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Central Music Festival Kicks Off Saturday with Nice Horse, Bill Bourne and Kaylee Rose

Published

4 years ago

5 minute read

Nice Horse photo by Fawna Sidoryk

Central Music Festival is launching its fall season with an extra helping for the Red Deer Food Bank. In fact, all of the proceeds from the September 23 concert will help restock the local charity’s shelves.
“In this past year, we’ve raised $3,000. Guests at our concerts gave $1500 and we matched that dollar for dollar,” says CMF president Mike Bradford. Music lovers will be able to attend the evening, which will feature four excellent acts, for a $20 food bank donation. “This time we decided to do a great big party and give the whole gate to the food bank so they can bulk up in advance of their thanksgiving rush. If we can get 150 people at $20 per donation, I think we can double our contribution to the food bank this year,” Bradford adds. “There’s also potential for people to drop off food if they choose to do that.”

The Red Deer Food Bank Barbicrue will be on hand in the Elks Lodge parking lot, offering guests hamburgers and hot dogs, giving them a chance to recharge before local singer/songwriter Ross Stafford opens the show at 7:30. Stafford, Red Deer born and raised, has been a staple of the local folk scene for several years. He’ll give up the stage to another local talent, Kaylee Rose, who will perform a set of her excellent original material. “Kaylee Rose is a young songwriter who has a lot of talent,” he adds.

The evening will also be a welcome home for Bill Bourne, another central Albertan who has built a huge following world-wide over the past four decades, and will enjoy an evening with his home town fans. “Bill’s agreed to come down and do the show because he thinks it’s a great idea,” Bradford explains. The festival society has always been about its contribution to the local community and the food bank is a nice fit, both for the society and the people who attend its events.

The final act of the evening will be the return of Nice Horse, who played the Elks last year and then thrilled audiences at this year’s Westerner Exposition. “They’re an all Albertan band gaining traction in country radio, really entertaining, very real songs a lot of energy on stage. Their career trajectory is rising at a rapid rate right now, so we’re lucky we could get them. They also wanted to support this endeavour, Bradford says. “It will be like a mini-festival, with quick changes and a great sound.”

Bradford was reluctant to talk about rumours the society has an ambitious plan for the future. He wouldn’t deny that he’s had discussions about the possibility of seeing the Michener Centre lands turned into an outdoor culture campus for live events across a full spectrum of music and culture. “I can tell you its a great idea, but practically, in the transition of that property from the provincial government and the city, it would take a lot of time and doing. I’ve talked to both and they thought it was a great idea, but who knows what will happen. I don’t get into politics, but it would be something worth pursuing with city and county politicians once the elections are over,” he said.

For now, the focus is the Food Bank, where demand, Bradford says, shows no sign of levelling off, let alone dropping off.

Learn more about the Central Music Festival.

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Arts

Red Deer Arts Council’s fifth Open Studio Tour takes public behind closed doors in this two-day event!

Published on September 9, 2021

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The Red Deer Arts Council is thrilled to announce its fifth Open Studio Tour, taking place September 18th and 19th, 2021! This is a self-guided tour of artist studio spaces and free to the public.

Seven visual artists in five studios bring you this amazing experience. They will open the doors to their private art studios from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and welcome the public to see the process of creating fine art as each artist demonstrates their process. Fascinating techniques and works of some of Red Deer and area’s most recognized artists will be on display for visitors.

This self-guided tour is free of charge. The artists will demonstrate the processes they use, and happily take questions about their media, style, technique, or anything related to art. Artists love to answer questions about their art!

Please Note: some artists are open both days, others open either Saturday or Sunday only. Please check each listing to see which artists are participating on that date or any additional hours they may host.

Download the complete list of artists and addresses HERE.

OPEN STUDIO TOUR LIST OF ARTISTS 2021

Saturday, September 18th Only – 10am to 4pm

Margaret R. Hall
Happy Yak Felt and Maggie’s Millinery
48 Good Crescent, Red Deer, AB
[email protected]
403-346-8289

Margaret Hall is a fibre artist and enjoys fabricating whimsical functional items. Working mostly with wool, she enjoys exploring the sculptural properties of wool and combining hand felting and traditional millinery techniques to make unique hats.

Demo: Margaret will demonstrate the difference between blocking a hat with a hand felted hood and an industrially produced felt hood.

*****

Saturday, September 18th and Sunday, September 19th – 10 am to 4 pm

*Please note additional hour changes for individual artists

Susan Delaney
4611 – 48 Street, Red Deer, AB
403-341-9488
www.instagram.com/susandelaneyartist

Susan Delaney is currently making intriguing mixed media portraits and abstract compositions featuring photo image transfer, painting, drawing, collage, and embedded objects. Susan is also well known for her vibrant, expressive landscape paintings.

DEMO: Susan will be demonstrating image transfer and painting, including both deliberate and intuitive artistic decision-making.

*****

View Across the Vallery, Oil, 2021, Carol Lynn Gilchrist

Carol Lynn Gilchrist, ASA
Riverlands Artist Studio/Gallery IS
5123 – 48 Street (Alexander Way), Red Deer, AB
[email protected], 403-596-8890
www.clgilchrist.com

Carol Lynn celebrates the landscape in a range of media and styles. Her work in watercolour, acrylic, and oil are inspired by nature; skies and water worlds that are filled with light, colour and movement that are part real and part imagined. She has just opened her own studio and welcomes everyone to drop in and say hello!

