Many ways to unplug and play this weekend

The Cat in the Hat has been in town to help kick off Unplug and Play Week.

Image Credit: Facebook

January 18, 2014 - 11:56 AM

KAMLOOPS — Get a head start on Unplug and Play Week by getting out and taking in one of the many arts or sporting events taking place around the city this weekend.

The Kamloops Arts Gallery will see several exhibitions opening this weekend, including Unlimited Edition, the Waste Land, Beautiful Monsters and Picasso's Beasts. While they all run through March 22 this Friday is a chance to get a tour of the exhibitions with Sonia Del Re and Tania Willard from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Unlimited Edition features prints by Indigenous artists in the permanent collection and what they represent. The Waste Land is by Kamloops-based Andrea Kastner and Beautiful Monsters explores how early European art represented monsters, from handsome to hideous. Picasso's Beasts: Selections from the National Gallery of Canada is part of a touring exhibition with the Beautiful Monsters exhibit and features a selection of etchings from Picasso's The Vollard Suite.

In staying with the arts theme, Saturday the annual Mayor's Gala for the Arts will take place to celebrate the professional arts with food, wine, entertainment and of course, awards.

Many hockey and basketball games will again be played this weekend as Thompson Rivers University teams take on University of Fraser Valley at Tournament Capital Centre starting at 6 p.m. and again on Saturday starting at 5 p.m.

Friday the men's university hockey team will hit the ice at Memorial Arena for an 8:30 p.m. game again Selkirk College while the Blazers take on Vancouver in a 7 p.m. game at Interior Savings Centre. Both teams will also play Saturday with the university team taking on Trinity Western University at 8 p.m. and the Blazers hosting Seattle at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile the Kamloops Storm will host Revelstoke at McArthur Island on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Fernie at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League action.

The Snowed in Comedy Tour hits the slopes and stage in Kamloops Friday evening with four comedians. Arj Barker, Dan Quinn, Craig Campbell and Pete Johansson are travelling western Canada snowboarding during the day and performing evening shows.

BIG Little Science Centre is kicking off Unplug and Play Week with science story times every hour starting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and the Kamloops Library will be the site of a dinosaur fossils show at 11 a.m. Love choral music will take the stage at St. Andrew's on the Square Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as well, with the Serious Options Choral Music set to perform.

On Sunday look to Westsyde Pool for free swimming, food, activities and prizes as the Westsyde Winter Carnival and Swim hits the pool or join the Kamloops Fish and Game Club as they host the annual ice fishing day at Walloper Lake from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free rods and bait will be available for first-timers and kids looking to try it out.

A new social group, Fun Laughter Friends 2014, is also meeting Sunday for a meet and greet pancake brunch. The adult only group is meant for individuals and couples without kids looking to make new friends.

Dr. Jill Calder will be speaking on the potential health impacts of the proposed Ajax Mine at the the university Clocktower Theatre at 2 p.m. Sunday. As one of the leaders of Kamloops Physicians for Healthy Environment Calder was one of the leading voices against the mine in 2013.

Also continuing this weekend is Melaina Todd's Drawing the Line exhibit at the Wilson House Gallery and Lyn Baldwin's Not Just a Snapshot: The Thompson Drainage Through Field Journal Art exhibition at The Old Courthouse Cultural Centre.

Unplug and Play Week runs from Jan. 20-27 with events leading up to the week on Saturday and Sunday as well. Three doezen free events will take place across the city over the week with the hopes of getting more families out playing, reading and learning together.

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.