Ignite The Arts: Week Two Recap

With the 1st annual Ignite the Arts Festival now a week in the rearview mirror, I think a second weekend recap is in order. I also had a week to sort through photos I will slowly be releasing on the Ignite the Arts Facebook Page, which helps me reminisce so it feels like the perfect time to talk about Ignite the Arts from a Chelsea Terry Perspective. 

The second week of Ignite the Arts started on a high note with the Revive the Vibe PAMDA Showcase at Cleland. I did not attend, but Paul Crawford told me it was an amazing evening with the incredible artistry that pours out of the PAMDA’s talent pool. I will not be missing the next event.

Wednesday my partner and I took in the Dream Café’s Night of Indigenous storytelling. We immediately walked into a room full of people enjoying a feast of chili prepared by our board member Ann Doyon, who beyond her otherworldly cooking skills also hosted the event, joyfully sang to us, and of course told a few jokes. Ann has that skill of making you feel at home even with just a flash of a cheeky smile. Thank you so much to Ann and the talented women who brought to us a full evening of passionate storytelling, both contemporary and traditional. We laughed, we cried, we socially interacted, and that all felt very awesome.

Ann Doyon hosts at the Night of Indigenous Storytelling

If the previous weekend of events for Ignite the Arts didn’t rouse the town, Thursday March 31st shook the sleepy out of Penticton. Beyond just being the day some of us curse having to pay rent, Penticton hosted two sold out events; Pecha Kucha at Cannery Brewing and the One Minute Play Festival at Tempest. I can only speak to Pecha Kucha as I both participated as the event photographer and a presenter this time around. Our talented exhibition artists Danielle Savage and Alexandra Goodall opened the speeches elegantly and had a captive audience as they described their collaborative work, as well as the further collaboration with Charlie Prince and his “Helical Song” inhabitation movement group that preformed in the Main Gallery.

The rest of the roster for Pecha Kucha that evening really felt like a family reunion, with almost everyone of the Pecha Kucha Volunteers and staff doing a presentation as well. It felt like we were all just itching to tell each other what we had been up to for the last two years, and what better way than a seriously structured speech also in front of 70 people.   

Julia Snow, our administrator did attend tempest and reports back that it was one of her most favourite events to happen, and I hear that the talented Al Simmons broke a few rules and entered himself into the competition unannounced. I don’t think it is humanly possible to say no to that amazing man, and everyone love love loved it.

Friday our programming coordinator and I had a blast at the Cleland one of the best parts being the Kids Songwriting Showcase. Corwin Fox and Tereza Tomek spent the week at the Cleland working with the kids to not only write original songs but record them as well in Corwin’s mobile recording studio. THEY WERE AMAZING. I can’t get over the talent at such a young age. I will also have “the pool is #1!” stuck in my head forever.

Saturday and Sunday might as well have been one whole day, because I never stopped having fun. I took my downstairs neighbour Heather (who behind the scenes was using her talent in networking to help me a lot) to a workshop first thing in the Morning at Cannery Brewing. We had a very insightful conversation with Rob McLaren and the people of Route 97 Culture Society, something I am very intrigued by and an organization I encourage all of you to investigate if you have any interest in bringing more diverse musical acts to Penticton in the future. I can see this organization and a partnership with them being key to completing Paul Crawford’s goal of making Penticton the Arts & Culture Capital of BC and I look forward to working with them in the future. I also met another very cool Chelsea from Time Winery, and I thank all the business owners who attended and are interested in helping us connect artists with venues.

My goal was to take as many pictures as I could over the course of the weekend, with a secondary goal of catching Al Simmons as often as I could because he is just that wonderful, so I meandered all over our four day stages and Art Walk locations. It was wonderful to feel and see the fluidity of groupings of people walk around the downtown, from Sculpture Day, to music venue, to live art. I heard so many people comment on the vibrancy of the downtown, and that it hadn’t felt like this in years. It helped that you could hear the Balkan Shmalkan Line Dance music from blocks away, ringing through the streets just asking to be checked out. I really had an amazing day, my feet hurt from dancing and my cheeks hurt from smiling. I was also introduced to Slackwater’s Sour, and it was so good I had to have seconds. I had so much fun on Saturday, I went to as many events as I could on Sunday (also for seconds.)

I ended the weekend at the Volunteer and Artist Appreciation After party, had some burgers with pals and finally felt like I deeply understood Paul and Julie’s vision and passion. I met some talented artists, made a few new friends, and reconnected with old friends. I’ve never attended Arts Wells myself, but if this was only a taste of it, I can understand why it was so successful. I can’t wait to see how I can help grow Ignite the Arts and with guides like P+J, it’s almost guaranteed to be something magic.

For a first outing of this type, Ignite the Arts was amazingly well-organized and most importantly – successful in its mission as an event that brought artists of all stripes together to mingle, build relationships, and make new friends. I am already looking forward to next year, both as a spectator and as someone who might be able to think up some artistic participation. It’s simply good to know the scene is so alive and growing in this city. All in all, I think Ignite the Arts went as smoothly as could be hoped for. Not everything was perfect, but there is clearly growth here. It was a great experience, and I hope everyone involved considers how they can help it grow even more in the coming years.

Cheers,

Chelsea