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2 5 Friday, A ugust 26, 2011 O A K V ILLE B EA V ER w w w .in sid eH A LTO N .co m Artscene BEAT GOES ON: Pictured are the Chisholm Dancers dancing to the sounds of the Halton Regional Police Service Pipes and Drums band at last month's Echoes of Erchless free outdoor concert. The fourth and final concert of the series takes place this Saturday. CLAUDIO CUGLIARI / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FILE PHOTO Last museum summer concert this weekend The Oakville Museum at the Erchless Estate is holding its fourth and final free summer concert on Saturday, Aug. 27. The outdoor concert takes place on the grounds of the museum and will begin at 7:30 p.m. The Oakville Ale & Sword Ceilidh Band will be the special guest performing group for this concert. The summer-time program featured live music by the Halton Regional Police Services Pipes and Drums band, along with performances by the Chisholm Dancers. The two groups have been entertaining crowds this summer with a repertoire of Scottish dance and traditional music from the British Isles and Canada. The evening will end at dusk with a flag lowering ceremony dedicated to Canadas veteran and serving soldiers. People are reminded to bring a blanket or lawn chair to enjoy the music and the cooling lake breezes. The museum is located at 8 Navy St. For more information, visit www. oakvillemuseum.ca. With the end of summer approaching, the Oakville chapter of the Bad Dog Theatre Company is going to provide people with some improvisational laughs. The company is hosting its Bad Dog Days of Summer comedy jam on the pen- ultimate weekend of the unofficial sum- mer with a pair of shows on Sunday, Aug. 28 at The Moonshine Caf The show will pack some easily recog- nizable people, including Jerry Schaefer who has had a number of roles on TV and film, including on Little Mosque, The Red Green Show, as well as the stomping-an- gry husband in the Ikea kitchen commer- cial that has his wife daydreaming of an ideal husband. There is a pair of shows, one at 7 p.m. for all ages and an 8:30 p.m. adults only show. In the first show, Schaefers adult class will show their work. The second show will feature Schaefer along with Carmine Lucarelli (of Bad Dog, Cage Match!, Thats So Weird), Leslie Seiler (Comedy Inc., Second City) and Rob Baker (Second City, Hatzenbaker). Shows are $5 at the door. The cafs located at 137 Kerr St. Bad Dog days of summer at Moonshine Cafe Regardless of singing talent, choir wants you By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A long-time Oakville resident says singing in a choir is a profoundly spiritual experience and hopes to give everyone an opportunity to be a part of that. So Jacqueline Curtis and her Toronto sister-in- law Anne Wootten have set out to do just that. Together, they opened My Pop Choir, one location in Oakville and another in Toronto, where everyone is welcome to join, no matter what the level of talent they may have, or lack of. Nobody needs to know how to sing. Nobody needs to have any experience whatsoever singing in public, other than Happy Birthday. They just have to love to sing, she said. No auditions. No solos. Everybody is welcome. Nobody will be put on the spot, ever. Its all about extreme comfort, joy and laughter. One reason the pair are doing this is because there is little else like this available. Theres so much emphasis on the physical with peoples spare time the fitness clubs and the yoga classes, which are all great, but there has been noth- ing for the spirit, Curtis said. Furthermore she experienced the wonder of cho- ral singing at a Stevie Wonder concert long ago that she has never forgotten. Stevie Wonder had the audience of about 10,000 sing in four-part harmony, she recalled. He sepa- rated the audience by where they were seated and he taught them two phrases from one of his songs. The first group was taught the melody and the other groups were taught the two different harmonies. In 15 minutes he had 10,000 people singing in three- part harmony and we were God-smacked. We were out of our minds with the joy. The spirit of that moment stuck with me forever. Thats what she hopes to replicate with My Pop Choir. We know this kind of thing is happening around the world, its just not happening in Canada, she said. We thought were going to do it and were going to do it right. Were going to get people forget- ting everything about their everyday worries, stress- es and in that 90 minutes have them find a place of See Choir page 28 No auditions. No solos. Everybody is welcome. Nobody will be put on the spot, ever. Jacqueline Curtis, co-owner My Pop Choir