CANMORE – ArtsPlace is bringing a jam-packed weekend of free performances, workshops and cultural events in its 10th year of the Canmore Festival of Art and Creativity from Sept. 13-15.
“The festival is designed in such a way that it invites everyone to engage with the arts and participate in interactive pieces of the event,” said Paula Krupa, artsPlace associate manager of communications.
The festival is set to kickoff on Friday at 7 p.m. with an outdoor concert and communal campfire, headlined by Innu reggae musician, Shauit. Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation’s Stoney River Band will also take to the stage that evening.
On Saturday morning at 10 a.m., there is a lineup of indoor and outdoor performances, featuring musicians, dancing, puppetry and juggling, among others.
The Mountain Made Market - usually at Elevation Place on Thursdays – will be filling the artsPlace parking lot with vendors on Saturday with the following Sunday being the Community Market which is geared toward local organizations.
“This market is very community focused,” said Krupa. “There's going to be community organizations, lots of great artisans as well.”
On the outdoor stage on Sunday, festival goers can expect to see the performances by the local groups such as the Smalleyes family, The Ducks and The Latin Beat. There is also a vast lineup of performers set for the multicultural celebration from 12:50 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
“[There’s] Moroccan dance, Filipino dance, Ukrainian singing, Indian classical dance, Chilean singing, so lots happening there,” said Krupa.
Along with the vibrant cultural expressions and music, artsPlace will host 13 free drop-in workshops Saturday and Sunday to create art and crafts using recycled materials.
“All the materials in the workshops will be using recycled and found materials, which I thought was pretty cool,” said Krupa. “One of the workshops will use recycled and found objects to repurpose them into containers for plants.”
Kraupa highlighted artist Lucie Bause who’s inviting people to collaborate in her project, titled Emerging, which utilizes recycled aluminum tabs from cans.
“She's hoping to engage the community to get up to 100 art pieces that are created from these aluminum tabs,” she said.
Unconditional Wub will continue the party on Saturday with a dance party featuring the electronic sounds from five DJs, such as Banff’s Bunny Hops, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
“That's going to be a fun piece that's new to the festival,” said Krupa.
The Bikes Shorts Film Festival will close out the weekend at 7 p.m. on Sunday with short films all about riding on two wheels. Movie and bike lovers should RSVP on artsPlace’s website due to limited space in the theatre.
For a full event schedule visit https://artsplacecanmore.com/whats-on/festivals/festival-of-art.
