Local festival turned into a two-day street party By Charelle Evelyn
http://www.emcorleans.ca/20110526/news/Local+festival+turned+into+a+two-day+street+party
Thursday, May 26, 2011 EMC News - The wet and dreary weather did not dampen the spirits of organizers and attendees of the inaugural Orléans Festival d'Orléans last June. In fact, there was such a good response that it returns next month bigger and better than before. This year, the festival takes place June 3 and 4, and will transform the Shenkman Arts Centre and its Centrum Boulevard environs into a real community gathering place.
"(Last year) we had 2,500 people trying to move through the doors," said festival spokesperson Walter Robinson. He noted they could see up to 10,000 people throughout the two days of free, bilingual programming.
Building on the success of last year, the festival will again feature demonstrations and exhibitions from local artists of all stripes, be they chefs, painters, sculptors, musicians, dancers or writers. "Our objective is the same," Robinson explained. "It's a celebration of community, it's a celebration of the vibrancy of the arts scene and it's the manifestation of what the Shenkman Arts Centre should be." This year's festival headliners include the Latin rhythms of Servantes, Franco-Ontarian songs and fun from La ligue du bonheur, the illusions of Eric Leclerc, Rockland's My Favourite Tragedy and local students strutting their stuff during the High School Showcase. "Let's use that first weekend in June to celebrate all different definitions of arts in the community," Robinson said. He added the challenge of Orléans' reputation as a bedroom community to engage residents in the local scene. The popular cake-decorating contest returns with celebrity competitors - CBC's Lucy van Oldenbarneveld, Live 88.5's Dave Schellenberg, former politician and judge Brian Coburn and wife Mary Jane, local lawyer Gerry Dust and defending champion from Hot 89.9 Ryan Lindsay - teaming up with local bakers to create a 30-minute masterpiece. Local foodies can also satiate their appetites by sampling a wide variety of fare during Saturday afternoon's Taste of Orléans, which offers free samples from 10 restaurants, or by watching the brand new Iron Chef competition. Taking advantage of the Orléans Farmers' Market on Friday afternoon, cooks will race against the clock to prepare a festival-themed meal with ingredients gathered from the market. Residents will have the opportunity to "truly be served by their political representatives," Robinson said, during the Saturday morning community breakfast, co-hosted by Ottawa-Orléans MP Royal Galipeau and MPP Phil McNeely. A full slate of physical activities for youth and families are also offered in conjunction with the Ruddy Family Y. Family programming also includes an inflatable Play Zone, youth talent show, Rag'n Bone Puppet Theatre show, and collage-based workshop. "There are a lot of programming changes," said Robinson, explaining the expansion became necessary because feedback from the first festival had lots of requests for additions. "The idea is not to have people come once, but both days."
A full schedule and list of activities is available at www.orleansfestival.ca. |