Planning for the 2015 Performing Arts BC provincial festival is underway. Powell River is the host community for the annual event that takes place May 26 to 30.
PABC held its annual conference and annual general meeting last weekend.
“As Powell River’s rep to the AGM, I was pleased by the enthusiasm expressed by other festival reps about coming to our community,” said Joyce Carlson, who chairs the Powell River Festival of Performing Arts committee. She also is heading the provincial festival committee. Both the festivals are under the auspices of The Rotary Clubs of Powell River.
PABC is the umbrella organization for 34 regional festivals throughout BC. Over 32,000 musicians, dancers and dramatic artists participate in the festivals. The most promising performers are recommended to provincials where they compete and participate in adjudicated sessions, master classes, coaching workshops and technique classes with some of North America’s top adjudicators. The winners are recommended to move on to the National Music Festival, which in 2015 will be in Edmonton.
This year at the BC festival Powell River’s Aoife Owton was runner-up in Junior Vocal Variety and Jamie Owton was runner-up in Intermediate Shakespeare. Eden Boucier received honourable mention in Junior Musical Theatre.
Other Powell River participants were Jeremy Hopper, Eden Head, Katie Dohm, Clancy Sindlinger, Elle Agius, Mitchell Clements, Abby Boyd and Hannah Schweitzer.
Approximately 450 performers, plus their family members, will be coming to Powell River to compete in Classical Voice, Musical Theatre, Piano, Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Guitar, Chamber Music, Speech Arts, Ballet, Modern Dance and Stage Dance. A heightened awareness of the arts takes place with competitions and concerts open to the public during the week of the festival.
“Our community is used to hosting large cultural events like [International Choral] Kathaumixw and PRISMA [Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy],” Carlson said. “With the provincial festival, there is the addition of speech arts and dance, so there will be so much to entertain Powell Riverites and visitors.”
Powell River last hosted the provincial festival in 1997.
Carlson expects that accommodation providers as well as campsites will be full during the festival and that restaurants will be busy feeding all the visitors.
A total of 11 venues are required for the festival and the local committee is working toward commitments for them. Sponsorship and ticket packages also are being organized.
“It’s pretty interesting at this time as our local committee meets and works on the Powell River festival, which begins February 21, and the provincial committee has had several meetings as well,” explained Carlson. “There are some people working on both and others only on one. We need to be nimble to keep things straight.”
As time gets closer to the event, the size of the organizing committee will increase and during the festival itself approximately 200 volunteers are required. “Powell River people are wonderful volunteers who enjoy being welcoming hosts who help ensure the success of events,” said Carlson.
Volunteers interested in helping are invited to email [email protected]. More information about provincials, as well as the syllabus, is available at PABC’s website.
