There will be an array of entertainment for the community to enjoy during the Lacombe and District Performing Arts Festival which runs March 10-13
Performances are held at various venues in the city including the College Heights Seventh-Day Adventist Church on the Burman University campus, St. Andrew’s United Church, and the Lacombe Memorial Centre.
Currently, registrations are being accepted through to Feb. 10 for the event, which wraps up with a grand concert on March 16 at St. Andrew's United Church, said committee member Karyn McNeil.
As to the festival itself, adjudicators are brought in to grade the performances, so it’s also a rich time of learning for those taking part.
Last year, there were a total of 364 registrations and 587 participants, she said, adding she has seen firsthand the benefits for young people taking part, as her own daughters participated in the festival in years past.
"They get a chance to perform, and then they have the adjudicators teach them both how to improve and also talk about what they are doing well," she said.
"It's exciting for them!"
Categories this year run the gamut from piano, dance, choral, guitar, strings, band, and instrumental to fiddle, vocal/musical theatre, and speech.
According to the festival's website, the Lacombe and District Music Festival Association was formed in the fall of 1981, and the first festival was held March 29 to April 2, 1982 under the sponsorship of the Lacombe Lions Club.
That first event had a total of 502 entries with about 1,450 contestants taking part in everything from voice, choral, piano, accordion, and band/instrumental to handbells and speech.
The early festivals included dance but this was later dropped as the dance groups had conflicts with their own programs. Fiddling was also included for a few years, then dropped, but has been part of the festival again for the past four years. Organizers say both these disciplines have been revived, "and the committee looks forward to seeing continued growth in both dance and fiddle."
In the early years, most of the entries came from Lacombe, but the event has become a focal point for the performing arts for the surrounding areas including Delburne, Benalto, Sylvan Lake, Rimbey, Blackfalds, Bentley, Rocky, Mirror, Ponoka, Tees, Clive, Red Deer, Rosedale Valley and Alix.
For more about the Lacombe and District Performing Arts Festival, or to find out more about getting involved, visit www.lacombemusicfest.com.