Taste of the Festival · July 6 to 8 · Various venues · The Banff Centre
Tickets and information: 403.762.6301 or 1.800.413.8368
Presented as part of the Banff Summer Arts Festival
The Banff Centre throws open its doors July 6 to 8 for a lively sampling of some of the best events of the 2007 Banff Summer Arts Festival, an opportunity for locals and visitors to experience a movable feast of performances, film screenings, and exhibitions. The annual Taste of the Festival Weekend, one of the most anticipated summer cultural events in Banff, brings together dance, cabaret, film, and music, with a welcome barbecue Friday night on the Centre’s Music & Sound building patio, included in the price of a Taste ticket.
Highlights of the weekend include:
- Three opportunities to experience the work of Argentinean composer Osvaldo Golijov, whose current commissions include the score for Francis Ford Coppola’s film Youth Without Youth, a new opera for the Metropolitan Opera, and a new work for cello and orchestra for Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony. Audiences can catch an intimate Conversation with Osvaldo Golijov on the evening of Friday, July 6, followed by a concert of his work in the Rolston Recital Hall. On Saturday, July 7, in the Eric Harvie Theatre, the composer’s work will be performed by Banff Centre director of music programs Barry Shiffman along with musicians in residence in the Golijov Gala Concert, which will also include works by Mozart.
- Two performances of acclaimed choreographer Crystal Pite’s new contemporary dance work, Lost Action. Winner of the 2006 Alcan Performing Arts Award in Dance, Lost Action will be presented by Pite’s innovative company, Kidd Pivot, Friday, July 6, and Sunday, July 8.
- Calgary-based cabaret performers Doug McKeag and Onalea Gilbertson bring their latest performance to the Centre’s Club venue July 6, 7, and 8. Called Scorched Earth, the show is an original two-act song cycle — the first act featuring vocals by McKeag, the second with Gilbertson on vocals and piano.
The weekend is rounded out with more than a dozen additional events, including two screenings from the 2006 Banff Mountain Film Festival (July 6), and sneak peeks into the creative development of some of the Festival’s top events — a look behind the scenes at the creation of the original opera Frobisher, and an opportunity to visit the Banff Centre ballet studios (July 7).
The Banff New Media Institute will feature highlights from the cutting-edge 2007 Transmediale festival in Berlin (July 7), and a walk in the woods with the developers of the Tracklines project, which mixes GPS, audio, and new media art on the Hoodoo Trail along the Bow River (July 7 and 8). Kids can get hands-on in Glyde Hall for an art workshop, designing their own living spaces as part of the Walter Phillips Gallery exhibition Informal Architectures.
With another month and a half of Festival events left to unfold, from concerts to opera to exhibitions, this preview weekend will give audience members a stimulating taste of what’s to come.
