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holidays Holiday Shows & Events holiday favourite for the locals in Vancouver is a series of plays written by North Shore resident, Nicola Cavendish: Blowin', Gmwin' & Glowin'on Bowen is the third installment in Cavendish's Gulf Island trilogy, which began with It's Snowing on Saltspring in 1985 and Blowin on Bowen in 1993. Cavendish is candid about Blowin' on Bowen as being a play that "was not ready to be bom." She is very excited, however, about introducing this year's Christmas fable. She says it is ready to be bom and comes complete with unexpected guests (including Cavendish's dog. Buster, as a sheep) and gifts for the audience. This new work centres around a series of characters who visit the Come On Inn Bed and Breakfast over the Christmas holidays. Cavendish stars as Bemice Snarpley. who she describes as a questionable representative of real estate and proprietor of the inn. Included in the cast are her Italian girlfriend Shirl DeLuca, a couple of well-meaning but overly zealous environmentalists, and Dr. Comfort, who has a romance budding with Nurse Alice. The story follows the local community putting on a Christmas concert and Cavendish feels the play fits well into the spirit of the holidays. "When addressing a Christmas audience one has to have a certain ceiling of sentiment. They come in with a fuller heart, and I want to add to that, not take way from it." The play will also be adding gifts to the experience. Cavendish convinced Eatons to donate 20 gifts for each show. "I'm not giving out candy canes this year. I'm giving out something I am passionate about and I love that." Her passion for theatre is also shifting from performing to writing. "I'm moving away from acting and pursuing writing. It's very frightening and when it doesn't work, it is agony." Cavendish says she loves the learning process and will be performing a monologue she wrote. Him, Her ami Dogface, the Women in View fund raiser called Sex and Chocolate on Nov. 26 (Info: 685-6684). Cavendish is going to stop accepting invitations to speak at Fund-raising events because she is more interested in working for one group, juvenile diabetes. She has had since she was 15. "My knowledge of the disease coupled with my entertainment knowledge, allows me to take the terror off of diabetes." She says there is a need to give responsibilities to the person affected, to know failures are allowed, to get rid of the guilt around the disease and to make living with the disease less rigid. "It's much more fun for me to talk to parents and show them I jump out of airplanes. I'm an actor, I run around the country...I'm the antithesis of someone living a rigid life." The passion Cavendish has for speaking out about juvenile diabetes is also present in her writing and acting performances. The zany and ebullient characters she created for this year's Christmas play at the Arts Club is but one example of her ability to communicate with a strong and often funny voice. Blowin'runs Nov. 17 - Dec. 23. Call 687-1644 for details. at (Rear, l-rj Allan (front, l-r)Beatrice Morgan, Zeilinger, Allan Zinyk, Denis Simpson, Nicola Cavendish and Leslie Jones, in the new holiday comedy It's Blowin', Growin' & Gowin' on Bowen, at the Arts Club MainStage Nov. 17 - Dec. 23 Cooper Photo: David l he Ferry Building Gallery in Tht West Vancouver will celebrate the Christmas season with the 2nd Annual Gallery Gift Tree. Gifts for youth aged 13-19 can be wrapped, labeled and dropped off under our tree and will be sent to "Deyas" (Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society). This organization is committed to helping youth who are on the street to leave it for a healthier and safer lifestyle, and to prevent other young people from becoming street kids. The program is called "Reconnect" and the focus is street kids under 19 in Vancouver's east side who have little or no support or connection with their families. The goal is to integrate these kids back into the community. Last year the response from the North Shore community was tremendous...two "treeloads" of gifts were delivered to the Deyas Christmas party and distributed to those in need. The Ferry Building Gallery will be having its Christmas Mixed Media Group Show on Dec. 1 2 - 2 2 . featuring 18 North Shore artists. A special holiday event happens at Ambleside Park on Dec. 17: the Procession of Lights lantern procession and carol ships at 6:30 p.m. Bring your lantern and enjoy being led around the lagoon by wandering minstrels and musical interludes. Later, join in the festivities with hot chocolate, bonfires and carol singing as the carol ships sail by. For information on lantern-making workshops, call 925-7270. Procession Ambleside of Lights at Park, 1994.