Commissioner Jack Cable greets his guests as they arrive at the Oddfellows Hall for the evening’s Ball. Photo by Ed Vos

The Ball Visits the Ballroom

By Heather Pauls

Tight-collared suits and well-fitted period dresses were soon loosened, disheveled, and in many cases discarded all together for the Commissioner’s Ball, the rowdier, and arguably more fun follow-up to the subdued Commissioner’s Tea. That’s probably because people weren’t exactly drinking tea anymore.

Yes, there were speeches of thanks to volunteers, talks of history and honouring Dawson’s many tales and new beginnings. Justine MacKeller and Harmony Hunter, the evening’s organizers thanked those who helped and welcomed guests, who sat in chairs and sipped their drinks. With formalities over after speeches from the Commissioner and the Minister of Arts and Culture, tables and chairs were rolled back and the band took to the stage. And then there was dancing—lots of dancing.

The floors of the Odd Fellows Ballroom are old hardwood, and if there was carpet it would be shredded to bits. The band they brought up from Vancouver had that special knack of knowing what the crowd wanted and when, and delivered one dance-worthy, standard body-moving favourites after another. A few slow songs, a few love songs and a few waltzes later, out came the rock when it got too late for the much older crowd. Dancing fools, mostly girls, enjoyed can-can dancing for the audience, joining the band at the mics and flirting with band members. The band probably didn’t mind. At all.

Konrad Pluta at the baby grand keyboard in St. Mary’s rectory. Photo by Dan Davidson

Classical Concert Celebrates Centennials

by Dan Davidson

If you've been in Dawson City over the past decade you may have seen Konrad Pluta in a number of settings and heard him play in a variety of styles: show tunes at the Palace Grand; Cancan and burlesque at Diamond Tooth Gerties; lounge piano at several of the Dawson bars; rock and country at the Pit.

Chances are you haven't heard him play what he trained for: classical music. Solstice evening was the opportunity for a select group of Dawson's music lovers to crowd into the available space at Saint Mary's Rectory and do just that.

This evening was the second in a summer long series of centennial anniversary events put on by St. Mary's Catholic Church and Klondike Kate's Restaurant. Both buildings are 100 years old this summer, even though they originally served other functions.

Pluta has been practicing for several months now to get his classical chops honed for this event, and the practice time had obviously not been wasted.

The program included Liszt's Sposalizo - Annees de Pelerinage; Beethoven's Sonata in Minor (usually called The Tempest, but which Pluta is convinced is more related to Hamlet) ; Debussy's Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum Children’s Corner; Ginastera’s Sonata No. , Schubert’s Impromptu in Eb and Chopin’s No. 4 in F minor.

Pluta showed a dynamic and exciting style which had a real workout in the variety of material he had chosen for the evening. He also spoke briefly about each piece of music, providing his listeners with a context and background for better appreciating the work.

The audience of about 20 people gave Pluta a standing ovation for his performance at the end of the evening. He even managed to overpower the yard work which was going on down the street a bit, though it was noted at one point that this was threatening to become a Concert for Piano and Weed-whacker.

Pluta indicated that he is planning a second recital, probably as a fund raiser for the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture, for sometime in September.

The evening was catered with fruit, cheese and assorted wines by Klondike Kate’s.