Archive for the ‘Arts Alive! Festival’ Category
Friday, September 28th, 2007
“Today, a stroll down Alberta Avenue is a unique experience. You can drop into the indoor skatepark, pick up some “hot and spicy fresh food” or marital aids or Portuguese bread or organic vegetables, an acme juicer, Latin imports. All within a couple of blocks. A stranger will walk by, ask for a cigarette, and declare, “Let the good times roll!” A man in a suit and tie will pick up garbage.
The interpretation of the future, by Fassil Yenie, a recent immigrant, is a painting of a couple dancing a tango. It’s a magical image, hinting at a special moment and at timelessness. Like the humble carrot, it’s as good a symbol as any.”
~Todd Babiak, Edmonton Journal.
Read this whole article, which appeared in Sept 27th’s Journal, here.
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Wednesday, October 11th, 2006
Well, the first Arts Alive! Festival has come and gone (crazy thought) and it was a hit.
We were struck with some bad weather (it’s Edmonton, it’s October…), which really got us on our game. We were ready for the worst I think, as things got a little crazy down to the wire in those last minutes of preparation (how do you prepare for something that’s never happened before?). But, all that said, we had a great turnout for a first time. For an any-time, really.
There, in the middle of a chilly day, in the middle of Alberta Avenue, in some near forgotten spaces, as Ken Chapman put it, “a little miracle” happened.
Somewhere between 800 and 1000 Edmontonians came down to the Ave to celebrate the Arts together. They took in plays, live music, dance troupes, and some gorgeous fine art pieces (and much more).
At one point I sat down on a bail of hay by the fire and talked at length with Rick, a neighborhood man who was so touched by the festival that he just couldn’t leave. He sat there by the fire, all day, just taking it in. He said he could barely even enter the visual art gallery because it was just so beautiful it made him tear up. As we talked, I saw how important an event like this is to a community like ours. A community that doesn’t get this in her own backyard very often – if at all. A community rebuilding her dignity. Thanks Rick, for helping me see. And for your great stories!
So, if you missed Arts Alive! this year, don’t you worry. We’re working on next year and with the head start we have, things will only get better.
See you there, Rick.
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Sunday, October 8th, 2006
Ken Chapman of Cambridge Strategies Inc. has been working with the city on the revitalization of Alberta Avenue for some time now. This past Saturday, he got to see some of that work come to fruition, and also got to see just how much great material he has to work with down on the Ave. For that, he is thankful. The following is a post from Ken’s blog, posted on Sunday, October 8, 2006.
Thank You – Arts on the Avenue
This is Thanksgiving so you will not be surprised that you will not be reading my usual politically oriented post.
We Albertans live abundant lives, not all of us but that is true for most of us. We have lots to be thankful for. Yesterday I had little time to reflect on Thanksgiving but I did on this Sunday morning. I have all of the ususal thoughts of giving thanks but yesterday was special and filled me with feelings of hope and optimism – as well as for giving thanks.
Yesterday in a small part of Edmonton along 118 Ave (“The Ave”), bordering the north side of the city core, a minor miracle happened. A locally produced one day eclectic arts festival happened…Arts on the Avenue. It brought together dancers, painters actors, musicians and artisans to show their talents and to make a statement. That statement was about the rejuvenation of a community that has, euphemistically speaking; “seen better days.”
There is an abundance of Cultural Creatives that live in The Ave area. They were joined by other artists who have recently befriended The Ave and who also caught the spirit of the place – especially yesterday. They came from around the city with their friends and families and spent the day to enjoy, to perform, to participate and to celebrate. What they created was a connection amongst themselves and they reaffirmed the sense of community on The Ave. What they enabled, experienced and expressed was the creative power of art and culture to renew the sense of hope in a community.
I was there for the day as part of our work at Cambridge Strategies Inc. for the City of Edmonton on the revitalization of the 118 Ave from NAIT to Northlands. It felt so much like my experience in the early days of The Fringe…I was there too. I remember well the feeling in Old Strathcona and on Whyte Avenue at the time of Alberta’s 75th Anniversary celebrations. We enabled a few actors, on very short notice, to essentially perform audition pieces to small audiences. We knew then “we were really on to something.” That early effort quickly morphed into the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. That event grew and then morphed into a North American wide Fringe Festival movement that thrives today.
