General Arts and Culture News

[nms]

I know its technically not in Waterloo, but this article about Guelph's Hillside Festival has wider applications to the general festival scene.  

There's a whiff of something in the air among local festival organizers and it isn't what I would refer to as boundless overconfidence.
Kitchener's classic rock Big Music Fest was cancelled after one successful year and one that almost broke the bank when crowds didn't show up.

The indie rock KOI Fest held its own but didn't blow the roof off in its first year partnership with Centre in the Square, a move designed to boost its profile and attendance.

And as the festival climate shifts in radically new directions, even Guelph's bulletproof Hillside Festival is showing signs of vulnerability.

The Hillside Festival runs July 22 to 23 at the Guelph Conservation Area.  It will be interesting to see how the festival scene waxes and wanes.

[panamaniac]

CBC is reporting that the Art District Gallery has been given 30 days to vacate its premises in the Kitchener Market complex. This means they need to find another space Downtown for nominal rent. It also implies that a commercial tenant has been found for the space, which seems a positive development.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-...-1.3694561

[KevinL]

105.3 FM (formerly Kool FM) was rebranded as Virgin Radio this afternoon.

[GtwoK]

Did they stop playing Christmas music after that?

[KevinL]

Presumably (I'm no radio listener).

[GtwoK]

I'm not either, but I heard about this marketing stunt where they were only playing Christmas music for 5 days leading up to the rebranding. Can't imaging how that would have promoted the station.

[TMKM94]

Yeah they did i'm glad Bell finally brought Virgin Radio to Kitchener (mainly because they kept advertising virgin radio on CTV Kitchener and it annoyed me because we didn't have one we could tune in to)

[tomh009]

Kitchener Blues Festival kicks off tomorrow -- don't miss it!

[panamaniac]

Kitchener Blues Festival kicks off tomorrow -- don't miss it!

http://www.kitchenerbluesfestival.com/

Don't forget "12 Bar Blues" - live music at a dozen Downtown restaurants and pubs.

[panamaniac]

An interesting piece in today's Record about a new local production company, NorthCore Productions, and their first production, "Ruse", a chamber magic performance taking place on Saturday evenings from August 20th to October 29th in a newly renovated room, the King Room, in the Walper Hotel.  The room's capacity is 50 people and tickets range from $50 to $70.  Sounds like an interesting effort to bring something new to town.

http://www.therecord.com/whatson-story/6...kitchener/

[panamaniac]

The Art District Gallery has found a new, temporary home at Themuseum. Their first show at Themuseum opens August 31st.

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6820...themuseum/

[tomh009]

Does anyone know whether the LINK festival is actually happening this coming weekend? I have seen some advertisements, but the web site still says "Full schedule coming soon" with no names of artists.

[jamincan]

This doesn't have anything to do with the local arts and culture scene, but a friend drew my attention to it and I think the concept would work beautifully here.

Festival of Small Halls

In August 2014, on a super moon weekend, the Ontario Festival of Small Halls story began. Inspired by the spirit of community, hospitality, exceptional music, and fun that has made small halls festivals in PEI and Australia such treasured events, the Ontario festival brought the talented and charming Old Man Luedecke to perform in three intimate, historically rich venues in Perth, Gananoque, and Bloomfield.

The festival expanded to 14 locations in 2015. First-rate performers like The Strumbellas, The Good Lovelies, Corb Lund, The East Pointers, Beòlach, Fortunate Ones, Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys, Kelly Prescott, and Rueben deGroot stepped off the big stage to travel to small towns around Leeds, Grenville, and Lanark County. They were ushered into historic buildings at the heart of some of Ontario’s most vibrant communities and greeted with all the warmth of a small-town welcome. The host organizations threw themselves into the festival. They put on community dinners and country markets. They sold tickets, decorated the halls, offered local openers, and spread the word. Twelve of the festival’s 15 shows sold out, and the musicians delivered intimate, jaw-dropping performances complete with lots of laughter, foot stomping, storytelling, dancing, and downright musical magic.

This year, all of last year’s 14 host organizations were eager to welcome the festival into their communities again, and 35 halls applied to participate. The festival chose 24 halls based on their history, charm, and the enthusiasm of their volunteer force. They chose over 35 artists, including some international acts, for their talent and the fire of their stage presence.

The festival began with a vision of bringing big music to small places. Now, three years in, the festival is going strong, thriving on the outpouring of enthusiasm from musicians, communities, and audience members who have come together from across the world, across Canada, and across town to make the festival such a success.

The festival’s story is still unfolding, and you will have to stay tuned for the rest. But (spoiler alert) one thing is for sure: there will be many more unforgettable nights of music in well-loved spaces.

[rangersfan]

http://m.therecord.com/news-story/688587...-high-tech
Open house at 44 Gaukel St, Kitchener to view the high tech lab and art spaces, the project in which the City of Kitchener is a partner.

[rangersfan]

TV show 'A Handmaid's Tale' was filming in Cambridge yesterday.


http://m.therecord.com/news-story/692813...-cambridge