There will be MĂ©tis jigging, fiddling and, for the first time ever, singing in St. Albert this weekend as the city’s annual MĂ©tis festival dances back into town.
Poundmaker’s Lodge is holding its fourth annual MĂ©tis Spring Festival this weekend at Servus Credit Union Place. The event is a two-day celebration of MĂ©tis song and dance that draws hundreds of people from across Canada.
New this year is a talent show that will challenge MĂ©tis, First Nations and Inuit artists to get on stage and belt out their best, according to festival co-ordinator Florence Gaucher.
“There’s a lot of talent in our community, so this is an opportunity to showcase some of our talent,” she said.
Contestants will be asked to sing a song of their choice before a panel of three professional musicians as they compete for cash prizes, Gaucher says.
“I’m guessing the majority of it will be country,” she says, as many aboriginal singers tend to swing that way, but contestants will be able to sing any genre they like – just not karaoke. They’ll also be able to play one instrument, and can bring up to one backup player if they wish.
It’ll be a fun way to celebrate Canadian history, says former senator Thelma Chalifoux, who invites everyone to attend the event.
“It’s showing off our Canadian culture,” she said.
Back for a fourth time is MĂ©tis fiddler and Sturgeon Composite graduate Calvin Vollrath, who recently performed in Morinville. Vollrath will be judging the fiddle contest and playing reels for the square dancers. He will also be holding a country-swing dance at Servus Place this Friday night.
Fiddling is all about making people dance, Vollrath says, and that’s what he looks for in a good performance.
“Does it make you want to tap your foot?” he asks. “Does it make you feel happy?”
It’s not the notes you play, he says, but how you play them that makes for a winning song.
In addition to individual jiggers, Gaucher says, the festival will also have several square-dancing groups on hand to demonstrate the kinds of rug-cutting people did to have fun in days past.
Square-dancing was a competitive event at the festival two years ago, she notes, but organizers stopped that last year because there weren’t enough teams available to compete.
About 600 people came to last year’s festival, Gaucher says, and she’s hoping for more this year – particularly from St. Albert.
“We would really like the St. Albert community to come to the event,” she says, as locals have been in short supply in previous years. “We’d really like non-aboriginals to come.”
Vollrath says he’s seen a similar lack of locals at other major fiddling events like his recent concert in Morinville, and isn’t sure why it happens. Movies, hockey games and good weather all compete for people’s attention, he speculates, which could be keeping locals away.
Teaching it to kids could help, he says. He runs a music camp in northern Alberta, for example, and many of his students there initially show no interest in square-dancing, having not seen one before.
“By the end of the week, everybody’s doing it, and they just can’t wait for it,” he said.
The event runs this Saturday and Sunday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. The singing contest starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $7.50 at the door ($5 for seniors and youths ages 7 to 12). For details, call 452-6100 ext. 254.
