OCTOBER NEWSLETTER — What’s on in October

Happy October! Our 2025/2026 ArtSpring Presents season is in full swing, and this month’s calendar is jam-packed with film, theatre, and music from our 100% Canadian lineup.

After two sellout years in a row, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival returns on October 10 and 11 with a fresh collection of films packed with adventure and stunning landscapes from around the world. This festival has too many amazing films to settle for just one screening–that’s why we’re hosting two showings with completely different sets of films including award-winners and audience favourites.

On October 14, classical piano master Angela Cheng will dazzle us with her show Prisms. As one of the most highly acclaimed pianists in Canada, Cheng performs regularly with virtually every orchestra in the country and instructs across the globe. Don’t miss this special opportunity to see a national treasure in our intimate setting.

Then, on October 17, actor-dancer-director Hiromoto Ida returns to our stage with his play, Vacant Lot. This piece centres on a long-married couple visiting the empty lot where their family home once stood, inviting audiences to reflect on the ache of impermanence, the fragile passage of time, and what it means to exist despite it all. (ArtSpring audiences might remember Ida from his play, Birthday Present for Myself, which featured in our 2023 season.)

For our last ArtSpring Presents show of the month, we have comedian and author Michael McCreary’s Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic on October 24. Part storytelling, part stand-up, this show takes the audience on a hilarious and poignant journey through McCreary’s life on the spectrum–a touching story of personal triumph with a deadpan delivery.

Beyond our main season, you can also catch exciting performances from local and off-island artists this month. The Great Divide: Canada’s Tribute to The Band will get the house rocking, while The Geezers’ Expect Delays promises to take us on a comedic joyride through the literal and metaphorical potholes of island life.

Salt Spring Film Festival’s Best of the Fests series opens on October 1 with Home is the Ocean, which follows the adventures of a family raising six daring, precocious kids on a sailboat in the open ocean. Then, on October 29, Have you Heard Judi Singh? spotlights the compelling life and career of Judi Singh. This Canadian jazz trailblazer of mixed Black and Punjabi heritage broke the mold playing to sold-out crowds in 1950s/60s Edmonton, but the music industry failed to elevate her to the level of stardom that she deserved.

The Met Opera’s Live in HD season opens on October 18 with Bellini’s La Sonnambula, starring soprano Nadine Sierra as the titular sleepwalker. Tickets are now on sale for all six of this year’s Met Opera performances. As always, warm quiche awaits at intermission.

In the gallery, the Salt Spring National Art Prize (SSNAP)’s Parallel Art Show (PAS) is on display until their closing gala and awards ceremony on October 18. After SSNAP, the Salt Spring Spinners and Weavers Guild will take over with their annual fall exhibition and sale, featuring a colourful and eclectic array of textile art by Salt Spring’s premier fibre aficionados.

We’re too excited about this announcement to wait for next month’s newsletter! On November 1, we are hosting a Halloween Community Dance alongside the Salt Spring Arts Council and StageCoach Theatre School. Keep your costumes out, because this party kicks off with a costume parade before Shelder the Electric Clamfish and Local Motion take the stage to help us dance the night away. With an all-ages costume contest, spooky crafts, and lots of treats, get ready for a frightfully fun night of Halloween hijinks.

ArtSpring is on the lookout for more volunteers! Currently, we are especially in need of pre-show box officers and concession managers. Volunteering with us is a great way to meet people, support our community, and see some fantastic shows. To join the team that brings every performance to life, please reach out to Megan Warren (Front of House Manager & Coordinator of Volunteers) at foh@artspring.ca.

See you soon at ArtSpring!

Howard R. Jang

Executive & Artistic Director

ArtSpring