Check out The Festival of Small Halls. Word has it that the halls have been packed with people and the audiences love it! 5 days left!!
RELEASE
Line up announced for first ever CFCY Festival of Small Halls, June 14-22
(Charlottetown, PE) – The inaugural CFCY Festival of Small Halls, a celebration of exceptional music, art and dance across Prince Edward Island, will showcase a stellar line up of Atlantic Canadian performers with 14 shows over nine days in halls throughout the province, June 14 to 22.
Headlining performers include East Coast Music Award (ECMA) winning fiddler Richard Wood; the “man of a thousand songs” and multiple ECMA winner, singer-songwriter Ron Hynes; winner of the 2008 ECMA for CBC Galaxie Francophone Recording, Celtic-Acadian group Vishten; 2008 ECMA winner for Bluegrass Recording of the Year, traditional country-bluegrass quartet Saddle River String Band; 2008 ECMA winner for Instrumental Recording of the Year, Celtic instrumentalist Troy MacGillivray; traditional Acadian group Les Girls; lively young dance troupe Les Tapageuses and New Brunswick recipients of the Stompin’ Tom Award at the 2008 ECMAs, legendary fiddlers Ivan and Vivian Hicks.
Other performers include Andrea Beaton; Brandon Arsenault and Mitchell Richard; Cameron Francis; CapeLand Dancers; Chaisson Trio; Colette Cheverie; Cynthia MacLeod; Donna Chaisson; Dr. Ellen MacPhee; Elmer Deagle; Éloizes Dancers; Fiddlers Sons; Fiddling Landry’s; Fr. Éloi Arsenault; Geneviève and Mylène Ouellette; Janelle Arsenault Dancers; Jennifer Carson; JJ Chaisson; Geraldine Charters; Lester MacPherson; Lindsay Munro; Marcia Arsenault, Paul Arsenault and Diane Ouellette; Marie Livingstone; Nathalie Arsenault; Nathan Condon; Pascal Miousse; Patricia Murray; Rebecca Drummond; Sabra MacGillivray; Samantha Gallant; and Sylvia Campbell.
The festival will also showcase visual artists including inspirational painter Sandi Komst.
“The Festival of Small Halls aims to reunite musicians, artists and dancers with the places where they got their start – small halls across the Island,” said President of Music PEI and festival organizer Ray Brow. “Small halls are the focal point of communities. They breathe life into the community, and we are working to restore and upgrade them to enable them to reverberate with vibrancy once again.”
Halls include the Kings Playhouse (Georgetown), St. Mark’s Hall (Lot 7), Tracadie Community Centre (Tracadie Cross), Eastern Kings Recreation Centre (Munns Road), Crapaud Community Hall (Crapaud), Tignish Community Centre (Tignish), Murray Christian Centre (Kensington), Murray River Hall (Murray Hall), Stanley Bridge Hall (Stanley Bridge), Benevolent Irish Society (Charlottetown), Dundas Plowing Match Grounds Hall (Dundas) and Centre Expo (Abram-Village).
“Small halls are where you can really relate to an audience,” said PEI musician and member of the organizing team Ward MacDonald. “You feel like you are part of the audience; it is so cozy and intimate. There is nothing like it. It’s special for both the entertainer and the audience.”
Tickets for the CFCY Festival of Small Halls go on sale this Wednesday, May 28. Tickets for individual shows are available at the local halls and tickets for all shows may be purchased through the Jubilee Theatre box office in Summerside, by calling 1-800-708-6505 and online at www.smallhalls.com.
Tickets for all shows are $15 in advance and $17.50 at the door (including tax) with the exception of the Incredible Kids Brunch which is $12 (including tax) and the Summer Solstice Square Dance & Midnight Chowder which is $10 (including tax, tickets only available at the door).
The CFCY Festival of Small Halls would like to acknowledge the support of the Government of Prince Edward Island’s Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning.
For more information on the CFCY Festival of Small Halls and a complete schedule of events, visit: www.smallhalls.com
