May Marche promises to be bigger and better than ever before

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 25, 2007.)

By Gillian Brunette

The popular May Marché returns to Deerhurst Resort this year, promising to be bigger and better than ever.

A Huntsville Festival of the Arts fundraiser, the seventh annual event takes place on Friday, May 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Waterhouse Ballroom.

“This fun social event has become a highlight on the Huntsville social calendar as well as being the festival’s principal fundraising event,” said festival board member Mike Malone.

Several of the area’s restaurants will be on hand to cook up some tempting samples of their own particular specialties. Deerhurst’s executive chef Rory Golden and his staff promise to create a grand selection of mouthwatering hors d’ouevres.

Among those offering food stations are Delta Grandview Resort, Spencer’s Tall Trees, Hidden Valley Resort, 3 Guys and a Stove, On the Docks Pub, Algonquin Park’s Bartlett Lodge, the Fiery Grill from Dorset and Port Cunnington Lodge.

New this year are Soul Sistas and the Coffee Cabin.

“There are more confirmations still to come,” Malone said, adding that there are about a dozen restaurants and eateries expected to be on hand.

Beverages will include a selection of wine, beer, and spirits from various wineries and breweries. Confirmed to date are Henry of Pelham, Lifford Wine Agency, Cilento Wines, Muskoka Lakes Winery, Churchill Cellars, Reif Estates, Mill Street Brewery, Lakes of Muskoka Brewery, Steam Whistle Brewery, Sleemans and Peter Melenezski Agency.

“Peter Melenezski in the past has provided Grand Marnier and last year Navan, which is a flavoured cognac. I’m not sure what he is bringing this year,” said Malone.

In addition, Corby’s Distilleries is featuring a martini which will be poured through an ice sculpture created by Golden, Malone said.

Coffee service will be provided by Seven Main Café.

The May Marché is being sponsored by Polar Diamonds, who have generously sponsored a $3,000 diamond pendant to be raffled off at the end of the evening. Raffle tickets are $20.

GIRL'S BEST FRIEND? This $3,000 diamond pendant necklace is to be raffled at the May Marche. Tickets will be $20 each.

“To make the raffle more fun we are having a Mardi Gras theme. With each raffle ticket the purchaser will be given a ‘diamond’ bead on a coloured string to wear around the neck,” said festival board member Ross Kirwin.

Throughout the evening five silent auction tables will display products, collectibles and art items with a retail value of over $18,000.

“There will be an incredible selection of auction items donated by the generous merchants and artists in the area. There will be some great bargains to be had and, best of all, there is no tax,” said Malone.

This year the auction will also include a Honda sports car from Jason Armstrong Huntsville Honda, Malone added.

As in years past, there will be some light entertainment provided throughout the evening. “We also have a town crier coming from Bracebridge to ensure everything runs in an orderly fashion and who will announce when the auction tables are closing,” said Malone.

Tickets to the Marché are $50 per person and cover the food and beverages for the evening. If past years are any indication, tickets will sell out quickly.

Tickets are available at Treasures and Trophies on Main Street, at the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, Robinson’s Independent Grocer, from any festival board member, through the website at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca or by calling 788-2787.

“It should be noted that all of the food and a majority of the beverages for the Marché have been donated. This generosity is the principal reason that the Marché is able to provide such strong financial assistance to the festival as it heads into another season,” concluded festival general manager Rob Saunders.

Scholarships assist arts students with their studies

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 25, 2007.)

By Rob Saunders

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts is celebrating its 10th year of providing scholarships for budding performing arts students.

This year up to $2,500 is available from the festival.

Rob Saunders, Hunstville Festival of the Arts general manager

In recent years the Huntsville Community Choir has offered vocal scholarships and the festival has worked with the group by directing vocal applicants to apply for a community choir award.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts scholarship program began in 1997 with just a senior scholarship in the amount of $2,000. In that first year, there were 10 applicants and the scholarship was subsequently awarded to Brigitte Reid on piano. Reid continued her studies and currently teaches music in France.

In 1998 the scholarship attracted 14 applicants and two co-winners, then in 2000 a junior scholarship of $500 was introduced. The inaugural junior winner was Maxime Riviere-Anderson in dance. At the same time the senior award was adjusted to $1,500.

In 2001, the festival presented its first Scholarship Tribute Evening as part of its regular summer programming. The show featured current and past scholarship winners and applicants. Two years later in 2003 they again presented an all-student evening titled Rising Stars, which was repeated with a scholarship evening last summer.

Also in 2003, the festival featured scholarship students in its Music at Noon concert series. Seven of the 10 noon concerts had scholarship applicants as featured artists.

