PREVIEW
Silver Skate Festival
Feb. 9 to 19
Hawrelak Park
Admission: Free
The Silver Skate Festival returns for its 28th edition bringing the world of sports, music, arts and culture together once more.
Running Feb. 9 to 19 at Hawrelak Park, it reflects the hardy spirit of attendees who thrive on inventive artistic creation alongside the adrenaline rush of sports competition.
Below zero temperatures be damned. The 2017 large-scale winter event attracted 85,000 visitors. The year before it was 105,000.
Popular with all ages, it includes snow and fire sculptures, an epic ice slide, roving performers, horse drawn sleigh rides, live music, winter sports and food trucks.
Certain returning artistic features include massive snow sculptures, the burning of a fire sculpture effigy, a heritage village, and an interactive lantern walk on the folk trail.
Cold weather athletes of every level can hit the snow and ice in the Kortebaan sprint, skate races, snowshoe races, a winter triathlon, an ice duathlon, a FatBike Fest and Dead Cold Run.
That’s not too shabby for a free festival where there is always something special and the cool vibe is geared towards enjoying our frosty weather.
“This year we’re very excited to partner with Red Bull Crashed Ice obstacle course before their big event in March. People have the opportunity, if they are 16 years and older and sign a waiver, to do the course,” said Erin Di Loreto, executive producer.
Due to last year's popular debut, FatBike races are making a bigger and stronger comeback.
“Last year, we had overwhelming response. I can’t tell you how many people loved it and wanted more. This year, we’re excited to bring in a second week of the FatBike races.”
Several other weekend warrior events back by popular demand are snowshoe races, short and long distance triathlons as well as the 1 km, 5 km, 10 km and 1-hour skate races.
Movie buffs will be intrigued by a 10-foot high by 16-foot wide screen built entirely from snow.
“We’ve partnered with International Festival of Winter Cinema and we’ll be showing projections of short winter films during both weekends on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will be an eclectic mix of winter films, some as short as two minutes, and every night will be a different program,” Di Loreto said.
Another change this year is a bigger live performance tent, 30-feet by 75-feet, set up by the amphitheatre where singer-musicians and bands appear both weekends.
The roster of 18 acts showcases the talents of artists ranging from jazz-roots-folk singer Celeigh Cardinal, accordionist Jason Kodie and rock singer-songwriter Duane L’Hirondelle to cellist Josephine van Lier, pop-funk-R&B band Mercy Funk as well as The Prince Charles Fiddlers.
“They are all such diverse artists,” Di Loreto noted, adding that photos and short bios of each performer is available on the Silver Skate website at http://www.silverskatefestival.org
One of the performers, St. Albert elementary school substitute teacher Konzy Vida, is the closing act on Family Day, Feb. 19. A Bellerose High graduate, Vida earned an education degree at the University of Alberta before travelling to Los Angeles and reaffirming her passion for music.
Twice nominated for the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Awards, Vida performed at Found Fest, Kaleido Fest and in the Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree.
“My music is honest and relatable. Most songs are from my experiences in early adulthood. I’ve been told my music reaches people,” said Vida.
Several upbeat songs the singer-songwriter plans to perform are Miracles, a tune giving hope for the future; Pray for Peace, an inspirational piece for kindness, and Sunsets in Thailand, a beautiful reminiscence of an unforgettable holiday.
Once the sun sets, the night magic of a lantern walk returns in the Folk Trail: Land of the Golden Apples followed by a magnificent burning effigy.
Former Sturgeon County resident Mariamme Rose Sinkovics, a long-time festival rover, is introducing a new character.
“Bäb (pronounced Bob) is very magical, very mystical and ahead of our times. Bäb is an explorer. Bäb is on a journey of discovery,” said a cagey Di Loreto describing Bäb without spoiling the surprise.
Once again the 12th annual snow sculpture symposium is on track with eight teams transforming cubed eight-foot high, eight-foot wide and eight-foot deep blocks of snow into jaw-dropping artworks.
And at the Heritage Village, a Cree winter camp is set up describing Indigenous survival techniques and showcasing a blacksmith forging primary tools of trade.
Special guest Goota Desmarais, an Inuit interpreter, will also introduce a tupek, a traditional Inuit tent made from seal or caribou that people relied on during a hunt.
“It’s very low to the ground and circular. It’s similar to a yurt,” said Di Loreto. “In the Arctic, when they wanted to secure it, they would secure it with rocks.”
As the festival’s only employee, Di Loreto has high praise for the many shifts the festivals 250 volunteers sign up for.
“We can always use more. At the moment we have two-thirds of the volunteers we need. People can still apply for shifts at www.silverskatefestival.org.”
Silver Skate Festival is feeling a bit of a financial crunch. The budget this year is $750,000. While it seems like a great deal of money, Di Loreto stated that her budget has not grown at the rate of audience participation.
“In 2007 when I started we had 5,000 people coming out and my budget was $70,000. Last year we had 105,000 people and my budget was about $750,000. The festival is free, but it’s not free to put on. We’d like to offer more programming and if patrons could drop a couple twoonies in the donation bins it would really help us grow.”
Parking at Hawrelak Park during the festival is non-existent. To avoid disappointment, visitors are asked to hop on free park ‘n ride shuttles available at several locations. For specific information visit the festival website.
