They’re back!

ENTERTAINERS EVERYWHERE: Dance (above) is just one of the six disciplines at the annual Festival of Performing Arts.

More volunteers are needed to help corral the booming numbers of performers at this year’s festival. Can you lend a hand?

BY JOYCE CARLSON

Entries for the annual Powell River Festival of the Performing Arts are up 150% over last year.

The longest-running cultural event in qathet region will take place from February 22 through to March 4, culminating as usual with the Grand Concert at Evergreen Theatre in Powell River Recreation Complex.

“Our committee is thrilled that our numbers are heading back to pre-COVID levels,” said festival coordinator Val Thompson. “The main increase is due to the return of entries from local schools which have been missing for two years because of the impact of the pandemic on the workload of our school teachers.”

School involvement includes the return of bands, choirs and more speech arts entries, she explained.

Adjudicators are in place for band, dance, piano, speech arts, strings, and vocal and choral. While the majority of registrations involve young people, adult participants contribute much to the festival. Many of the returning adults appreciate the recommendations of the adjudicators who offer ideas to improve performances.

“Once again we are pleased with the calibre of adjudicators willing to come to our community, share their knowledge with our participants and help guide them to even better performances in the future,” said Val.

This is the 20th year that The Rotary Club of Powell River has organized the festival with assistance from community volunteers.

“With the return of school choirs and large numbers in speech arts categories, we’re going to need people to assist with making sure everything goes smoothly when they arrive at Evergreen Theatre.”

Because of the increase in the overall numbers of entries, the festival committee is looking for more volunteers for the many jobs. Anyone interested in helping can contact Karyn O’Keefe by email at karynokeefe52@gmail.com.

This community is fortunate to have many music, dance and speech arts teachers who share their passion with their students, and parents who recognize the value of the performing arts in creating well-rounded human beings.

“We are grateful to qathet Regional District, City of Powell River, School District 47, qathet Art Council, Powell River Academy of Music, Max Cameron Theatre and Powell River Recreation Complex staff for their support of our festival,” Val added.

Performances take place at Evergreen Theatre, James Hall at Powell River Academy of Music and Max Cameron Theatre. A full schedule is available at powellriverperformingarts.org.

“We look forward to appreciative audiences again for sessions and the Grand Concert,” said Val.

79 TH FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTS

When: February 22 to March 4 – the Grand Concert, featuring stand-out acts from every discipline – is on March 4.

What: The Powell River Festival features local band, dance, piano, speech arts, strings, and vocal and choral performances, which are each adjudicated by professionals. The public is invited to view any of the events by donation (minus the ticketed Grand Concert, which is $20 adults / $15 seniors / students).

Full schedule: powellriverperformingarts.org