In 2006 another $500 was added to the scholarship pool with the introduction of an intermediate category for 14 to 16-year-olds.

Various scholarship winners over the years have gone on to pursue careers in the arts. Bassist Jamie Bestwick plays in various ensembles and in musical theatre throughout the province, and often plays in and around the Huntsville area. Drummer Dan Neil plays professionally for jazz and rock combos, while performing artist Jack Bevington is enrolled in One Yellow Rabbit theatre company.

Vocalist Bridget Mantha, who is continuing her musical education, has sung for the Larks, a local musical group, and in numerous musical presentations in the area.

Jennifer Taylor graduated with a music degree from McMaster University and then went on to get her masters. She is now teaching musical theory.

Over the years in excess of $20,000 has been awarded in festival scholarships, making a significant contribution to the development of upcoming artists in our community. This combined with the performance opportunities that the festival offers has created an opportunity for young artists to build on the quality instruction and teaching they have received through the high school and private instructors.

Meanwhile students who live in the Huntsville/Lake of Bays area or are currently at post-secondary institutions pursuing studies in dance, theatre, and music can apply for a 2007 Huntsville Festival of the Arts award.

The junior scholarship of up to $500 is available to applicants 13 years of age and under as of December 31, 2006. The intermediate scholarship, also an award up to $500, is available to students 16 years of age and under as of December 31, 2006, and the senior scholarship totalling $1,500 is available to students 17 years of age or older as of the same date.

Applications for both scholarships may be picked up from the Huntsville High School guidance department, music department or at the Huntsville Forester office at 11 Main St. W., across the road from the post office.

Applications are to be completed and mailed back to the festival office at P.O. Box 5465, Huntsville P1H 2K8 by May 11. For further information call 788-2787 or 789-3175.

Time for performing arts students to apply for scholarships

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 18, 2007.)

Two leading community arts groups have once again combined their energies and financial clout to enhance the level of funding support available to promising performing arts students in the Huntsville/Lake of Bays area.

This year, performing arts students, other than vocal applicants, are being encouraged to apply for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts scholarship, while vocal students will be eligible to apply for a scholarship provided by the Huntsville Community Choir.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts scholarship award was introduced in 1997 to foster the development of the performing arts talent in the community. This year the festival has decided to once again offer a junior, an intermediate and a senior scholarship.

STRINGS ATTACHED: Laurel Hill, an intermediate festival scholarship winner, plays at the Algonquin Theatre during a Huntsville Festival of the Arts-sponsored concert last year. Applications are now being accepted for the 2007 scholarships.

The junior scholarship, of up to $500, is available to applicants 13 years of age and under as of December 31, 2006. The intermediate scholarship, also an award up to $500, is available to students 16 years of age and under as of December 31, 2006, and the senior scholarship is awarded to students 17 years of age or older as of the same date.

Once again the senior awards will total $1,500. Students may apply for only one level of scholarship per year and scholarship funds must be used toward the cost of tuition to a post-secondary institution or applied toward lessons from a qualified instructor.

Candidates must reside in the Huntsville/Lake of Bays area. Applications for both scholarships may be picked up from the Huntsville High School guidance department, music department or at the Huntsville Forester office at 11 Main St. W., across the road from the post office.

Applications are to be completed and mailed back to the festival office at P.O. Box 5465, Huntsville P1H 2K8 by May 11.

In the past, senior applicants were requested to supply a reference with the submitted application, but for the 2007 awards this is no longer a requirement.

In addition to the application, each candidate will be required to perform a live audition in front of an adjudication panel. Auditions for the community choir scholarship will be held at Trinity United Church on Saturday, May 26 and for the Huntsville Festival scholarship on Sunday, May 27. Award recipients will be notified during the week following the auditions.

Previous festival scholarships have been awarded to students pursuing studies in dance, theatre, and music.

Winners of either a festival or community choir junior or intermediate scholarship are eligible to reapply for the senior scholarship, but senior candidates can only win once. Unsuccessful senior applicants are encouraged to audition in subsequent years.

For further information please contact Rob Saunders at 788-2787 or Gerri Mar at 789-3175.

HHS English students enter world of slam poetry

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 18, 2007.)

Huntville Festival of the Arts sponsors workshops in conjunction with poetry month

By Gillian Brunette

Slam poetry, otherwise known as performance poetry, is only now becoming a recognized art form in Canada despite its popularity south of the border, where it was born 21 years ago.

“Poetry slams are spoken word competitions where poets perform pieces on stage before a panel of judges,” explained Toronto performance poet Dave Silverberg.

“The judges award marks from zero to 10 based on content and the performances.”

Silverberg was at Huntsville High School last week, where he conducted two short classes on the art for Grade 9 and Grade 12 students.

