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It’s about talent and the economy

Kicking off the sixth Elevate Arts fest in downtown Courtenay

The sixth annual downtown Courtenay Elevate Arts Festival kicks off Wednesday evening (May 31) with a hat-trick of events. These include a pop-up trade show, a different kind of talent show, and an after-party for creatives, entrepreneurs, and fellow-travellers.

The evening, organized by LIFT Comox Valley, is focused on talent.

“I believe that when we grow our local talent, we grow our local economy,” says LIFT VIP and special event sponsor Monica Parkin, of Invis Mortgages.

Things start happening at 5 p.m. at the Courtenay Legion with the first-ever LIFT Trade Show. This pop-up reveals what a number of LIFT VIP businesses are doing. Among them: Bluebird Pads, Re Bastien Portrait Photography, Jace Pierson Sun Life Financial, Wags Doggy Bags, Heart Drum Beat Brain & Body Training Systems, Panther Workwear, The Old House Hotel & Spa, and Speedibin Composter. Futurpreneur Canada will also be on hand, looking forward to meeting young entrepreneurial talent.

At 6:30 p.m., Community Voices II challenges seven creative entrepreneurs to tell their story of “living local, thinking BIGger” with only seven minutes and seven slides. This is the second time LIFT is collaborating with CV Collective and builds on CVC member Ian Adams’ previous series’ of evenings featuring local talent.

The final event, the eighth #WeAreYQQ Party, takes place at Gladstone Brewing at 8 p.m. Music by DJ Adil, fun and games by “#WeAreYQQPartyCrew Boss” Leanne Zdebiak-Eni.

The presenters at Community Voices II represent a wide range of talents or examples of the Comox Valley’s “knowledge economy.” They include Wendy Nixon Stothert​ of Choral Valley, Tom Keenoy​ of Kitestrings/Medium Rare Interactive, community animateur Meaghan Cursons​, craftsman Cyrill Werlen​ of Cascadian Wood Tech, Step Carruthers​ of, among other things, Phat Tank​ and Lucky Village Enterprises​, Alex Bowman​ & Kate Waddel of Byte Me Robotics, and ​recent Dragons’ Den pitcher, James Flawith​ of Lil Worker Safety Gear​. The lineup is guaranteed to elevate your understanding of the creatives growing a grassroots “talent economy” in the Comox Valley.

For example, Keenoy, a transplant to the Comox Valley by way of Brooklyn, New York, runs Medium Rare Interactive in Courtenay. He’s also building Kitestrings, a solution to Internet security that could put the local tech scene on the global map. You can follow Kitestrings on Twitter @kitestringsapp.

Tickets are by “suggested donation” online and at the door. Net proceeds from the event support the volunteer community economic development organization that annually creates the Elevate Arts celebration of local talent.

For more information about May 31 events, and for tickets, see WeAreYQQParty.ca