I felt that feeling that “we are really on to something” again yesterday at Arts on the Avenue. Yesterday was authentic and eclectic with a well produced and very professional line up of talent. In that way it was much more than the early Fringe days. It was genuine, energetic and unpretentious and just brimming with talent and potential. In that way it was totally aligned with the early Fringe Festival days.
Volunteers are tough to find in the overly committed and complex life styles we seem to live these days. But they came out of there homes yesterday and did all the Joe Jobs with a smile and got caught up in the sense of what was happening. That added to the rays of hope that the Arts on the Avenue brought to all those who worked on it so hard, and against such odds, to make this happen.
So on a day that started out cold and grey and drizzling, that evolved, emerging as a sunny crisp fall afternoon. It ended with a clear night sky and a full moon. Everyone gathered around a huge bon fire to warm the body. They were good people working together and accomplishing much that warmed the heart. To warm the soul they enjoyed an outdoor concert by Captain Tractor, who merely had to walk across the neighbourhood park to perform.
There is meaning here. The people who made this event happen are tired today and there is still clean up and lots to do. But they know that yesterday was the start of something good. Something very positive happened yesterday on 118 Avenue. Something that augers well for the future of The Ave and the neighbouring communities as a place to work, live and raise a family. They too are “really on to something!” Thanks to the people of Arts on the Avenue for letting me be part of it.
POSTED BY KEN CHAPMAN AT 11:23 AM
We certainly thank you, too, Ken – for all you’ve done for the Avenue, and for the part you played in making Arts Alive! come alive on Saturday. Here’s to a growing festival!
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Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
Well, today the Festival was a feature on CKUA’s Arts Alive! program.
You can visit the CKUA website here, and listen to this great station live.
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Monday, October 2nd, 2006
We are now in our final week of planning the Festival.
Crunch time.
We’re learning how exciting – and scary – the process is doing this type of Festival for the first time. It is bringing people together on the Ave – big time – and that excites us even more. The community spirit that is growing is why we started all of this.
And of course, there is a TON to do!
Tomorrow night is our volunteer meeting (Tuesday, October 3). We meet at 7:30 at the Alberta Avenue Business Association to prep the crew that will be putting this Festival on. If you would like to be a part of that crew, we’d love to have you, too! Just come on by and we will hook you up with an area – we need all the hands we can get to make this Festival a roaring success. Volunteering is a great way to help your community and meet new people in your community.
So, as I said, this is it. We are counting down and it is looking to be an incredible weekend of the arts and community on the Ave.
Purchase your wristbands now – and we’ll see you there!
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Monday, October 2nd, 2006
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The Wristbands
We’d like to thank the Edmonton Folk Festival for donating writs-bands to Arts Alive! and thus supporting this groundbreaking Festival. The green and purple wristbands for Arts Alive! were originally produced by the Folk Festival, and have now been donated for our use (just to clear up any confusion for those purchasing wristbands in advance).
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Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
Last night was the last large-scale full-group meeting of Arts on the Ave before the festival on October 7. We shared vision for the avenue overall, and got very excited about the changes that are about to take place on this humble stretch of street.
There were nearly 30 in attendance, and many artists were not able to make it. That’s a LOT of art.
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It is truly great to see so many artists from so many different disciplines coming together for an event like Arts Alive! We are still not sure where this all will take us, but we’ll know we’ll be glad we decided to go.
Tickets are now available, so make sure you get one and we’ll meet you on the Ave October 7!
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Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
For this year’s festival, there are two ticket options.
The green tickets are $5 and will get you in for the daytime events. This is a great time to bring the kids down – or come with yourself, a friend or a sweetheart – and experience some great art together.
The purple tickets are also $5, and those get you into the main concert event in the evening, with Atomic Improv, members of Captain Tractor and more.
If you are joining us for the full day, you will need to buy both tickets for $10.
That’s right, just $10 for a full day or art of every variety, great music and fantastic community. You just can’t beat that.
Tickets are available at the Alberta Avenue Business Association office (95th street and 118th Ave).
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