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Coast’s oldest arts festival set for the 2019 season

Festival of the Performing Arts
FOPA
Participants in the Piano Encore Concert in the 2017 Festival.

The Festival of the Performing Arts, the longest running annual festival on the Sunshine Coast, is set to start its 46th year pursuing its mission to advance “performing arts excellence and appreciation.” 

Three weeks of performances in ten different solo and group art forms, from guitar and piano to dance, choirs and bands get underway April 15 at five venues from Gibsons to Sechelt. The festival culminates with a Highlights Concert on May 12 at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. 

“Last year, we had over 300 performers,” interim president Kit Artus told Coast Reporter. “We don’t have this year’s numbers yet. The complexity of the festival means a lot of information comes in at the last minute.” 

Participation in the festival is open to amateur performers of all ages who are residents of the Sunshine Coast. (Registrations had to have been submitted by Feb. 15.) 

The key difference between the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts (SCFPA) and other Coast festivals is the component of adjudication. All entrants perform before an audience that includes an expert adjudicator from the Coast or elsewhere in B.C. who reviews all performances in their own discipline and later provides written critiques to participants and their teachers. 

“Having adjudicators of international renown coming to the Coast and being involved in this is just amazing,” Artus said, noting that different judges are brought in each year. “We try to make sure that the whole process is professional, and people have reassurance that it’s totally independent.” 

The adjudicators not only provide supportive critiques, they also grade the performers in each age level. The highest ranking go to the Highlights Concert and could have a chance to present at the Performing Arts B.C. provincial festival in Chilliwack at the end of May. 

High-placing performers at SCFPA also are eligible for monetary awards and scholarships of up to $300. 

The festival, which is operated by a non-profit society, is supported by a few dozen sponsors and donors, and by society memberships and performer registration fees of $15 to $30 for individuals and up to $50 for choirs. Public admittance to performances is free, but donations are encouraged. 

A performance schedule can be found at coastfestival.com. 

For Artus, other members of the board, and supporters and volunteers, it’s all about growing and promoting local performing talent. 

“Some of the performers are five- and six-year-olds who can’t even reach the pedals on the piano,” Artus said. “It’s just amazing, how they get up there and have this experience of having someone who is well-known in their specialty helping them to improve. What can be better than that?”