Full program details for the 2011 Harrison Festival of the Arts are now available on the Festival website. This years line up includes ‘Superharp’ James Cotton, folk/roots musician Colin Linden, Cajun master Steve Riley, festival favourite from 2009, Hawaiian music troupe HAPA and many more. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online or by phone at 604.796.3664.
The closing weekend for the Harrison Festival offered more great Art Market finds, informative workshops and fantastic beach stage music. Some outdoor performance highlights were Annabelle Chvostek‘s catchy tune ’I Left My Brian’, Ryan LeBlanc effortlessly playing a guitar, harmonica & box drum all at the same time and North to Canda’s all star Gospel & Blues ensemble including Diana Braithwaite, Chris Whiteley, Leon Bibb, Kenny Wayne, Donald Ray Johnson & Russell Jackson.
The Hall concerts continued to deliver exceptional musicianship and contagious energy. Friday nights performance by Spanish band El Puchero del Hortelano offered a fun mix of Flamenco and Rumba with Funk, Pop and Rock. Mary Jane Lamond‘s Saturday performance had the audience completely wrapped with her spell binding vocals and Gaelic melodies. Sundays performance with award winning harmonica player Carlos Del Junco was an excellent close to the Festival. His ‘overblow’ technique paired with a mix of Blues, Jazz and Latin had the whole house shaking with rock concert amplification.
Overall, this years Festival was a huge success both artisticly and financially – the latter of the two being all the more important with continued cuts to provincial and federal arts funding. Missed out on the 2010 line-up, no worries – the Festival will be back again next year from July 8th to the 17th.
As the Festival moved into mid week the sold out performances kept on coming. Wednesday and Thursday saw packed houses for both the ‘eclectic’ David Lindley and Scotland’s Peatbog Faeries. Lindley’s acoustic performance offered the very best in American blues and his demented sense of humour delightfully coloured his many in between song stories. The Faeries had the dance floor hoppin’ and shoutin’ the whole concert with their unique mix of Rock, Electronica and Folk sounds. The audience simply lapped up their contagious energy and celtic arrangements played on the bagpipes, fiddles and whistles.
Wednesdays warm sunny weather made for yet another successful Children’s Day. Children of all ages happily took part in the many arts & crafts and outdoor activities taking place in and around the Memorial Hall. Performances by tightwire walker Flyin’ Bob and comic daredevil Checkerboard Guy were huge fun for both kids and adults.
The second day of the Festival offered slightly milder weather and alot of the same great entertainment and activities. The Art Market and beach stage were packed all day with warm and enthusiastic crowds. A wonderful example of the audiences appreciative nature was the last outdoor performance of the day, Vancouver group Dehli 2 Dublin (D2D) whose energetic blend of electronica, Bhangra and Celtic flavours had the whole crowd dancing and cheering. The evening concert in the Memorial Hall offered similiar high energy with the big drum sound, African rhythms and amazing harmonies of Montreal’s H’Sao. Tonight the Festival takes a more mellow tone with their increasingly popular Literary Cafe co-sponsored by the University of Fraser Valley Continuing Studies. This year’s theme is ‘Bridging the Human’ featuring live readings by BC writers Leona Gom, Elsie K Neufeld and Joan Macleod with music from local singer/songwriter Marilee Jones and Vancouver fiddler Sheila Allan.
The morning began with an Acadian Step Dance workshop in the Memorial Hall expertly instructed by the PEI band Gadelle. All along the waterfront stretched the many tents of this years vibrant art market. Artisans from all of BC displayed their unique handmade art and crafts. From jewellery to drums, pottery to organic health and beauty products, this weekend market offers a diverse selection of high quality one of kind finds.
In the early afternoon the beach stage concerts got underway with the first of four free concerts including The Tabla Guy, Gadelle, Shearwater & Chic Gamine. Audience members escaped the heat of the day under the Festival’s staple willow tree and the music from the stage got a number of people on their feet and dancing.
With the cool evening breeze came the sizzling hot rumbas of Poema Flamenco. This Vancouver tablao style troupe is well seasoned in flamenco and gave an intensely rich and authentic performance. The movements of flamenco bailaora Karen Pitkethly mesmerized the crowd with stunning grace and command. If you missed this incredible show, no worries – you can catch this dynamic group in action every Wednesday and Sunday at the Kino Cafe Flamenco Bar in Vancouver.