Culture in Regina
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Regina, Saskatchewan has a rich cultural life in music, theatre and dance, amply supported by the substantial fine arts constituency at the University of Regina, which has a large fine arts department including faculties of music and theatre. At various times this has attracted notable artistic talent: Donald M. Kendrick and Joe Fafard have been particular stars.
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[edit] Live theatre, music and dance
The Regina Conservatory of Music operates in the former girls' residence wing of the Regina College building. Regina’s highly active multicultural community, earned Heritage Canada’s designation of 2004 "Cultural Capital of Canada" (in the over 125,000 population category). Regina lacked large concert and live theatre venues for many years after the demolition of the Old City Hall in 1965 at a time when preservation of heritage architecture was not yet a fashionable issue, though until the demolition of downtown cinemas which doubled as live theatres the lack was not urgent, and Darke Hall on the Regina College campus of the university provided a small concert venue; the default was remedied with the construction of the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts (now the Conexus Arts Centre) as a Canadian Centennial project, a theatre and concert hall complex overlooking Wascana Lake. According to its promotional literature, it is one of the most acoustically perfect concert venues in North America.
The Globe Theatre, founded in 1966, is a professional company with theatre premises in the Prince Edward Building (formerly known as "The Old Post Office" building though it was also a temporary city hall between the demolition of the old city hall on 11th Avenue between Rose and Hamilton Streets and the construction of the new city hall on Victoria Avenue) in the central business district.
The Regina Little Theatre was a major focus of community life during the winter months in past decades before the establishment of the Globe Theatre and before touring theatre and concert companies had satisfactory venues and assured audiences of commercially viable size in Regina. The RLT continues to provide valuable opportunities for local would-be actors and ongoing amusement for community-minded theatre audiences.
The Regina Symphony, established in 1908, is an amateur community orchestra with a professional core; it performs in the Conexus Arts Centre and at other venues in the community. Each summer an outdoor concert, Mozart on the Meadow, is attended by many thousands. The Regina Community Orchestra is a volunteer group that practises at the Odd Fellows hall each week, drawing members of all ages (from 14 on, as of May 2006) from Regina and surrounding communities. They perform in different locations throughout Regina, as well as certain special events, the most recent being Sangerfest, at the Conexus Arts Centre.
The Regina Philharmonic Choir was formed in the late 1970s to perform choral works with the Regina Symphony. When the University of Regina failed to renew the teaching contract of Donald M. Kendrick who had considerably enlarged and improved the university choir at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus, the local musical community realised that it was in danger of losing what had immediately become a vital part of Regina's cultural life. A community action plan was mounted to give the Philharmonic Choir permanence. A fine chamber choir, Halcyon, sang at the opening and closing ceremonies at the Canada summer games.
Holy Rosary (Roman Catholic) Cathedral and Knox-Metropolitan United Church have fine large Casavant Freres pipe organs and although the city's arts community is not large enough to provide substantial liturgical musical establishments at all major churches at once, there is generally at least one such organisation at a time — variously at these two churches and at St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral, where the renowned Donald M. Kendrick once played and conducted.
Several dance companies groups operate in Regina, including the Tavria Ukrainian Folk Dance Ensemble and Polonia Polish Folk Dance Ensemble.
Pollstar magazine recently ranked the two Rolling Stones shows of early October 2006 as the "top Canadian concert event of all time"[1]. The Rolling Stones concert event, held at Mosaic Stadium, made $12 million dollars and was one of the top ten concerts of 2006 in North America. Pollstar also declared that the Regina concerts were among the top 40 concerts of all time in North America [2].
[edit] Multiculturalism
The Regina Multicultural Council (RMC) was established in 1973 as a successor to the Regina Folk Arts Council and the Regina Folk Arts and Cultural Council. Operating as a non-profit organization, the RMC acts as an umbrella organization for over 60 member groups that represent approximately 45,000 people.
The aims of the council are:
- To further the development and promotion of the cultures and folk arts of all ethno cultural groups;
- To promote co-operation and mutual understanding among these groups;
- To promote multiculturalism; and
- To promote and retain heritage languages and cultural traditions as essential components of multiculturalism.
To meet these aims the RMC organizes and participates in a number of activities, of which the best known is Mosaic.
[edit] Festivals and Events
[edit] Mosaic
Dubbed a "Festival of Cultures", Mosaic has been held annually since 1974, when it began as a one-day festival. Since 1978, it has been a three-day event held in early June at pavilions throughout Regina. Every pavilion features traditional foods, art and craft displays, and traditional music and dancing.
Each pavilion has ambassadors and youth ambassadors that travel as VIP guests to other pavilions, representing their own ethnicity.
A pre-purchased passport is stamped at the door of each pavilion. It enables the passport holder to visit any pavilion an unlimited number of times and to use the free Mosaic bus transportation to all pavilions.
Mosaic has a number of pavilions representing different ethnic backgrounds. Some of these include: Aboriginal, Austrian, Caribbean, Chilean, Chinese, Ethiopian, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indian, Irish, Italian, Polish, Scottish, and Ukrainian.
[edit] KōnaFest
Pronounced koona-fest — kōna is one of the Cree words for snow — this is an annual winter festival running from mid-February until the first week of March. It is held at various venues throughout the city celebrating all activities that can be enjoyed over the winter. There is an Ice and Fire weekend in Victoria Park that shows off ice and snow sculptures and encourages families to take part in all the activities like field hockey and snow sculpting. The Midwinter Blues Festival portion of Kōnafest features Blues entertainers from all over North America playing at various venues in the city, culminating with the headlining event in the Casino Regina Show Lounge on the final weekend.
[edit] Craven Country Jamboree
The Craven Country Jamboree is an annual summer event in mid-July featuring well-known country music performers in an open-air environment 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Regina. It attracts between 20,000 and 30,000 people, and on-site camping adds to the country atmosphere. In 2007, some headliners will be Lorrie Morgan, Big & Rich, the Road Hammers, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood.
[edit] Regina Folk Festival
The Regina Folk Festival takes place in mid-August in downtown Victoria Park and features well known Canadian folk entertainers. Workshops, beer gardens and merchants are set up as part of the weekend's activities. The festival also sponsors an ongoing concert series in Regina throughout the year.
[edit] Regina Dragon Boat Festival
Held annually on Labour Day weekend in and around Wascana Lake. The Regina Dragon Boat Festival draws around 20,000 spectators who participate in the racing activities as well as the martial arts demonstrations, the childrens fair, chinese folk dancing, as well as partaking in the beer gardens and the food merchants booths. This multi-cultural community event has over 70 teams participating in the races during its fifteenth year in 2007.
[edit] Visual Arts
Many artists, such as Bob Boyer, Joe Fafard and members of the Regina Five, call or have called Regina home. Regina is also home to a number notable art galleries, including the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Assiniboia Gallery, Dunlop Art Gallery, and Neutral Ground.
