Cathedral Village Arts Festival seeks to deliver on theme, 'Expect the Unexpected'
From a man who's mastered the art of creating tiny food to poetry slam events and off-the-wall improv, festival-goers are being told to "expect the unexpected" at this year's Cathedral Village Arts Festival in Regina.
Margaret Bessai has been working with the festival for 18 of its 26 years of existence, and has seen it come along in leaps and bounds, evolving into an event people anticipate.
"For many of our children, there's always been an arts festival and this sense of joy, and participation and celebration has been meaningful to them," said Bessai, visual arts coordinator for the annual event.
The week of festivities kicks off with a parade at 11:30 a.m. CST on Monday, but Bessai notes it's not like other parades that involve sitting back and watching.
Instead, people are invited to dress up and be creative with pool noodles, as this year's theme is Noodleheads, offering possibilities of colour and giant foam structures.
"I can't even wait to see what people bring out."
For Bessai, the week is all about the magic of discovery. Six or seven years ago, an improv artist approached festival organizers and asked if they could put on an improv show. Bessai had never seen improv done, but thanks to the festival, discovered the laughter and hilarity of this form of drama.
"These guys have the same sense of joy and creative play that I've observed with little kids playing with Lego," she said. "The story is just free flowing and fun, and the people in the audience were having a great time."
After a week featuring poetry slams, short films, visual art and music events, the festival wraps up with an all-day street fair on Saturday.
"We've really wanted to put a focus on our buskers this year," said Bessai, noting the event will feature masked performers, an "eclectic mix" of magicians and painters, and the tiny food artist, among others, with food trucks also on hand. Concerts take place throughout Saturday night, all within walking distance of each other.
The festival began 26 years ago with a small group of volunteers, and artists taking part from little more than an intrinsic motivation to give back, but it has grown to encompass a huge crew of volunteers, paid staff, artists, mentors, business people and more, said Bessai.
"Now it's become this circle of multigenerational professional [and] amateur people working together," she said, adding the end result is a chance to be "part of something really big and beautiful."
