PREVIEW
Kaleido Family Arts Festival
Sept. 14 to 16
Alberta Avenue
On 118th Ave between 92 St. and 94 St.
Edmonton
Free. Goodwill offerings accepted
September is a rough month. It’s the dividing line between holidays and school, summer and winter. While many people find their shoulders slumping, the Kaleido Family Arts Festival tries to inject a load of fun into our ho-hum future.
The Kaleido is north Edmonton’s pre-eminent fall festival, a three-day event that draws close to 700 regional artists and performers from across Canada.
Several St. Albert artists are included on the list. They are award-winning Lia Cole, a pop singer-songwriter who is slowly developing an international reputation.
Country singer Hailey Benedict, dancer Jenna Werhun and prairie bluegrass singer-songwriter duo Jim and Penny Malmberg will also serenade the crowds.
Now in its 13th edition, the festival runs Sept. 14 to 16 on 118 Avenue between Alberta Avenue’s 91 and 94 streets. The area is temporarily closed to traffic, allowing the expected 60,000 visitors to safely walk between 12 performing venues.
Artistic director Christy Morin, along with a dedicated programming team, has created a cultural hub that taps into 15 different cultures including Indigenous, Irish, Colombian, Chinese, African, Hungarian, modern Canadian and American.
This wonder group features master craftsmen that create a cocktail of entertainment ranging from music, dance, theatre and circus arts to puppetry, storytelling, visual arts and a film presentation.
This year’s theme is Kaleido + The World = Love, a statement that redresses the imbalance of divisiveness in modern times and emphasizes Canada’s rich cultural mosaic.
“We are a multicultural festival and we wanted to let people know we love all colours and are prepared to give them a warm hug,” said Morin.
This year, Morin debuts a literary component with four book launches. On Friday night, Carissa Halton launches Little Yellow House, her account of moving into the tough Alberta Avenue neighbourhood and discovering the beauty of her community.
Three more follow on Saturday. Forest Heights resident Tim Wilson launches Strength for Today & a Bright Hope for Tomorrow, a book of spiritual poetry. Patricia Dunnigan writes Twisted Sisters, a moving set of vignettes about her life, and Rayanne Haines’ Stained With the Colours of Sunday is a fictional novel in verse that follows the lives of three female characters.
“The spoken word brings life to the festival. It’s wonderful to hear those stories. This is also a way to help writers find their wings. The spoken word can be so encouraging.”
Another new event this year is a 10-minute short titled Champions of the Ave that focuses on various area shopkeepers. St. Albert Children’s Theatre alumnus Justin Brunelle filmed the project that includes refugees from Kuwait, Vietnam, Cambodia and South America.
“Shirley Serviss wrote the script and it’s about the journey they made from war-torn countries and the home they made on Alberta Ave. It’s about people that left a war-torn country and started fresh with only a suitcase on their back.”
The big Saturday headliner is Busby and the Bass, a Montreal-based, nine-piece band. Their last album, Uncommon Good (2017), synthesizes funk, soul, hip-hop, rock, R&B and gospel into a sensual mesh that is layered, polished and unified.
“They’ve been coming to Edmonton for the past four or five years and they’ve gained a huge following. They’re a good dance band. They’re a bit like a throwback to Chicago,” said Leah Harman, one of the program co-ordinators.
Harman is also a sophisticated saxophonist and she’ll be leading the Leah Harman Quartet on Sunday at Kaleido's Jazz Alley.
One of the most anticipated festival acts is Bardic Form, an acoustic progressive world folk instrumental duo. Their evolving formula blends folk, Latin, dance and classical music into a high-energy and unparalleled performance.
“They’ve really evolved as a duo. They’ve won at the Edmonton Music Awards and seeing them grow is wonderful,” Morin said.
Another group geared to an adventurous demographic is The Long War, a Vancouver-based band that has a distinct take on modern indie folk music.
“They’re a five-piece band and they won the 2017 CBC Searchlight title,” Harman added.
Ordinarily Kaleido leaves classical music to orchestras and symphonies. However, the Edmonton Winds, a large ensemble of professional and semi-professional musicians, returns for a second consecutive year. Music director Ray Baril will lead the wind ensemble through a series of classical and pop standards.
“The beauty of Edmonton Winds is that they bring so many different styles,” Morin noted, adding, “Often people don’t have the money to attend a symphony, but here they can eat popcorn and enjoy the performance.”
As a musician Harman sees the value in learning to appreciate different styles of music.
“Classical music is so often overlooked, but it is a foundation for everything. Featuring them on the main stage is a good opportunity to listen and learn to appreciate the music.”
Organizers are bringing back the popular Mongolian yurt where Capoeira Academy and Samba Edmonton help kick-start events on Friday night. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial arts that combines dance, acrobatics and music.
Morin explained that Capoeira is all about storytelling.
“It’s about where we come from, our origins and how humans relate to the world. It’s very physical and challenging, but it’s always done in a circle and is always connected. It’s very deeply spiritual.”
One of the festival’s most anticipated jazz musicians will be Jeremiah McDade.
“He was a student at McGill (University) but he’s just moved back to Edmonton. As a sax player he plays very lyrically and everything he plays hits you emotionally. He plays with such conviction, it hits you in the heart. He can say more in less notes than most musicians,” Harman said.
The colourful Indigenous Takwakin Village returns with a series of powwow dancers, hoop dancers and popular regional luminaries such as Jay Gilday and award-winning Celeigh Cardinal.
The Rhythm Speaks Hip Hop Stage brings out resident DJs, a flow arts workshop and an Open Cypher Hip Hop performance as well as special performances from Boosh & the Dip, Locution Revolution, Brothers Grim and Kaz Mega.
Kalabante Productions is a circus showcase crowds never tire of seeing. Combining circus arts with traditional African drumming and costumes, this African-Canadian troupe puts on a death-defying show that leaves audiences gaping in astonishment. This year, Kalabante returns with six acrobats and three drummers.
“Their flexibility and acrobatics – it’s like seeing Cirque du Soleil but coming from Guinea.”
And over at the Family Fun Zone, The Imaginarium Puppet Company presents The Durflings and the Book of Poops. It’s a story about two siblings who borrow their uncle’s magic wand to summon The Book of Poops. It’s a special book that poops treasures. But it gets stolen and the siblings go on an adventure to recover it.
Harman has volunteered and worked with the festival the past four years and she’s excited to present artistic diversity for all ages.
“Anyone can come for three days and experience so much culture. It’s positively cool. You can spend a whole day here. Stop by and get food from the different ethnic restaurants and enjoy every artistic medium you can think of.”
