The Yellowhead Regional Arts Festival marked its 15th year last week, with a series of competitions in various arts disciplines, held from April 26 to May 2.
Participants had the chance to perform, or showcase their work, in six different specialties: voice, piano, speech, band, recorder and even Lego.
They were then judged by an adjudicator from that field, who gave them feedback and tips for improvement.
According to Festival Director Jacqueline Delisle, the purpose of the festival is not only to promote the arts in the Yellowhead region, but also to provide an opportunity for thespians of all ages and abilities to showcase their craft, and receive professional feedback.
鈥淎 huge portion is children, but we do encourage all ages,鈥� she said, especially in the speech and voice competitions.
She said that last week鈥檚 festival went very well, with many talented performers showcasing their skills.
鈥淢an, we have some really talented kids,鈥� she said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 pretty amazing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty fun for the kids because they get a certificate telling them how well they鈥檝e done. We get tons coming back year after year.鈥�
Although many of the competitions took place in Hinton, May 2 the band and recorder competitions were held in Jasper. The band competition was held in the morning at the Jasper Junior/Senior High School, and Delisle said it featured more than 300 participants鈥攊ncluding performances by Jasper鈥檚 high school bands鈥攁nd the place was so crowded there wasn鈥檛 even enough chairs to hold everyone.
The recorder discipline, held in the afternoon at the Jasper Elementary School, was entirely comprised of acts from Jasper, but Delisle said the performers 鈥渃leaned house鈥� anyway.
The recorder acts were judged by music major Sandra Hall, who not only praised the creativity of the performers鈥� pieces, but spent time after each act giving detailed feedback, as well as advice on how to improve.
Emma Glover won a medal for her solo performance of 鈥淩onde,鈥� and the Jasper Elementary Recorder Ensemble Concert Group received a plaque for their rendition of 鈥淭he Lion Sleeps Tonight.鈥�
Delisle said she was particularly impressed with the recorder ensemble鈥檚 performance, which she said really blew her away.
鈥淭hese kids are so incredibly talented; it鈥檚 amazing,鈥� she said.
The festival got its start when organizers of a Hinton piano competition decided to expand to cover the entire Yellowhead region. So in 1999 they added competitions in other categories, brought in more adjudicators, and the Yellowhead Regional Arts Festival was born.
The idea, Delisle said, was to 鈥渃elebrate arts in the whole region,鈥� and especially encourage kids to get interested in the arts.
At one time the festival boasted participants in more than 20 disciplines, but recent staffing changes have forced the festival to scale back. However Delisle said it was a blessing in a way, because it allowed the festival to return to its roots.
鈥淣ow we鈥檙e kind of celebrating where we came from,鈥� she said, adding that more disciplines will be added next year.
May 8, the festival鈥檚 Grand Concert, which features some of the best acts from across all the disciplines, will take place in Hinton. Along with the performances, those participants who won awards will have them presented to them.
聽Trevor Nichols
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