5 fun things to do on P.E.I. this 1st weekend of July

Along with the three-day Cavendish Beach Music Festival kicking off Friday and a popular Island beach back in commission with the opening of Basin Head wharf for the season, there is no shortage of entertaining options this weekend for Islanders and visitors alike.

1. Indian River Festival

Newfoundland band, The Once takes the stage Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the historic St. Mary's Church.

The Once is coming off their fourth studio albumTime Enough. The album opener, I Can't Live Without You,"reflects on women battling with self-image issues and offers wisened words to be the positive change in their own lives," according to the festival's website.

Tickets are $48 for adults and can be purchased on the festival website.

At 3 p.m. on Sunday the Saskatoon Children's Choir will take the stage. Tickets for that show are $32 for adults.

2. 34th Annual P.E.I. Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival

The main stage of the 34th annual P.E.I. Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival started Friday at noon and continues until Sunday at a new location on the Dundas Fair Grounds, 260 Little River Rd., Dundas.

Headliners this year are The Clay Hess Band, The Garrett Newton Band and New County Grass. Maritime groups performing are Bluegrass Diamonds, Monroe, High Lonesome Drive, Janet McGarry & Wildwood, Bluegrass Revival, The Stiff Family, Blue Zone, SK Bluegrass, Just Grass, Kids in Bluegrass, Heartfelt Bluegrass and more.

For ticket and more festival information visit the festival website.

3. Where You Are

Where You Are is the latest play by CanadianKristen Da Silva and has two showings this weekend at the Victoria Playhouse on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

"The play is a tale of recognizing love wherever we find it and how we choose our paths in life," according to the theatre's website. The play is centred on the dynamic between sisters Suzanne and Glenda, living out a peaceful retirement selling homemade jam on Manitoulin Island.

There's some tension in the air when Suzanne's daughter Beth comes to visit, and secrets the sisters have kept can no longer be contained. Tickets cost $34 and can be purchased at the Victoria Playhouse website.

Shows run until July 28.

4. Crimes of the Heart

Crimes of the Heart,a play by Beth Henley, begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Watermark Theatre in North Rustico with another show Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The play is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and brings you into the Mississippi household of the Magrath sisters.

"Babe has just shot her husband because she didn't like his looks. Meg is back in town after a failed attempt in the music business and a nervous breakdown. And poor Lenny everyone has forgotten her 30th birthday andher pet horse was just struck by lightning," reads a description of the play on the theatre's website.

Tickets cost $22 to $35 but students can get tickets for $15. They can be purchased at the theatre's website.

The show continues until Aug.30.

5. Sarah Hagen: Music for a Summer's Eve

Pianist Sarah Hagen will perform Music for a Summer's Eve at St. Paul's Church at the corner of Prince and Grafton streets in Charlottetown on Sunday evening, July 7 at 7 p.m.

Hagen calls the South Shore of P.E.I. home and was awarded Artist of the Year by both Ontario Contact and the British Columbia Touring Council.

The hour long performance is pay-what-you-wish at the door.

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