National and provincial parks in Alberta offer scores of activities including hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, birding and much more. You can also enjoy culture in the midst of wilderness at the Banff Summer Arts Festival.
The summer-long festival brings top talent in the worlds of dance, opera, music, theatre and more to its stages. Jill Sawyer, Communications and Media Relations Officer for the Banff Centre for the Arts, provides options for you to explore the festival’s 75th Anniversary.
You’ll find the authentic mountain town of Banff within Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that provides all the activities you can imagine in wilderness, but with big city amenities within the town.
New Programs and Performances
“It’s the Banff Summer Arts Festival 75th anniversary this year and as part of it, we have embarked on not only new events, but also new programs related to the events,” says Jill. “The public can see the performances that are the result of our programs.”
You can find summer holiday packages that will help you discover Banff and other Alberta destinations. For more information about the Banff Summer Arts Festival, read on.
Ballet and Dance Revival
“The dance program is one of our new, revitalized programs for the anniversary,” says Jill. “We partnered with seven dance companies this year including the Boston Ballet. All the artistic directors have recommended the dancers who come to Banff this year, and they will be part of a dance company. Many of The National Ballet of Canada and Royal Winnipeg Ballet people will be coming to oversee the young dancers.”
These new programs will be presented in early August. The festival dance is Aug. 5-9, every night.
Heightened Theatre
“The other program we want to highlight this year is the theatre program,” says Jill. “This year, theatre is back as a partnership with the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. We auditioned across Canada for actors and they will work on a production of Pride and Prejudice for one and a half months, a new adaptation of the Jane Austen novel directed by Bob Baker, who is artistic director for the Citadel. It will premiere on Aug. 21-23 in the Eric Harvey theatre. This is a big highlight, and the theatre program will be ongoing every year now that this partnership is in place.”
More Opera
We will continue to do opera for the summer arts festival, says Jill. There are two new productions this year, which are Dido and Aeneas, which was the first opera ever produced at the centre, and also A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten, who is a well-known 20th century composer. These will both be in July. The first performances run July 31-Aug. 2 and the other is July 30-Aug. 1 and Aug 3.
Aboriginal Production Premieres
“The other thing we want to highlight for early in the summer on July 3 is a production called Tono, and we will preview it here in Banff,” says Jill. It has been in production for six to eight months by an aboriginal dance company in Toronto called Red Sky.
For this show, Red Sky has partnered with artists from Mongolia and China. “It’s like nothing you have ever seen or heard before,” says Jill. “This show will go on tour in North America after it premieres in Banff. There are acrobats and a contortionist and a Mongolian throat singer and different instruments and styles.” People can also see it July 5 as part of the 75th Anniversary Gala Weekend.
Enjoy Gala Weekend
The Gala Weekend is a concentration of early summer events with performances by musicians, opera performers and more. “A lot of musicians who are here in the summer will be participating, so it will be a musical extravaganza,” says Jill.
The String Quartet competition happens every three years, but it ran last year so you have to wait another few years. It presents the best string quartet players in the world and draws people from all over the planet.
Summer Programs Available
It is possible in the summer to drop into the Banff Centre to see music, dance, a speaker series or a writer giving a reading. There’s always something going on and people can be surprised by the caliber of these presentations, which are often informal and fun, but also enlightening and entertaining.
Outdoor Amphitheatre Concerts
There are a few great outdoor concerts in a natural amphitheatre this summer. On Aug. 11 the African singer Habib Koite will perform. “He is so much fun, as soon as he comes out on stage people are up dancing because the music is so rhythmic, and it has a rich world music feel to it,” says Jill.
Dining with a Mountain View
People can come up and have a really nice meal at the Centre at the Three Ravens Restaurant and Wine Bar, which has a gorgeous view of the mountains and ranges and the Spray Valley.
The Banff centre does have packages but they are associated with buying show tickets. Explore even more options at Banff Lake Louise Tourism.