academy award-nominated actress, captivates audiences globally with her vibrant personality and sharp wit. Her one-woman show, ‘Where You FROM, From?’ celebrated for its humor and deep engagement with themes of identity and belonging, has won accolades at Ottawa and Toronto Fringe Festivals. Aliya disarms audiences with her playful mischief, tackling complex topics like race, gender, and social labels with humor, sharing personal stories from her life as a nomad and debunking assumptions. Currently touring North America and developing a new show in Australia, Aliya’s performances invite laughter while fostering a connection to humanity. Notably nominated for her acting in 'Scarborough,' Aliya continues to expand her creative repertoire in film and television, maintaining a legacy of impactful entertainment.

Piano Heist is back with a dazzling new holiday production: A Very Merry Heistmas! A festive romp through Christmas classics interlaced with their own brand of musical and comedic shenanigans, Nico Rhodes & Patrick Courtin tackle everything "Christmas." Whether it’s the nostalgic charm of Charlie Brown Christmas, a rock & roll styled Nutcracker Suite; The Messiah on melodicas, or a rollicking ragtime Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, get ready for a holiday experience that’s truly one-of-a-kind! Bring your festive spirit and prepare to sing-along for A Very Merry Heistmas!

Cross vivid, folk-inspired melodies with two well-travelled jesters and you’ll find Jâca (ZH?-ka), a guitar and clarinet duo with exuberant energy, charm and wit. Clarinetist Wesley Ferreira and guitarist Jaxon Williams define their style as world music fused with personality, and are unafraid to experiment with that which captures their fancy - fresh takes on classics as well as composition from emerging artists. Highly skilled musicians and educators, both Wesley and Jaxon hold doctorates in music. Wesley performs worldwide as soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. International award-winning guitarist Jaxon is a former Fulbright scholar and master of the Spanish guitar repertoire. From the moment the duo step foot on the stage to the final round of applause, audiences members will find themselves engaged, entertained and enthralled. An evening with Jâca is an encounter with virtuosic performance, cheeky banter, and rhythms that coax you to play along.

Rum Ragged brings a bold take on Newfoundland folk music, combining deep roots with a contemporary twist. As leading performers of their vibrant tradition, they play instruments like bouzouki, fiddle, banjo, guitar, and accordion, captivating audiences with their unique style. Known for their honest, thought-provoking, and often humorous live shows, they have quickly become fan favorites. Their impressive vocal harmonies and storytelling deliver unforgettable concerts. Despite a demanding tour schedule, Rum Ragged has performed at top global folk venues and recorded five acclaimed albums.

Tommy Charles is bringing a classic touch to Country with a soulful tone. Tommy Charles throws listeners back to a "Golden Era", while carrying sounds reminiscent of Marty Robbins, and crooners. Born in the Montréal area and recently calling the Nashville of the north (Calgary) home, Tommy appeared on the hit TV show, "La Voix" (The Voice). His talent and acclaim from the competition allowed him to build a fan base, and play to audiences live across the country. Performing both in Canada and in Texas, Tommy Charles is eager to deliver performances that honor the rich heritage of North American music in variety of languages and influences.

Every now and then, we encounter an artist like Sandra Bouza who gets right down into our blood and bones. An artist whose voice stops us in our tracks. Her latest album, ’A Sound in the Dark.’ is nominated for the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards Contemporary Album of the Year. You can hear echoes of Etta James and Carla Thomas in Bouza’s powerful, highly nuanced phrasing. Like Amy Winehouse and Adele, Sandra’s absorbed a lot from the greats from the golden age of R&B and has emerged with a style that's all her own. Few singers can inhabit a vocal like Bouza does.

The Burden of Street brings together paintings that depict contradictory compositions to provide distinct visual experiences while exploring the complexities of our surrounding built environment. The element of the wall plays a significant role in this body of work as public sites for dwellers to engage with the political and social fabric of society. These paintings aim to explore the dichotomy of walls as both tools of control and platforms for resistance. They delve into how authorities use these walls to impose their ideologies and values upon the people, while also emphasizing the agency of dissidents who transform these spaces into channels of protest and expression. A diverse range of artistic techniques and mediums, including collage, painting, drawing, and graffiti, are used to create satirical and ironic situations that reference the deep dualities, disparities, and hypocrisies inherent in ruling systems. Iranian born visual artist, Mohadese Movahed focuses on painting in her studio practice. She graduated with a Bachelor of painting degree from the University of Science and Culture (USC) in Tehran and an MFA from the University of Regina, SK, Canada in 2020. Currently based in Vancouver, Movahed has exhibited her work nationally, internationally and is a recipient of Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation.

This body of work highlights the diversity, beauty, importance and plight of northern Saskatchewan muskegs, land that is being threatened with strip mining. Peat mining involves draining the water out of the muskeg then mulch the cover vegetation (sundews, pitcher plants, Labrador tea, black spruce, birch, willows, alders, cranberries, bunchberries, cloudberries, bog laurel, leatherleaf, and dozens of species of mosses). Muskegs/peatlands are very old landscapes, it takes 10 years for one centimeter of peat to form. It is important to Vanessa’s culture, and to the survival of traditions and knowledge to keep wild areas intact and undisturbed by resource extraction. Many people are unfamiliar with these areas, and this is Vanessa’s way of bringing the muskeg to the public. Vanessa is a Canadian artist of Woodlands Cree and Norwegian ancestry. She is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and her community is nemepith sipihk (Sucker River). She holds her Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan. Vanessa is interested in utilizing memory, tradition and themes of nature in her work. Land conservation and land sovereignty are at the heart of her work, with her painting and beadwork focusing on the richness of the land, and in turn, the threats to the land.

These series of works are an excerpt from a previous exhibition 'TADHANA'. These works explore the views as newcomer’s common concept that "fate brought us here" and the most common Filipino outlook of "bahala na" / "come what may" attitude which is prevalent to anyone. However, this attitude is not only a visible trait for newcomer alone, but these are also actually a day-to-day outlook of everyone just varying on expression and terms. The exhibition aims to finds parallels within culture to create better understanding of each and everyone’s' disposition in life. These bodies of work centres on the ideas of 'fate' while relating it to the quest for hierarchy of the modern society. As we live in a time that is always hungry for accomplishment, results and evidence of success, Patrick wants to elaborate the significance of fate thru commentaries using characters of reimagined folklore of his culture, patterns and juxtaposed imagery in order to give new meaning on how fate will lead us to one’s self discovery and freedom. Patrick Fernandez is a contemporary visual artist who lives and works in Regina, Saskatchewan. A native of Pangasinan, Philippines, his colourful paintings use symbolism and reimagined folklore imagery as a means of storytelling. His works are based on personal experiences that deal with displacement and adaptation, using circumstances as turning points for growth.