Well-known Valley artist Joe Smith will hold a solo exhibition and sale of his work at Filberg Lodge in Comox on May 7 and 8. This will be his first show of the season and he has quite a number of new works that will be shown for the first time.

The Bridge Lounge presents XLR8 for one night only this Saturday.

With the recent opening of new exhibits in late April comes a slate of exhibit-related Art Talks. This month at the Comox Valley Art Gallery (CVAG), you can experience a variety of presentations and workshops.

Bach, Vivaldi, Kreisler, Chopin, Bruch. Bringing them all together, Blaine Walbauer and Daniel Dowker have designed a stunning violin and piano recital that is both ambitious and delightful.

The Courtenay Branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library will host popular children’s author/illustrator Marie-Louise Gay on Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Remember a time when nothing felt better than rolling down the highway with the top down, good friends along for the ride, and your favourite tunes blaring out of the radio?

After such a warm reception by the Courtenay community last year, Helix Dance Theatre returns with its new 2011 company performing at the Old Church Theatre on May 13.

Performing at Tarbell’s Coffee Bar in Cumberland on May 13 are two of Vancouver Island’s favourite songstresses — Birgit Kuit and Joanna Finch.

Life has been a series of right turns — in more ways than one — for Corwin Fox. In his teens, an opportunity to attend an arts high school saved him from a life of petty crime. A decade later, meeting the love of his life catapulted him from the freewheeling lifestyle of a musician hitchhiking across the continent to being a dad and a full-time student.

On Saturday evening from 6 to 8 p.m., Zocalo Café, at the corner of Fifth and Cliffe in Courtenay, hosts the opening of the 2011 Mayworks Festival of Labour and the Arts Mail Art Exhibition.