Rock Creek was given something extra to be thankful for as Thanksgiving week came to a close. Vivien Browne and Peri Best—aka the Operantics—presented a concert at St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Kettle Valley.
The concert marked an important watershed for both women, as both have plans for new adventures in the next while.
Vivien will be stepping into Peri’s shoes as choirmaster for the Singing Kettles choir group w hile Peri travels away so she will be able to focus on writing a book on her kinesiology practice she has developed called the Holy Grail Protocol.
The show was billed as “A Taste of the Classics and More”. This may be seen as something out of the ordinary for many in Rock Creek. But Peri did a great introduction to the world of opera when she explained one storyline, “This girl and this guy are trying to get together—but there are people who don’t want them to get together—meanwhile mixed up in the story are witches who don’t want them to get together either.”
Browne and Best have been performing together in shows from the Okanagan to Christina Lake over the past year or so.
They were assisted in presenting this show by Ann Rexin who looked after the decorations, Jenny Fletcher who organized the art, which graced the walls, and Izzy and Gail McLean and Colleen Smith for the refreshments.
Vivien says the Singing Kettles continue to practice every Thursday afternoon at St. Mary’s in preparation for their Christmas concert.
She said the holiday show this year would include a number of sing-a-long tunes.
“Plus a little bit of flute, little bit of accordion, Keegan Kappes on the organ and a bit of cello.”
As well as teaming up on the stage the pair have been active in programming for local seniors that has been funded by an Empowerment of Seniors (EOS) grant.
Best, a licensed Energy Kinesiology Practitioner, has presented two detailed workshops whose purpose was to introduce people to the study of muscles and how they work. “How to test muscles. How muscles are tied together with the meridians, so it is a tying together of western medicine and oriental medicine models.”
Practice sessions coming from these kinesiology workshops continue every Tuesday downstairs in the Rock Creek Medical Clinic. Browne says that volunteers are always welcome to come and lie on the table for one of these sessions. “The best way to learn is to practice what we know,” says Browne with her characteristic smile.
Upcoming next week on the EOS schedule are three computer workshops beginning on Wednesday, Oct 30 with Working with Photos, Thursday, Oct. 31 covers Word Processing —Using Word (Mac users will find this workshop useful) and Friday, Nov. 1 when Skype will be the topic.
These workshops are being presented in partnership with Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy at the Rock Creek Medical Centre. They start at 9:30 each day, are two to three hours long, with time in the afternoon for practice and questions. Space is limited. Register with Vivien Browne 250-528-7433.
They are asking a $10 returnable deposit for the computer workshops to ensure those who register actually show up for the sessions so valuable seats are not wasted.
On Saturday, Nov. 9 Melanie Zane will present a nutrition workshop at the Rock Creek medical clinic called Eating for Energy. Browne explains it as hands-on cooking and education. It is scheduled for 10-5.
The following day Zane will teach a session called “Your Brain on Food” from 1 to 5 p.m. Browne said these sessions may be ongoing if there is the interest.