Catch the fall arts festival fever as the third annual StArts Fest kicks into high gear with cool marquee projects.
This three-day celebration of culture — which runs from Friday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, Oct. 2 at St. Albert Place — ties together visual artists, filmmakers, singers, dancers, musicians, poets, writers and actors.
It displays the dynamic vision of our artists, both local and from surrounding areas, captured in workshops, exhibits, performances, demonstrations and hands-on activities.
Launching the festival on Friday is the ticketed Mayor's Celebration of the Arts Gala, a grassroots initiative that recognizes excellence and innovation in perfecting a craft.
But, as in previous years, the big draw for thousands of visitors is expected to be the free Saturday-Sunday events that include a drumming circle, clay throwing, a play festival, a poetry recitation, film presentations, a self-publishing workshop and much more.
Kicking off the event on Saturday is the unifying power of an ancient drum circle. Facilitator Marilyn Berezowski will bring 30 drums to Progress Hall and encourage individuals to discover how the circle calms and promotes well-being.
"The idea is to develop a sense of community and it takes time to do that. If you come, you have to stay for the full hour," says StArts Fest committee co-chair Nancy Watt.
At the same time, in the St. Albert Place lobby, a four-hour young artist showcase highlights our musical future through guitarist Travis Luckert, cellist Connor Meeker, guitarist/vocalist Kallie Clayton, country singer Sean Sonego, folk singers Trevor and Stephen Tchir, classical violinists Cecilia and Song Gee and guitarist/vocalist Kurt Drachenberg.
The festival's film component this year is small, but well thought out. Once again Prairie Tales 13, an 80-minute screening of 14 shorts provides a program of live-action, animated and experimental works in a combination of comedy, horror, drama, documentary and whimsy.
New this year is Low Budget Guerrilla Filmmaking, a workshop that covers the basics for shoestring indie filmmaking. The workshop is targeted to newbie filmmakers 12 and older.
"I'm hoping it will draw a young artistic crowd. There are a lot of people that have cameras mounted on their helmets. There's a lot of fantastic footage being taken while skateboarding, snowboarding, snowmobiling, skiing and mountain biking. And this can help those 14- to 18-year-olds develop a new artistic art form, possibly find a voice or find a place," says Tracy Aisenstat, StArts film/media/theatre co-ordinator.
In recognition of the wave of self-publishing flooding the literary market, Jacquie Wong from the University of Alberta drops by the St. Albert Public Library to do a step-by-step presentation on the university's Espresso Book Machine, which is now available to all writers.
Library staff have also programmed numerous children's activities, including building a pioneer diorama and creating altered books. And on Sunday, Morinville writer Marty Chan is hosting a fiction workshop followed by an author talk from non-fiction writer Gayleen Froese and mystery writer Wayne Arthurson.
The visual arts guilds are hosting a painters' demo, a hands-on quilting session, a book project and floral arranging. Perhaps the most dramatic crowd-pleasers are potters throwing clay on a wheel.
"Everyone plays with mud and when you watch someone magically centre the clay, it's always fascinating. It's such a magical process, and you can do it in a short period of time," says Peg McPherson, who represents the St. Albert Place Visual Arts Council on the StArts committee.
Outside St. Albert Place along the Red Willow Trail, there will be a tour of the city's different art projects, and at the Art Gallery of St. Albert there is an exhibition of works donated by Lynn Malin, Alex Janvier, Mitsu Ikemura and Murray Allen.
Finally, Poetry on Perron, also at the art gallery, offers tiny morsels of poetry from local poets. One of the special guests is St. Albert legend, Dean McKenzie, a.k.a. The Jazz Poet.
A lifetime member of the Edmonton Stroll of Poets Society, McKenzie is an acolyte from the beat poet generation, He has published a book, written an award-winning script and recorded several CDs.
"He's one-of-a-kind," says poetry organizer Sandra Mooney-Ellerbeck.
For more detailed information on StArts Fest visit www.startsfest.ca
Awards night
Awards honouring outstanding local artists will be handed out at the Mayor's Celebration of the Arts Gala Friday evening. Click here for a list of the artists who are competing in seven award categories.
