As marketing director for Tourism Powell River, Paul Kamon knows exactly when the region’s visitors like to come and go. As event director for Aurora Innovative Arts Festival, he’s got a plan to keep them here for longer.
“The original idea for this festival was about extending the shoulder season of Powell River one more week,” he explained. “Statistically, things kind of drop off after Labour Day. Families and kids go back to school, so we see a real drop-off in visits.”
With a background in electronic music culture and festivals, Kamon called in a few favours and put together the first Aurora Festival last September. He and a committee of friends and local arts organizations have already begun planning another for September 5 and 6.
Similar to last year, the festival will be located both indoors and outdoors, all within a three-block section of Powell River’s Historic Townsite district. “Townsite is going through a bit of a revival, particularly with the arts community so it’s just a really intriguing idea,” he said. “It’s something I don’t think anybody in Powell River has ever seen before.”
Aurora Festival combines live electronic music performances with custom visual installations—everything from paintings to projections. Some artists, like the band Texture and Light or filmmaker Claudia Medina, are locally-based. Others, like Soul Visuals or Longwalkshortdock, will be visiting from elsewhere in BC.
“He plays to big festivals, so seeing him in a venue like Studio 56 with a capacity of 140 is going to be pretty amazing,” said Kamon. “I have a lot of friends actively involved who do all the big festivals from Burning Man to Shambhala and Soundwave, Tall Tree and a bunch of others, so I thought it would be really fun to bring them up here.”
The festival’s itinerary will be focused around four ticketed events spread out over two nights. Each will feature a live show at the Patricia Theatre from 7 to 10 pm, followed by a DJ after-party at Studio 56 that runs until 2 am. In between, says Kamon, will be a spectacle the entire community can enjoy free of charge. “We’re going to close part of Ash Avenue off and we’ll do projections and visuals and art installations in the park, so there’s [a] public component. Bring the family down to Townsite and we’re going to light it up and project onto buildings and we’ll have food vendors and other vendors there just to create a really interesting atmosphere for everyone to enjoy and participate.”
Participants, and not just spectators, are an important part of the festival’s dynamic, he said. “I encourage people to dress up and I encourage people to make lanterns. It’s just a lot of fun and I think that’s something that Powell River would embrace.”
This year, a steampunk fashion show has been integrated into the Friday night lineup for those who want to take their costuming to a whole new level. Steampunk can be described as a style that blends Victorian dress with steam-powered technologies.
As the festival grows, Kamon hopes to add even more events and attract artists from all over the world. “It takes time,” he said. “It’s going to take some years to get it up to that place but the vision for the festival is to be a foundation for Townsite and to draw that demographic that we’re looking to bring to town. To go international is the big vision.”
For more information, readers can visit AuroraFestival.ca.
