After a week at reduced hours we are back to our full winter schedule. The BIC Center is open from 9:00 am to 7:00 p.m. weekdays and 9:00 to 9:00 on Saturdays. Our winter activities include Pickleball, Tai-Chi, Chair Yoga, the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, Time for Art sessions, and movies on Saturdays and, for the next three weeks, on Fridays up in our Hangout as part of a three-week documentary film series: …of Fish and Fishing. Robert Cole and WVBI’s Jackson Smith designed the series with a focus on the importance of fish and fishing to the island (something similar on other islands). There are three great films in this series. First up is The Seabaron the story of an iconic seafood restaurant in Iceland. That shows this Friday at 6:00 in our Hangout. Bring your own snacks and drink or grab something at the Concession Stand before heading upstairs. The next film in the series is Jiro Dreams of Sushi, showing on February 25th. It’s the story of a master sushi chef who runs a Michelin three-star sushi bar in a Tokyo subway station. The last film in the series is Here Lies My Heart with a look at a small fishing village on an island in Spain with parallels to our own island home. It shows Friday, March 4th.

Over at WVBI we’ve added a new host to our Sunday Night Oldies show. Mark Erdman is stepping in to bring Sunday Night Oldies at The Wax Museum to us every Sunday evening. We’re sure Phil Becker, our original host of Sunday Night Oldies, will be tuning in from his listening post upstairs. And, on Wednesday evenings after our news at 5:00, listen for Michigan Music this Week. Songs from the Trail hosts Jackson Smith and Steve Girbach are taking turns to bring you a quick download on what’s new in Michigan music. They cover new releases, upcoming events and other developments in the fascinating ecosystem of Michigan artists. If you miss a show, you can catch it as a podcast on the WVBI website under the Podcast menu.

We are making great progress on filling out our 2022 performance and special events calendar for the BIC Center. Dave Bennett and his Quartet will be returning to the BIC Center stage again this year, but instead of starting our season, they’ll be here on Saturday, July 16th with an 8:00 p.m. showtime. That event joins our two CMU University Theater shows and Baroque on Beaver performances in our summer lineup. Our summer will come to a spectacular close with music to kick off the second Beaver Island Irish FeiIe. The Moxie Strings will be here on Thursday September 8th and famed Irish singer Aoife Scott will perform on Friday the 9th. Showtime for both will be 7:00 p.m.

We are still working to round out our summer season that will include Yoga, additional musical performances and, of course, our BIC Center WVBI Summer Gala at a location to be announced. Our Gala Committee promises to outdo the event they put on last summer at the King Strang, so stay tuned for that. Ticket sales for summer events begin on May 1. A full look at key 2022 events is available on our 2022 Fun calendar at DiscoverBeaverIsland.biccenter.org.

For those away for the winter season, please remember that you can stay in touch with the island by tuning in to WVBI. You can listen online at the WVBI website at wvbi.net. You can also find the station on streaming services like TuneIn or use your smart speaker to listen. Just say the wake word and then “Play WVBI.”

We look forward to seeing you at your Beaver Island Community Center.