Dancers, musicians, poets, painters, circus performers, thespians, photographers, projectionists, crafters and merry makers of all stripes are gearing up for the fourth annual Elevate Arts Festival, set to launch in downtown Courtenay June 3-6. This multi-venue, cross-disciplinary arts festival welcomes artists, performers and culture lovers to the streets, alleys, halls, pubs and cafes of downtown Courtenay for a four-day mash up of culture and community building.
Featuring diverse evening events June 3-5 and a free all day and night street festival on Saturday, June 6, Elevate welcomes participants of all ages to be part of a street level celebration dedicated to shattering barriers between culture consumers and culture producers.
“Elevate is about more than the traditional performer - audience relationship. It’s about bringing the culture makers and the culture lovers together, and it’s about looking at the intrinsic value of engaging in the cultural life of our community,” says Elevate co-producer Bobby Herron.
There are still lots of ways to get involved in the upcoming festival.
Volunteers, roving performers and pop-up artists are still welcome to join the fun. Poets and story tellers are invited to share their work at an open mic event called uniVERSE at Union Street Grotto on Wednesday, June 3.
The Elevate Mini Mural Project invites families, businesses or individuals to take on a 2x4-foot mural and paint in place at the festival June 6. Photographers can submit to be part of the fourth annual Photopia Exhibition. Add to that an Improv Soap Opera, Participatory Story Telling, Poets Corner, Pop Up Parks, Zine and Collage workshops, and crazy kids crafts, and your hands, mind and heart become part of the festival.
Details about all the ways to engage the Elevate Arts Festival are available at www.elevatethearts.com.
Projects, performers and artists coming to downtown Courtenay June 3-6 include Puppets for Peace with Timothy Gosley, Pecha Kucha Comox Valley, Doug Koyama, Daniel Moir, Lara Kroeker, the Women’s Punk Rock Choir and many more, in venues throughout the downtown area.
For a complete list of performers and venues, visit the website.
Mark the dates and plan to immerse yourself in the cultural heart of our community.