If you love visual arts, music, or dance, they’ve got you covered at the Selkirk & District Arts Festival. The festival is running from April 13 to 17 at the Selkirk United Church, and everyone is welcome to attend.
“The Arts Festival is an event that celebrates all art forms; from visual arts, to speech, music and dance. It gives our local artists the opportunity to perform, improve their art form through means of adjudication, and share their talent with our community. Participants have the opportunity to qualify and perform on the Provincial level, as well as win our own local awards that are presented at the Gala, on Friday, April 17,” said Jessica Bullen, President of the Selkirk & District Arts Festival.
The festival is run completely by volunteers, and there’s a lot to see.
“This year we will have speech arts, speech choirs, school choirs, band instruments, skits, monologues, musical theatre, piano, jazz bands, dance, and of course a variety of visual arts,” said Bullen.
This is the third year that the festival is back in action since the pandemic, when it transformed from a piano festival into its current iteration, which celebrates as many types of art as can fit into the multi-day event.
“This year’s event will be bigger than last year, with a few new fun features we are looking forward to providing for our performers and attendees. We are looking at hosting between 300 and 400 performers throughout the week this year, so are excited to see the talent they bring,” said Bullen.
Part of this event that’s important for participants is the adjudication process, which is taken very seriously.
“We hire professional adjudicators who specialize in their specific art. They provide feedback on the performance, ensuring they cater to the audience performing, whether it be children, adults, or a full school choir. The adjudicator also makes the recommendations for our local awards and provincial nominations,” said Bullen.
In addition to this being a great learning process for students in our community, it’s a great way for the artists to show their hard work and people from our community to be able to show how much they appreciate local art.
“Without the opportunity the Arts Festival provides, many students do not get to perform the art they have been perfecting all year. Parents, grandparents, friends, and community members all can enjoy our local talents without having to travel. We also are so pleased that our performers can be nominated to participate in the Provincial Arts Festival. These opportunities push our students to succeed on many levels and encourage them to continue with their art form,” explained Bullen.
She loves that the festival, being an annual event, is something that really showcases our local talent.
“My favourite part of the festival is watching the performers improve every year. I cannot believe the development and growth we see in our local talent,” said Bullen.
The bulk of the event is free to attend, but there is going to be a Gala on the final night of the event, for which residents will require tickets.
“Our Gala on Friday night will showcase some of our top performances from the week, will have desserts and snacks, as well as a bar with alcohol for purchase. To attend the gala, we will be charging $5 at the door, or $20 per family,” explained Bullen.
She encourages residents to stop by any of the five days of the festival or grab a ticket at the door for the Gala.
“Come check out what talent our community has to offer. Listen to a few performances, take in the visual arts display, and enjoy the decor put out by our board. I highly recommend attending the Gala. It is an entertaining night with excitement and awards. The gala is our main fundraising effort that allows us to continue with our festival, offering continuous improvements and growth,” said Bullen.
To learn more, check the Selkirk & District Arts Festival out online at www.selkirkartsfest.com
