Organizers of the annual Powell River Festival of the Performing Arts are hoping that last year’s addition of dance will help build a bigger event this year.
The long-running festival is sponsored by both Rotary Clubs of Powell River and designed to support the development of the community’s amateur performers.
“We’re hoping for more dancers to enter this year,” said Jan Gisborne, who is helping to organize the 70th annual festival, one of the longest running of its kind in the province. “This is the second year of dance and we’re hoping that the word gets out there.”
Around the province, dance has been a cornerstone discipline in performing arts festivals and in some cases the number of entries has grown so large that it has had to be split off to form its own festival, she said. Gisborne explained that from other communities’ experience, organizers could potentially have one third of entries in dance.
She added though that the number of speech arts entries in the festival makes Powell River stand out. She explained that because of a longstanding partnership with School District 47, the festival always has a wide range of entries in readers’ theatre (where a script is read), poetry, monologues and prose.
“It has really brought out speech arts which has opened the festival to a lot of people who would never enter a festival because they’re not taking [music] lessons,” she said. Speech arts is also a great way for students to overcome public speaking fear. “I think it has a huge advantage and makes such a difference for these kids.”
Gisborne, who has helped organize the festival for more than a decade, added that it is not only the speech arts performers who benefit from being on stage.
“To see what they were like the first time they got on stage and then the difference in them how they grow and progress...I’m so impressed,” she said.
The festival is open to people of all ages and the organizers hope to see more adult performers register.
Registration for entries will be closing on Tuesday, January 21. Performers who wish to enter the festival can register at Powell River Academy of Music, 7280 Kemano Street, between 9:30 am to 4 pm Monday to Thursday.
The festival will run from February 22 to March 8 at Evergreen Theatre, Powell River Recreation Complex, and at Max Cameron Theatre.
Another difference setting this festival apart, said Gisborne, is the number of community members who attend performances.
Audiences are encouraged to attend all festival sessions as well as the Grand Concert 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 8 at the Evergreen. Professional adjudicators from each discipline will provide recommendations to festival organizers about which performers will be included in the finale.
Readers can go online for more information about the festival, to read the syllabus and download the entry form.
