The Olds and District Kiwanis Music Festival finished off its two-week run at the TransCanada Theatre on April 2 with the Grand Concert, featuring selected talent from the preceding fortnight.
Wendy Durieux, the festival's coordinator, said the festival's value lies in the fact that it builds confidence in the people who participate.
“It's really good for all the kids. It gives them something to be able to work towards, they spend all year taking lessons and … this is a goal. It's just really fun to see and hear them,” she said.
This was the festival's 30th anniversary and the event featured a special concert on March 13, the night before the official start of the festival. A total of 15 participants performed music from the 1980s, with audience members voting on their favourite performances. At the Grand Concert, it was announced that Caleb Kalsbeek received the most audience votes for his performance from the March 13 concert, with Eithan Moench taking second place and Toni Newsham garnering third place.
Based on 23 recommendations from adjudicators, a number of performers who participated in several different categories throughout the festival were chosen to take part in the Alberta Music Festival Association's 2013 provincial music festival in Edmonton in late May and the early part of June.
Alternates were also chosen to go to the provincial festival should some performers not be able to attend.
“That's what most of them are really trying to strive for, that they can be at that level that they can go. It's a very exciting time when they get chosen to do that,” Durieux said.
She said the festival means a great deal to the community and the performers, and to have a festival in Olds that draws performers from all over the region is a feather in the cap for Olds. There are performers from 26 communities that regularly come to Olds to participate in the festival. There were about 1,500 participants in this year's festival.
“Music is such a wonderful way of expressing yourself. Not only is it music that we're teaching them; we're teaching them how to get up in front of an audience to perform, how to set goals … it just gives them life skills. For us, we are very lucky. There is not a lot of small towns that are able to host festivals,” she said.
