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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 28, 2012 · 16 OAC wants your nominations for Stars Among Us Artscene The fourth annual Cogeco Stars Among Us Arts Awards takes place this June and now is the chance for people to nominate someone for their artistic talents. The Oakville Arts Council is now accepting applications for the awards show that celebrates local musicians, actors, painters, writers and everyone who makes Oakville an innovative and creative community. The submission deadline is Friday at 4 p.m. "We believe that Oakville has a fabulous wealth of artistic talent and we want to ensure that our artists are encouraged and recognized by the larger community. We're also very pleased to be able to include arts organizations this year," said Megan Whittington, executive director of the arts council. There are six award categories, including: visual arts, literary arts, digital arts (previously media arts), performing arts, young artist (18 or younger), and -- new for this year -- arts organization. Applications will be assessed on artistic merit, artistic message and emotional impact, originality of concept or idea, innovative use of the medium, and technical execution of the medium. Winners from each category will receive $500, media coverage and recognition at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre. Local artists and arts groups can apply, while supporting members of the community can also nominate any local artist or arts organization with the artist's or organization's consent. Application forms are available at www.oakvillearts.com and can be mailed, hand-delivered, e-mailed or sent by courier to the Oakville Arts Council office located at 2302 Bridge Road, Oakville, Ont., L6L 2G6. eric riehl / oakville beaver file photo / @halton_photog strumming: Guitarist Don Ross was one of the special guest instructors at last summer's Guitar Workshop Plus, which took place at Oakville's Appleby College. Registrations are now open for the summer 2012 sessions. Rock legends bring skills to music program Some well-known rockers are lined up to teach aspiring and hobby musicians at the 2012 Guitar Workshop Plus summer program, which returns to Oakville's Appleby College. There will be two one-week sessions at the Oakville school. Guitar Workshop Plus also puts on a third session each summer, which takes place in Vancouver. This year's lineup of guest artists includes Ian Thornley of Big Wreck and live acoustic guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. Furthermore, as a top-rated summer music program, the guitar workshop will include such performers as guitarist Guthrie Govan (Solo, The Aristocrats), bassist Billy Sheehan (David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Solo), blues-rock guitarist David Grissom (Allman Bros, John Mellancamp, Dixie Chicks, Buddy Guy), picker Johnny Hiland (Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis) and many more. Toronto singer/songwriter/guitarist Ian Thornley is well-known as the front man for Big Wreck, before he went on to have a successful solo career with his own band, called Thornley. Emmanuel is an Australian guitarist and occasional singer, known for his complex fingerpicking style and use of percus- Art gallery looking for show submissions Kerr Village Art Gallery wants to help local artists get exposure and is hosting a call out to artists to submit work to its upcoming juried show. A Stroll Through Oakville will run at the gallery from April 11 to 29. The submission deadline is March 31. The exhibit is for painting and drawing mediums only and images must depict Oakville, such as the town's views, streets or landmarks. The winner of the People Choice Award will receive one year of representation at the gallery and gift certificates at local businesses. The gallery is located at 374 Kerr St. For submission guidelines, visit www.kerrvillageartgallery.com and click on the Submissions tab. sive effects on the guitar. He was twice named Best Acoustic Guitarist in the Guitar Player Magazine readers' poll. In 2012, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. The workshops are designed for aspiring musicians of all ages and hobbyists. It is meant to be the setting of intense musical and personal growth. Registrations have already begun for the summer sessions, which run July 15-20 and July 22-27 in Oakville. The Vancouver session is in August. For more information, visit www.guitarworkshopplus.com. Writer takes second in contest Show closes with party Melodie Campbell took second fiction. Some of her stories have place at the Hamilton Arts Council's appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Star fifth annual short ficMagazine, and Flash tion writing contest, Fiction. Creative Keyboards. Her comic time The Oakville writer travel novel, Rowena took the award earlier Through the Wall, was this month for her story number 2 on Amazon's Life Without George. Campbell has more Melodie Campbell Bestseller list (fantasy) than 200 works pubin February. lished, including 30 short stories and Entries in the writing competition has already won six awards for her came from across Canada. The Oakville Galleries' Youth Council (OGYC) is hosting a closing party on Friday for its exhibit Up All Night. Up All Night showcases the works of OGYC members and youths from the community in a variety of media, from sculpture, to video, to painting. The party runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Centennial Square gallery. All local teens are invited to attend. Admission is free. Centennial Square is located in downtown Oakville at the north west corner of Lakeshore Road and Navy Street. For more information, visit www.oakvillegalleries.com.