“This was to introduce the students to slam poetry and its nuances and to challenge them to put together some poetry for a workshop at Sutherland Hall on April 26,” said Huntsville Festival of the Arts general manager Rob Saunders.

WORDS IN MOTION: Huntsville High School Grade 12 writer's craft teacher Kirsten Corson shares a laugh with performance poet Dave Silverberg, who conducted a couple of workshops for Grade 9 and 12 students last week.

In keeping with its mandate to provide arts outreach education programs, the festival is sponsoring the workshops which are, coincidentally, being held during National Poetry Month.

“A year ago we were looking for an opportunity to link in with the high school in an artistic way. I was researching options and came across a travelling performance poetry group from New York and then found a similar group in Toronto,” Saunders explained.

When he broached the idea to the high school’s English department it was favourably received, with the result that some 50 to 60 English and drama students will attend the April 26 workshop, along with some area adult poets who have asked to sit in on the proceedings, Saunders said.

Silverberg is planning on bringing with him four poets from Toronto – Gypsy Eyes, Amanda Hiebert, Electric Jon and Mike Smith – to work with the students.

“They are all Torontonians who have won slams in one form or another and performed or hosted events throughout the city. Amanda has been on the Toronto slam team for five years now,” he said.

The team competes at the annual slam competition, which was introduced in 2003 at the Canadian Festival of the Spoken Word, a one-of-a-kind-in-Canada event that features workshops and competitions, said Silverberg.

Meanwhile, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver are currently the only places to hold monthly poetry slam events.

The poets can compete as individuals or with others. No props or costumes are allowed, but personal instrumentation (clapping, stamping for example) is acceptable. Each performance must be within three to 10 minutes. “For every 10 seconds they are over they lose one point,” said Silverberg.

Poems have to be original – “After that pretty much anything goes.”

There is no criteria with respect to subject matter as long as its not hateful or racist, and profanity is allowed. “It’s up to the judges to determine where [profanity] is too much,” Silverberg said.

The judges at each event are picked from the audience just prior to the start.

“I try to avoid people who know the poets and I’ve also introduced celebrity judges,” said Silverberg.

The April 26 workshops will afford the budding poets an opportunity to perform before their peers and perhaps at the festival’s summer event, the Poetry Cafe.

To learn more about performance poetry in Toronto, go to www.torontopoetryslam.com.

Festival of the Arts launches new website

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 11, 2007.)

By Gillian Brunette

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts has launched a brand new, eye-catching, user-friendly website.

The website has been designed by Steve Spencer of webmastermind.com.

“The aim was to make the website as accessible as possible,” Spencer explained. “It’s easy to use. When you first get on the site there is a revolving slide show of upcoming events. You can then easily access information by either browsing month by month in a calendar format or searching by keyword.”

The site also offers links to the festival’s home, the Algonquin Theatre, and to the festival blog.

“We are very excited about the new website in that we feel it is a bit more interactive with our patrons. Access to the artists’ information is only a couple of clicks away,” said Rob Saunders, festival general manager.

“In most cases we have the artists’ websites linked into our pages, so the user is encouraged to click through and learn more about the artists and possibly listen to samples of their works. Like all websites, it is a work in progress, so we welcome any comments or suggestions regarding its user-friendliness.”

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts has also announced its core season lineup, much earlier in the year than usual.

“We used to wait until the release of our brochure to announce the season lineup and start ticket sales, but in this increasingly electronic world we decided to start the ticket sales earlier. All our artists have their own websites. Once a contract with them has been signed, they post that they’re coming to Huntsville in the summer. It wasn’t fair to the theatre box office to hold off on allowing ticket sales.”

The 2007 festival season offers a little bit of something for everyone. It should be a great summer of entertainment, added Saunders.

“In planning our 15th season we wanted to bring in some new artists, but also to recognize some of our most popular performers from past years.”

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts 15th core season runs July 4 to 22, with most evening performances taking place at the state-of-the-art Algonquin Theatre.

Headliners for this year’s festival include tenor John McDermott (July 14), gold and platinum recording artist Bruce Cockburn (July 18) and Jim Cuddy (July 4), known for his work as the lead singer of Canadian supergroup Blue Rodeo.

“Huntsville’s own Hawksley Workman will perform on the festival’s closing weekend on July 21, in recognition of our 15th anniversary celebrations, followed by Kerry Stratton leading the festival orchestra in a Last Night at the Proms,” said Saunders.

In addition to 2007 being the 15th anniversary, it will also be the inaugural year for the Huntsville Jazz Festival. Running from August 2 to 5, the jazz festival will feature great jazz offerings at restaurants, bars and outdoor venues during the day, and four evening concerts at the Algonquin Theatre.

