The Life & Arts Festival kicks off in a big way today in Kelowna’s Cultural District, and organizers are excited about the performers and events being featured.

Initiated by the City of Kelowna in 2004 as a signature event recognizing the City’s burgeoning Cultural District, the Festival has grown to become a destination draw for many visitors.

Todd Butler’s music and comedy, familiar to CBC listeners, will bring a lift to all who take in his performances during the Mother’s Day weekend Festival, and I Tromboni (the Team Canada of trombones) promise to continue breaking down the musical barriers which have “kept trombones in the back row of the band for so many years.”

Aeriosa is an aerial dance troupe from Vancouver who “create and perform dances in unexpected vertical spaces” such as sheer rock walls and the fronts of tall buildings. The Library Plaza Parkade will form their platform and theatre during the Festival.

“For me, arts and cultural experiences are an expression of life itself,” says Festivals Kelowna Artistic Director Janet Anderson. “All of us are essential to this process, from the artists who provide us with a forum for emotional expression, to the beneficiaries of their gifts – we, the audience.”

Local musicians come to the forefront in Saturday evening’s Joyful Noise concert on the Island Stage in Waterfront Park. Coordinated by Jane Eamon, half of the successful Kelowna based folk duo Jane & Gord, the concert promises to carry on the tradition of quality music Jane showcased in the “Duets” shows she assembled for the past two Life & Arts Festivals.

The Joyful Noise concert will form part of the musical soundtrack to the evening’s Fortis BC IlluminArts Lantern Celebration, where lanterns handmade by city residents will be installed and lit up along the waterfront. Two processions through the lanterns, one starting on Cawston Avenue at 6:00 p.m. and a second coming from the Dolphins statue at 8:00 p.m., will make their way through into and through Waterfront Park to the Island Stage area for the showcasing of the natural light flowing from the lanterns.

“The combination of amazing music and magical lantern installations in a beautiful outdoor setting are sure to produce an incredible and memorable performance,” says Eamon.

Anyone who enjoys the Kelowna music scene will know at least some of the performers in Joyful Noise: Norm Strauss, Andrew Smith, Sherri Funk, Katie Fletcher, Sandy Groening, Malcolm Petch, Scott Gamble, and Dean Clark will all be joining Jane and her husband Gord Brush in the celebration of classic tunes such as People Get Ready and Let It Be.

“For me as a guitarist,” says Brush, “I’ve been really enjoying hearing the vocal harmonies come together as we’ve been working on these songs. I’d say one of the highlights will be all the different voices singing so well together.”

”I’m really looking forward to this performance!”

More information and a schedule is available at the Life & Arts Festival website.

Life & Arts Festival 2008 brochure

Link: Life & Arts Festival website Link: Life & Arts 2007 photos in our gallery