Arts

Quadra Concerts 2026/27 Season

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Originally published in the Bird’s Eye

I’m an album person.

Whenever I am listening to music for the first time, I need the whole album, from start to finish. The artist decided what I would hear first and how it would be followed. They’ve chosen how the unfolding story reveals itself, where the energy will rise or soften, when moments of surprise or great emotion appear, and what tune or lyrics will be left ringing in my soul when it’s over. I take great pleasure in experiencing what was made for my ears and heart in the way the artist intended, following the journey they built from beginning to end. For the first time, at least. After that, all’s fair.

This year’s lineup from Quadra Concerts is, in my opinion, the island’s new album, and the follow-up to last year’s debut season from Executive & Artistic Director Jason Sharp and the new Quadra Concerts board.

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Cost of Climate Change

Why Europe leads the World In Rising Temperatures

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Europe leads the world in the struggle to reduce emissions – and the rise of average global temperatures. According to Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme, Europe is warming at double the average rate, 0.4°C per decade as opposed to 0.2°C. Only the Arctic is warming up faster. While the world is on the threshold of 1.5°C, in Europe the number “is around 2.4°C, and in the Arctic, it’s even higher at 3.3°C.” 

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Energy

IEA Executive Director’s statement on oil markets

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Statement by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol:

The IEA is closely monitoring the situation in oil markets following recent developments in the conflict in the Middle East.

The escalation in hostilities affecting the Strait of Hormuz and energy infrastructure in the region increases security of supply concerns and uncertainty over the market outlook. Threats to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has become increasingly important as a route to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbate these concerns further. 

For the moment, crude oil markets continue to benefit from several cushioning factors.

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Arts

Village Commons Music Series: Owyn Pengelly, Denise Wolda, and Basil Aerie Thomas

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Thanks for joining us on July 17, 2026 for the third week of our Village Commons Music Series, a simultaneously live and live-broadcast show, happening on Fridays from 1 – 2:30pm on the new Pavilion stage. This week it poured with rain! The SCCA generously lent the Manson’s Hall deck so we could all stay dry and cozy.

Host Manda Aufochs-Gillespie was joined by Owyn Pengelly, Denise Wolda, and Basil Aerie Thomas – 3 amazing local musicians in-the-round!

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Fire

Trial by Fire – The Quadra Project

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John Vaillant’s book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast (Vintage
Canada, 2024) begins by describing the fire that consumed the Alberta town of Fort McMurray in May, 2016. In a matter of hours, the conflagration that became known as “The Beast”, destroyed more than 2,500 buildings and homes, thousands more were damaged, 6,000 square kilometres were burned, and nearly 100,000 people had to flee for their lives.

“In the spring of 2016,” writes Vaillant, “halfway through the hottest year of the hottest decade in recorded history, a new kind of fire introduced itself to the world.” The year, in northern Alberta, should have been ordinary, but it wasn’t. Snowfall had been well below average for two years, the spring was unseasonably dry, and the unprecedented heat had dried out everything that was combustible. This was becoming the new normal—a new kind of year with a new kind of threat.

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