Competition brings together many artists
After a brief hiatus thanks to the pandemic, the Selkirk and District Arts Festival returned expanding into an event where artists from our region gather to showcase their work at a vibrant celebration of our community’s diverse talents. This year, the event is back again as a multi-disciplinary celebration of all things local art and residents won’t want to miss the show.
“We’re a festival that’s trying to promote artists of all ages in our community, from vocal art to dance to piano to band and, of course, visual art,” said Jessica Bullen, Selkirk & District Arts Festival Chair.
Bullen explained that before the pandemic there was a piano festival in Selkirk. COVID made it so that the original piano festival took a break but when it was time to bring it back they decided that they wanted to bring it back like never before.
Record file Photos by Katelyn Boulanger
Photos from last year’s Selkirk & District Arts Festival
“We wanted to expand it to include all arts because we know that we have more than just pianists in our area,” she said.
For people who haven’t attended before, this festival is five days of performances that take place at Selkirk’s United Church at 202 McLean Ave.
“We have a total of 158 performances happening. It’s going to be choirs, bands, pianists, vocal, artists and dancers, and they’re going to be adjudicated. They have the opportunity to win awards and scholarships and then we will be having our gala night on April 25,” said Bullen.
She said that it’s important that people from our community have these opportunities to get in on the competition.
“It’s important for our rural population to have the opportunity to perform and for us to see what’s out there because there’s so much more to Selkirk and area than what we know of and we want to really showcase that,” she said.
Bullen said that currently they are still open to submissions of visual arts but all of the performances are already on the books. If you are a visual artist you have until April 13 to get your submission paperwork in.
As for filling five days with acts, they will have no trouble making the most of their time. Of the 158 performances, there are 88 people or groups signed up which means a little over 100 people will likely perform since some of the groups are choral performances with larger groups of people.
Bullen’s favourite part of the festival is seeing the children perform.
“It’s so fun to see them get up on stage. See them kind of overcome their nerves and really put on a good performance,” she said.
Residents in our region will be happy to know that it’s also free to attend the festival.
“Entry is free, but we are a volunteer-run organization, so we do have a silver collection available. If anyone is looking to donate. We are always looking for sponsors as well, and we will be offering prizes to our performers and our visual artists. So, we’re hoping to expand our sponsorship, if possible, in the community,” said Bullen.
If you are a person or business in our community interested in sponsoring the festival you can email selkirkartsfest@gmail.com to learn more.
Residents who want to see the vast array of artistic talent in our region, should make a plan to stop by the Selkirk & District Arts Festival. It takes place between April 22 and 25 and more information is available online at www.selkirkartsfest.com.
“It’s a really great time. Come explore the visual arts, listen to some performances from people of all ages, and enjoy our gala night. We’re showcasing the performances from the week for select performers. And, it’s going to be licensed this year. We’ll have 50/50s, and then, of course, there will be some desserts and some snacks available,” said Bullen.
