Evolving in the East and Fringing in the West
Your guide to summer festivals across the Dominion
Summer is here, and that means a lot of things to the students here, such as eternal sunshine on the beach, seeing our families, mind-blowing barbecue and scrambling for employment to get some much needed liquidity. But more importantly, summer is the season for festivals.
Canada has a proud tradition of festivals, with events spanning the whole nation, and most don’t even know what they’re really missing. Here’s just a taste of what is out there.
If you want music, our nation’s capital is not a bad place to be this summer, because from there you can check out the Ottawa Jazz Festival. Now celebrating its 30th year, the Jazz Festival was founded by local musicians Bob Misener and Tony Pope.
Since then it has evolved and gained a loyal fan base, as well as greatly contributing to the rise in popularity of Jazz. The Jazz Festival opens on June 24th and runs through July 4th.
If you’re in Bytown but jazz isn’t you’re thing, there’s the Ottawa Bluesfest, opening on July 6th until the 18th. The festival started sixteen years ago with a performance by Clarence Clemons, and it has blossomed from there. The Bluesfest now showcases music of different genres. This year, headliners include Carlos Santana, Iron Maiden, Rush and Arcade Fire, to name a few.
For our friends in Quebec, July 8th is the opening of the Quebec Summer Festival. The Festival was started in 1968, making it the oldest on the list. It was founded by Quebec artists to promote popular music in the province.
It is now an award-winning festival within Quebec, and showcases stars not only from this province, but the rest of the country as well. Take a look at the show that claims to be the biggest outdoor artistic event in the country.
Later in June is The North by Northeast Music Festival and Conference (NXNE), in Toronto. NXNE was founded in 1994, and plays host to over 650 musical acts across 50 venues, ranging from newcomers to headline acts. On top of that, the NXNE also includes a film festival with 40 of the best music related documentaries and videos. And if that’s not enough, there are conferences that bring delegates and celebrities from the business for interviews, workshops and demo listening.
If music is your thing, or if you’re a musical newcomer, this is the place to be. NXNE opens on June 14th and runs until June 20th.
If you happen to be in the east coast sometime this summer, you will want to take a look at the Evolve “Music and Awareness Festival” in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Founded in 2000, “Evolve” is a three-day festival that celebrates music, culture and social responsibility and awareness.
What sets apart Evolve is that it’s environmentally friendly. It has a zero-waste policy as well as a number of workshops that teach everything from belly dancing and meditation to solar chimney construction.
If you’re still unsure of making your way to small-town Nova Scotia, consider this: Evolve was rated the “Best Festival in Canada” in a survey conducted by CBC Radio 3, and has an incredible lineup of musical performances this year. Evolve runs from July 23rd to the 25th.
For any theatre goers, there are the Canadian the Fringe Festivals. The first North American Fringe Festival was opened in 1982 in Edmonton, Alberta. Since then, it spread to ten other major cities across Canada, as well as the United States.
What makes the Fringe festival different from other theatre festivals is that the theatre is all original, created and produced by travelling actors and artists. On top of that, the work is not censored, or screened by any jurors.
Needless to say, most Fringe shows are more controversial than mainstream. But, if you have a love for theatre and a thirst for edgy entertainment, the Fringe is a great bet.
Even all this is just a taste of what’s happening across the country, so there’s no reason not to get involved. The summer is yours – make the most of it while you can.
