Although artists taking part in the upcoming Kiwanis Festival of the Performing Arts will be submitting their entries by video again this year, Stratford’s popular Stars of the Festival concert will return to Avondale Church in May, organizers have announced.
“It’s very nice to be able to offer people the live experience again,” Pat McKinna, Kiwanis Festival Stratford’s executive director, said Friday. “Nothing will replace the acoustic sensation of hearing somebody perform music live.”
The Kiwanis Festival – one of Stratford’s oldest – traditionally offers a wide range of young artists the opportunity to have their work critiqued by professionals while performing live.
After it was canceled in 2020, public-health restrictions last year forced organizers to take entries by video so the festival could move online.
It was a big change, McKinna said, but thinking outside the box also revealed some advantages. Although the Stratford Kiwanis Festival received fewer entries than usual last year, they included artists from as far away as northern Ontario and the US, something that traditionally wouldn’t have happened under normal circumstances.
For teachers and students taking part for the first time, working on recorded performances offered a less intimidating introduction to the festival, McKinna added. Plus, it was easier for them to share their work – and the feedback they got from adjudicators – with family and friends outside of Stratford.
“We were able to invite people from all over the world to drop in and hear the feedback their particular family member was getting,” McKinna said. “A lot of our (participants) said that it was wonderful to be able to share what they’ve been working on with their own families … spread out across Canada and North America.”
McKinna hopes the number of entries to begin creeping back up again this year as the Kiwanis Festival begins to bring back some of its live elements. School groups unable to participate last year have also resumed practicing.
“I’m hoping to marry the best of both formats next year,” McKinna said. “I know everybody’s eager to go back to the live experience, but I think there are certain advantages to the online version of doing adjudication and I hope to find a way to incorporate both.”
In the meantime, the Kiwanis Festival is accepting video submissions until April 11. School groups have a little longer – April 20.
Categories the festival wasn’t able to offer last year have returned, McKinna said. Some new categories have been added, too, including freestyle rap, collaborative piano and drawing.
“I hope that these will grow for next year,” McKinna said.
Participants who need a space to record their submissions can book time and equipment at Avondale Church. The church will be available beginning Sunday until April 9.
More than a dozen judges will begin viewing submissions over the following 10 days. Participants will be connected to their adjudicators via videoconference around the end of April, McKinna said.
The Stars of the Festival concert will take place at Avondale Church May 10. Workshops for participating artists – including one with local baritone James Westman – will also be scheduled this week, McKinna said.
The next episode of Family Treasures – a benefit show featuring 2022 judges and some of last year’s award-winning participants – will air on local cable and online Sunday. Festival organizers hope the show inspires viewers to make a pay-what-you-can donation.
More information is available on the festival’s website, kiwanisfestivalstratford.com.