PREVIEW
St. Albert Amplify Festival
Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct.13
Kinsmen Banquet Centre
47 Riel Dr.
Tickets: Varying prices. Visit www.eventbrite.ca
Organizers of St. Albert Amplify Festival started the youth festival to give adolescents a sense of belonging while exploring their creative side through the arts.
On Friday and Saturday, the arts and pop culture festival returns to the Kinsmen Banquet Centre to celebrate its fifth edition.
“I can’t believe it’s been five years. It feels really good to look back at pictures and reflect on how we’ve grown,” said artistic associate Kathleen Bell.
Unlike most festivals targeting the 12 to 21 crowd, Amplify Festival is organized by a proactive advisory committee of 18 youth. They work year-round to create a cultural platform of concerts, workshops, projects, performances and group activities to engage their peers.
During this year’s two-day extravaganza, the theme is Redefine Perfection. It’s an opportunity for aspiring artists to create their own ideal, their own kind of beautiful and their own kind of art, Bell said.
“It’s about defining our own version of perfection whatever that is. Often people don’t want to put art out there because it’s not perfect. We’re just saying, ‘Don’t worry about what society says. Put your art out there.’ Just redefine your own ideal of perfect.”
Traditionally the most-anticipated event is the Saturday night concert with three bands delivering a different vibe. Headlining the evening is award-winning Scenic Route to Alaska, a threesome that has dominated regional stages for several years including St. Albert’s Seven Music Fest.
“This is the first time Scenic Route is playing our festival. We tried to get them before, but our schedules didn’t line up. They are so popular and they have so much energy. Their music is so diverse – a little bit of folk, a little bit of rock, a little bit of indie. They just keep everyone dancing.”
Supporting Scenic Route is rap singer Arlo Maverick and his six-piece backup band and singers.
“He has such insightful lyrics. They’re so engaging. It’s about his life and growing up and the priorities he’s made.”
Opening the concert is Rubber Trees, winners of last year’s The Show 4.0. The Show is a battle of the bands usually held Friday night where the first-place winner automatically receives an opening slot at the following year’s Saturday concert.
Last year, Rubber Trees won a berth under the moniker The Pedestrians. The name was chosen since band members did not have a driver’s license.
“This year, they got their drivers’ licences so they changed their name to Rubber Trees,” said Bell adding the band presents a clean, crisp, melodic groove.
“They did mostly covers last year. But because of the prize they got last year, they did a video and created their first song – Clean Slate. This was an opportunity where we supported artists and they stepped up.”
The festival kicks off Friday at 3 p.m. with a poetry workshop that helps develop literary and spoken art skills in a fun way. Immediately following is Halloween Gore Special F/X Makeup, a workshop where participants learn tips and tricks to up the creep factor.
Friday night dives into another dynamic presentation of The Show 5.0 as Sydney Bourbeau, Riell, Goodbye Stephanie, The Coathangers and Cypress battle it out for a chance to win a prize package.
Interspersed between each band is a dance showcase as four groups demo their moves.
DanceCo introduces jazzy lyrical choreography while a hip-hop crew from Freestyle Movement Dance Co. locks and pops with street dance finesse. Sugar Swing heats up the floor with party dances from the ’30s and ’40s while Transflowmation highlights assorted flow arts including hoops and fans.
Saturday noon kicks off with a series of paid workshops: fabric collage, micro-gardening, improv, soap making, calligraphy and henna body art.
Anyone short on cash can simply enjoy the free stuff: an acoustic stage packed with aspiring musicians, a visual art exhibit, a poem shop, henna body art, silk screening, a roving magician, T-shirt tie dye, making a candy bouquet and eco-wearing crafts.
In addition to offering activities, concerts and workshops, festival organizers are increasingly looking towards multi-step development. This year, they’ve asked emerging visual artist Max Quilliam and a mentor artist to create a phone booth mural.
“Max has come up with a 3D fortune teller’s hands on a magic ball. It is illuminated from the inside and it’s a piece of artwork people can enjoy and interact with,” said Bell.
She also points to performers that took part in the festival’s first years and are now making inroads in their field.
“We’re starting to see success stories of people who experienced the festival and learned from their art. Steven Badry just released his first EP under the name The Sunday Edition. Lia Cole has made these great music videos and just came back from a tour in Asia. Alleviate – they’re too old for us – but they toured all summer and they’re doing awesome.”
There’s a great deal of hometown pride that went into making youth feel valued within the community.
“I’m proud of our growth and what we’ve accomplished. It’s always hard to get the attention of teens, but it’s about getting our name out. It’s grown a lot in five years and hopefully we’ll grow more in the future.
For complete information including schedule and ticket prices, visit www.stalbert.ca/exp/amplify/.