DEMO: Carol Lynn will be working on a WIP (that’s art speak for a ‘work in progress’) and will share her thoughts on composition and offer some plein air painting tips.

Guest Artist at Riverlands

Roberta Murray, ASA
Riverlands Artist Studio/Gallery IS
[email protected], 587-457-1201
www.robertamurray.ca

Roberta Murray is a full-time visual storyteller working in paint, pencil, and pixels. Roberta’s work reflects her passions, dreams, and desires regardless of the medium she works in. Birds, wildlife, flora, and the land are all explored in her work. She tries to represent ordinary scenes in a poetic, expressive way to capture a fleeting mood or impression, not to mirror what is easily seen. “I don’t paint the landscape. I paint the spirit disguised as a landscape.”

*****

Country Sunshine-Watercolour, Marianne Harris

Marianne Harris
Paintwerx Studios
95 Piper Drive, Red Deer, AB
[email protected], 403-350-8106
Additional Hours: Friday 5 pm to 8 pm

Marianne creates 2D artwork in water-based media. Her work is prolific and varied in its subject, style, and size, from photographic realism to more semi-abstract pieces, often inspired from her photography. Her work is available at the A+ Gallery, and is also currently showing until October 11 in the Kiwanis Gallery at the Red Deer Library.
DEMO: Watercolour miniature landscapes demonstrating basic techniques.

Guest Artist at Paintwerx Studios

Winter Returns Again, Amanda Frost

Amanda Frost
Amanda Frost Artwork
95 Piper Drive, Red Deer, AB
[email protected], 403-596-6372
Additional Hours: Friday 5 pm to 8 pm

Amanda’s artwork is bold and beautiful, from landscapes, to animals, or a combination of the two. Photographs are often used for reference, but colours from nature’s palette are often improvised and enhanced. Her work can be seen at the A+ Gallery in downtown Red Deer.

Marlene Kallstrom-Barritt
Kallstrom Studio
5750 – 41 Street Crescent (West Park), Red Deer, AB
www.kallstromstudio.com, 403-307-3620
www.facebook.com/kallstromstudio
***Shortened Hours for Sunday, 1 pm to 4 pm

Marlene explores several water-based art mediums to create mixed media art that combines abstraction and realism. In other words, she plays with an alarmingly growing amount of art supplies to make paintings of familiar subjects done differently. Lately, she’s been waxing watercolours and working on a new series.

DEMO: explaining waxed watercolours (and showing off latest art supply purchase)

The downloadable list of artists is available HERE.

The Red Deer Arts Council is a publicly funded, non-profit organization with a mandate to support all art forms and raise the profile of the arts in the community.

 

 

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Entertainment

Laughter Returns to Red Deer

Published on August 7, 2021

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For the better part of the last two years, laughter has been hard to come by. Live entertainment came to an abrupt halt, with no certainty of when it would return.

The wait is finally over.

Not only are Central Alberta’s venues reopening, they are bringing back live shows to the area. The Velvet Olive is once again bustling with live music many nights of the week. Bo’s Bar and Grill is bringing huge acts back to the city. It’s not just the music we missed though. Comedy is coming back in a big way.

Pre-pandemic, the longtime hub for comedy in Red Deer was the Heritage Lanes Lounge. Running for almost a decade, the room saw many of Canada’s finest and funniest bring hilarity to town each and every Sunday. Now, for the first time since 2019, weekly stand up is back at The Lanes.

“Heritage Lanes is excited to be back hosting weekly ‘Splits and Giggles’ comedy”, said Shelby Chrest, owner. “As the city’s longest lasting comedy venue we feel it’s important for our community to gather and socialize while supporting local.”

“Splits and Giggles” launches Sunday, August 8th at 8PM at Heritage Lanes. Kicking off the first show is nationally renowned headliners Kathleen McGee and Sean Lecomber.

The Lanes won’t be your only source of funny in the area, as many other shows are new or returning. The Radisson Hotel will be back to hosting monthly events beginning August 6th with Adam Ruby, and The Velvet Olive’s “Fake Comedy Show” returns August 13th. When asked for comment, “Fake Show” producer Zachary Landry said “I’ll get back to you in an hour.” One hour later, “I was eating blueberries.”

You’ll also find monthly mirth at Red Hart Brewing and The Spot. And just outside the city, Sylvan Lake is in on the action, hosting Lisa Baker August 6th at Fireside Restaurant, and Longshot Comedy featuring Marc Anthony Sinagoga on September 10th at Lodge 43, as well as September 11th at The Fox & Hound in Innisfail.

With the support of venues like these, local comedians are thrilled to once again have places to hone their art. “During these lockdowns and restrictions, I realized how important laughter and friendship is to all of us”, said Niek Theelen, local artist. “After months of shutdowns, it’s invigorating to see Red Deer comedians come back with renewed energy and passion to make Central Alberta laugh again.” Niek, like many others, had to pivot when stand up evaporated, so he began work on a documentary to be released next year through Telus Optik TV. “Love of the Game” will shine a light on disabled athletes and how they rise past their challenges to play the sports they love.

No matter how they filled the time though, nothing feels sweeter to a comedian than the stage and a hot crowd.

Shelby Chrest sums it up: “Laughter is contagious, we want to put smiles on faces and that’s worth sharing!”

 

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