Music, speech festival begins
THREE VENUES BEING UTILIZED FOR PERFORMANCES
The 88th annual Lethbridge and District Music and Speech Arts Festival kicks off in the city at three different venues today.
Competitors in the instrumental categories will assemble at Casa, the choir competition will take place at Southminster United Church, and for the first time this year the musical theatre competition will be held at Le Cité des Prairies school, due to the ongoing renovations at the Yates Memorial Theatre.
“Everyone is so excited,” says festival general manager Natasha Tompkins. “There has been a lot of work put in, and we are excited to see all the performers, and just see it all come together.
“I think this festival does wonders for the performers’ self esteem. It’s hard to perform. It’s hard to get out there, but I think they get such positive reinforcement from their families, the adjudicators, audiences and their teachers it is of great value. It’s great when kids get to see other kids doing the same thing, right? It inspires them.”
This is the first year the festival will be held under the aegis of the newly formed Lethbridge and District Music and Speech Arts Festival Society.
“For the Kiwanis, last year was their last year running the festival,” Tompkins explains. “They requested a new group take over; so the Lethbridge and District Music and Speech Arts Festival Society was formed. We felt it was important to carry on because of how many people were involved, and I think every member of our board felt it was important to continue on for the young performers to have a place to compete and perform, but also to get the adjudication from a professional.”
The festival, which takes place March 12-24, features two special showcases of performing arts for the public to take in. The musical theatre showcase takes place at Southminster United Church on March 17 at 2:30 p.m., and the Stars of the Festival showcase will be held on March 24 at 2:30 p.m. at Southminster. But the public, stresses Tompkins, is encouraged to attend as many performances as they want during the festival. Attendance costs $3 per day, or $15 for the entire two weeks with the purchase of a festival program book.
“We would encourage everyone to come down and take in the performances, and see the great talent we have here in the city,” says Tompkins.
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