Confirmed shows to date include Cuban/Canadian Hilario Duran leading an eight-piece salsa band in a traditional Latin evening, and legendary jazz pianist Oliver Jones, returning to Huntsville to share his dynamic keyboard skills.

The season’s lineup can be viewed by visiting www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca and tickets can be purchased through the website or by calling the box office at 705-789-4975.

Season brochures will be available in early May. Call 788-2787 or e-mail info@ huntsvillefestival.on.ca to add your name to the mailing list.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts is supported by grants from the Canadian Department of Heritage; sponsorship from several corporations, foundations and local businesses; individual donations; and hundreds of generous volunteers and artists in the community.

Spruce Glen students benefit from multimedia arts project – being showcased April 16

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 4, 2007.)

By Gillian Brunette

The students at Spruce Glen Public School will have a greater understanding of the arts following the completion of Touch the Sky, a project currently underway at the school.

The project has been developed in conjunction with two arts organizations – the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and the Muskoka Lakes Music Festival (MLMF) – which together are providing the funding, inspiration, organization and procurement of the various artists.

Touch the Sky is a six-day initiative (spread over a three-week period) that matches professional Muskoka visual and performing artists with Spruce Glen students. The artist works with the children, teacher and parent/community volunteers to provide hands-on instruction in a specific art discipline.

Each class gets six sessions with the same artist and their teacher.

KALEIDOSCOPE: This collage of images represents Kaleidoscope, a multimedia project currently underway at Spruce Glen Public School. Titled Touch the Sky, the project brings students, teachers and area artists together, culminating in an exhibition.

The program began on March 22 and runs for two hours every Monday and Thursday, after which workshops, performances and an exhibition of the students’ works will be showcased at the Algonquin Theatre on April 16.

Fourteen area professional artists are involved. In addition, Gerry Lantaigne, the creator of the Group of Seven murals hanging in various locations around town, is working with a select group of art-focussed students to create a mural that is reflective of the project’s theme.

“Each of the classes provided input as to what they would like to see in the mural, which will be painted in the gym. When completed, the mural will be affixed to the school as a permanent reminder of the students’ efforts,” said Huntsville Festival of the Arts general manager Rob Saunders.

Kaleidoscope is the brainchild of Port Carling resident Gayle Dempsey, who is director of festival development for the MLMF.

She has been developing the program for about six years with view to bringing the arts into the schools and assisting teachers in delivering the arts curriculum.

“I understand about budget cuts and I was trying to provide exciting, creative arts opportunities,” she said.

The Kaleidoscope project was first introduced at Pine Glen Public School about four years ago. It was titled Songs of the Earth and at that time the Huntsville festival assisted with some funding.

Since then the program has been introduced three more times in area schools. “Spruce Glen is the fifth,” said Dempsey.

This is also the first time that the two arts organizations have combined to present the program, said Saunders. “The Huntsville Festival of the Arts is the lead sponsor, but the whole program is based on the framework created by the Muskoka Lakes Music Festival.”

“Partnership is the real key for sustainability of the program. Our festival can’t meet the needs of the whole district,” Dempsey added.

The artists involved in the project are paid for their time, said Dempsey. “It’s important to honour that.”

The cost of providing the program is about $12,000 of which the HFA has funded $4,000. Funding is also provided by the Trillium Lakelands District School Board out of its program enhancement fund and some federal and provincial dollars were also made available. In addition each student pays $10 to help offset the costs.

The Trillium Foundation, which has provided funding in the past, has shown an interest in expanding the project to make it available to schools across Ontario.

“That they are interested in providing this provincewide is exciting and overwhelming,” Dempsey.

Meanwhile, in the short term, the goal of the two arts groups is to present Kaleidoscope in all the schools in Muskoka.

Great response to Canadian Children's Dance Theatre presentations on March 26

The Canadian Children's Dance Theatre presented five wonderful pieces to 800 appreciative audience members on March 26. The students who attended the show ranged from Grade 3 to Grade 8 and they all loved it.

Comments were very positive:

• "What a great performance yesterday! We had a great time – thank you for organizing this event. The workshops we have had so far have been great as well. What a unique opportunity."

• "Yesterday was wonderful experience for our Intermediates. Thanks for bringing it to Muskoka!"

• "Just wanted to let you know that all of our group got in to see the performance. The boys loved it. Thanks for your help and efforts."

The five performances demonstrated unique and innovative approaches to dance combining high-energy athletic performances with other more lyrical ones.

Hopefully, we will be able to bring this talented group back to the Algonquin Theatre soon.



Text submitted by Suzanne Riverin./Photos by Jon Snelson.