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Turning the High Beams on the Sunshine Coast’s musical dreams
When Vineet Miglani and Nidhi Kamboj identified a sustainable means of bringing more live music and art to Gibsons, B.C., they knew it was an opportunity that they couldn’t pass up.
Having chosen to forego the rigors of big-city life for a slower pace in the idyllic community, Miglani and Kamboj also maintained dreams of contributing to the arts and culture of this region. To make good on this aspiration, they purchased a local church, with the end goal being its transformation into a live music venue. Support from Amplify BC’s Live Music program has proven integral to this transformation’s success.
Upon launching in the summer of 2018 as High Beam Dreams, the pair immediately felt the love from their community. Miglani recalls, “The day [we] opened [our] doors, the whole community on the Sunshine Coast came out to support us!”
Following this initial success, the venue’s first show sold out in well advance. This inaugural set featured an intimate night with El Grupo Cuban, who not only delivered a full set, but also prepared dinner for attendees. Since these early forays into community-building through performance, High Beam Dreams has maintained a commitment to regional arts and culture. These efforts have not gone unnoticed: in 2020, the enterprise won both the Business Excellence Award for Best Community Impact, and the Small Business BC Award for Best Immigrant Entrepreneur.
As they contemplate the remainder of 2022, Vineet conveys his excitement at focusing on ways to continually elevate and showcase the plethora of talent that exists in B.C. Their next show – planned for Saturday, May 21 – will feature Nanaimo’s own David Gogo, a Blues artist who will appear with opener Marisha Devoin. In June, they look forward to hosting Kym Gouchie, a Lheidli T’enneh Nation (Prince George) artist, in support of National Indigenous History Month.
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Photos courtesy of Greg Eymundson / Insight-Photography.com, and High Beam Dreams.
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