R
ichmond's First Lady of children's entertainment will be going nautical for an upcoming concert at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery this Friday (July 4).
Charlotte Diamond will be the opening concert for the Music at the Cannery Series, a show for all ages said Diamond, who in addition to performing some of her mainstays (I am a Pizza, Four Hugs a Day, Listen the Water) will include the song Octopus, which is now in her recent kids' book Slippery Fish in Hawai'i. "It will be a family show and will also include some of my folk songs about the sea and fishing, such as Where the Coho Flash Silver All Over the Bay by Lloyd Arntzen and When the Tide Goes Out the Table Is Set by
Brian Robertson which I recorded on my CD, Charlotte Diamond's World.
The event at the cannery holds a special place in Diamond's heart.
"My husband, Harry Diamond, was a commercial salmon gillnetter and troller for 20 years before joining me to work for our company, Hug Bug Music," Diamond said. "He still speaks fondly of his memories of fishing on the coast and in the Fraser River. When I was still teaching high school at New Westminster secondary, I used to fish up north with him during the summers."
Diamond added she also has a keen interest in folk music and the history of the B.C. coast. "I had the pleasure of opening for Pete Seeger at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in 1983 to a sold-out audience," she said. "I was inspired by the way he engaged an audience with only his voice and a banjo. Everyone was singing along, in harmony.
"That experience showed me the power of music and singing as a way to bring people together. Two years later, in 1985, I launched my own musical career with the recording of 10 Carrot Diamond."
Diamond's appearance at the cannery will be followed up a week later (July 11) when she performs a mini concert and book-signing at Splash Toys in Steveston (3580 Moncton St.). Show time is 11 a.m. Since the event coincides with Costa Rica's national day in the Steveston World Cup Village, Diamond said she will be singing some songs in Spanish.
"La Bamba, Soy una Pizza (I am a Pizza), and Ceilito Lindo," said Diamond.
