This just in: the opening musical act for Greener than Thou at our fundraiser on Friday night will be Myles Black and Portia Boehm! (Remember Portia in My Name is Rachel Corrie? Well, she sings too.) And at the Sunday matinee of Greener, Mark's opening act will be none other than TJ Dawe, the show's director,not to mention the star of One Man Star Wars, which we were pleased to host at the Nanaimo Entertainment Centre last year. TJ will debut his upcoming, short but very sweet TEDx performance about . . . Well, if we told you what it was about, it wouldn't be a sneak preview, would it? Tix still available for all performances: http://westernedge.org/greener_than_thou.html or phone 250-668-0991 or 1-888-320-3343.

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Mark Leiren-Young’s earliest memory of environmental issues involved the Ogopogo.

While a teenager, he found an article in his community newspaper about how the local government would spray the pesticide 2,4-D in Okanagan Lake to kill milfoil.

He worried about the health of the region’s legendary, but elusive, prehistoric creature, so he created a science project and interviewed members of a high-profile environmental watchdog.

“This upset me to no end at 13,” he said. “That’s my first memory of doing something environmental.”

The journalist, author and filmmaker found himself immersed in environmental issues in his professional career. While writing and researching his film The Green Chain, about forestry issues in B.C., he came across themes, ideas and quirks in environmental politics that didn’t fit the film but he had to share just the same.

He developed Greener Than Thou, a one-man theatre show directed by TJ Dawe, which touches on some of the environmental issues no one wants to discuss.

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As this recent article from The Times-Colonist makes clear, it’s increasingly important that cities elect arts-savvy Councils. With that in mind, I decided to have a look at what the candidates in Nanaimo’s upcoming civic election have to say about the arts, and their role in the city’s ecology. I looked, first, at one very simple thing: does their platform even mention the arts? (That weeds out most of them.) And then, if it does: just how arts-smart is it?

Here’s what I found out. I offer it as a guide to those of you who’d like to be arts-conscious in your voting.

Among the City Councillor candidates, the clear stand-outs are Trent Snikkers, Arlene Blundell, and Diane Brennan.

Snikkers: “The arts have the ability to be an incubator of innovation and a catalyst of economic activity. Vibrant cities have active communities. Local artists influence the creativity of the city and diversify the economy. A community rich in the arts enjoys increased economic activity because the desire to be in the city increases . . . . I support economic initiatives that will help artists thrive because when the artists thrive, the city thrives.”

Blundell: “The arts are crucial to creative growth. The Canada Arts Council confirms that the arts have proven to generate jobs and bring in millions of dollars for communities. Arts activities bring…

"The new Victoria arts study is a credible one. It was carried out by Brock Smith of the University of Victoria's business school. More than 500 people at performing arts events were interviewed. Almost 100 artists, arts-related businesses and arts/culture organizations were quizzed as well.