By Don Urquhart
The highly popular Christmas event featuring stories, music and song last held two years ago in Osoyoos is returning with an edible cross-cultural twist this coming December 2.
Wayside Crossing through its Wayside Select Books & Art has teamed up with Hem’z Old Skool Cafe to present two dinner shows featuring Vancouver recording artists Michael Hart & Garth Bowen.
The idea was hatched after the cafe approached Wayside’s Dan Williams to explore the possibility of cooperating on an event. The two businesses already had a nascent connection as the cafe has a small book corner where it sells some of Wayside’s books.
“So I pitched them a traditional Christmas show thinking this may or may not be of interest to them, but they were interested to do it,” Williams said.
And in keeping with the cafe’s Indo-Canadian fusion menu the dinner will tap traditional Canadian seasonal flavours with a touch of fusion. This includes items like a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce which will be accompanied by a beef samosa to give it a complementary hit of Indian flavour.
Hem’z will host the event, titled “An Oasis at Christmas”, with a maximum capacity of 30 people with a slight reconfiguration of the space to accommodate the performers. “We’re excited about it, it’s our first event,” said a Hem’z spokesperson.
The show involves bringing in the artists from Vancouver and those who attended the 2021 Christmas show which Wayside partnered to hold at Jojo’s Cafe might well remember. That show was very popular, selling out the 60 seats and garnering rave reviews.
Williams says they wanted to do it again last year, “but just ran out of steam,” he laughs.
“We were grateful to get up to that number given the kind of phobia people had about going out in public and being in the small space,” he says in reference to the ongoing pandemic atmosphere of that time.
As for the entertainment, there’s “nothing quite like this show,” Williams says passionately. “It’s a very sweet and beautiful show, the musicians do an amazing job.”
Short readings and drama pieces drawing from classic Christmas stories and poems, all presented in an engaging way will be interspersed between the musical performances.
Based on feedback from the last event, Williams says they have cut back on the talk to allow for more music and song.
“There will be some modest singalong which people don’t have to do but there will be an opportunity,” he says highlighting it will be familiar Christmas carols.
The tie-up is a win for both partners as it helps drive local traffic to Hem’z during the slow winter season and increases local awareness of the cafe which opened earlier this year and it also fits both the spiritual mission of Wayside as well as its community building focus.
And it’s just not possible for anyone to leave after the show without being filled with Christmas spirit Williams says. “And I think we all could use some Christmas spirit right now,” he adds.
The event features two timings at 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m., both on Saturday, Dec. 2. Tickets are $40 and available at Wayside Select Books & Art and Hem’z Old Skool Cafe. Tickets can be reserved by emailing [email protected] or calling Dan Williams at 778-388-9684.
