Entertainment Beat

Acoustic Harvest, Patio Records and Terry Eagan are presenting the third annual Healing Garden Benefit Musicfest on Saturday, Oct. 26 at St. Nicholas Anglican Church, 1512 Kingston Rd., a block east of Warden Avenue.
The annual event raises money to build garden patios at hospitals for cancer patients. Events so far have benefited a children’s hospital in Boston and a number of Ontario hospitals.
The evening’s entertainment includes Laura Smith, a Maritime-based singer and songwriter whose direct and honest music is painstakingly crafted. She grew up in London, Ontario, moving to Toronto in 1972 and shortly after headed
Though her style ranges through country, folk, bluegrass and western swing, her influences draw from cowboy tunes and country greats such as Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and the Everly Brothers, with some blues influence thrown in for good measure.
The house band for the evening includes a quartet of powerhouse musicians in their own right, including guitarist Wendell Ferguson, pianist John Sheard, bassist David Woodhead and fiddler Don Reed.
Tickets for the Healing Garden Benefit Musicfest are $25, reservable by phone at 416-264-2235. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m., and the venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information visit acousticharvest.ca. For more on Laura Smith, see laurasmith.ca; for Amy Gallatin, visit amygallatin.com.
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The 30th monthly edition of Feast in the East is taking place on Thursday, Oct. 10 at Gerrard Art Space.
The series was conceived by musician Neil Rankin, promoter and poster artist Tad Michalak and artist and curator Cameron Lee, and aims to make connections between music, art and food – a feast for the senses.
The series began as a way to defy the West End focus of cultural happenings in Toronto, and address the general lack of live music this side of the Don River, beyond the Opera House and bar bands. The goal of the series is to both accommodate the many artists, musicians and fans here as well as to entice others to leave their comfort zone for a taste of life in the East End. Musical acts in the series have covered genres from indie rock to pop, folk to experimental punk, jazz and improvised music to noise acts.
The all-ages event gets underway at 8 p.m., and the ticket price includes a dinner by Liam Crockard. His menu will include a mushroom and lentil salad, a smoky parsnip puree, pickles, an asiago crisp and optional braised lamb.
Visual art will be provided by Matt King and Petrina Ng, who will debut a new video and installation piece. Their collaborative work deals with ideas of collecting, identity and absurdity. They also have completed the Feast in the East ‘triple crown’ – they have cooked, performed and installed art.
Music on the bill includes long-running goth folk act Picastro, folk/drone artist Khora, singer/songwriter Loom and music box composer Jason Doell.
Gerrard Art Space is at 1390 Gerrard St. E., halfway between Coxwell and Greenwood. Tickets for Feast in the East 30 are $7 in advance or $10 at the door, and advance tickets include the dinner.
For more on the musicians and artists involved, visit mattkingdotcom.com, petrinang.com, myspace.com/picastro, khora.ca, loommusic.ca and soundcloud.com/jason-doell.
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The Picture of Happiness, featuring Brad Hampton and Patti Loach and directed by Rae Ellen Bodie, is back in the Beach for a Jazz in the Kitchen session on Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, October 20.
The show was inspired by a photograph Hampton found of his grandfather and another soldier, taken just before the Second World War. When he asked his grandmother about the photo, she replied that nobody ever talks about that picture. The Picture of Happiness is written based on conversations with his mother and the family secret, and the connections between Hampton’s life and that of his grandfather decades earlier.

Hampton has been working as an actor and singer for over two decades in Toronto, and Calgary before that. Loach’s passion for musical theatre, jazz and classical results in a multi-faceted talent on the piano. Bodie is a director, actor and voice and acting coach originally from Calgary. Check out the respective artists’ websites at bradhampton.ca, pattiloach.com and raeellenbodie.com.
The Picture of Happiness is performed in small venues with limited seating, which matches perfectly with Jazz in the Kitchen, at 52 Pine Crescent. There is free street parking or transit, with the venue a short walk from either the MacLean Avenue stop on the 501 streetcar or the Williamson Road stop on the 64 Main Street bus.
Attendees are invited to bring a bottle of whatever they might care to drink, glasses will be provided. There will be a mix and mingle with Hampton and Loach after the show. Advance tickets are require, and details and a link to purchase tickets can be found at bradhampton.ca.
Saturday’s show starts at 7 p.m., while Sunday’s gets underway at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $35, or $30 for students, seniors and arts workers.

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