MOOSE JAW — This year’s Moose Jaw Band and Choral Festival will be the biggest in its eight-decade history, as more than 110 groups will be present to demonstrate their abilities instrumentally and vocally.
The 73rd annual festival occurs from Monday, May 12 to Thursday, May 15 for concert bands and May 13 to 15 for choirs and jazz bands.
The multi-day event takes place at venues throughout Moose Jaw’s historic downtown, with concert bands performing at the Mae Wilson Theatre, A.E. Peacock Centennial Auditorium and Hillcrest Apostolic Church, choirs singing at Zion United Church and jazz bands performing at St. Aidan Anglican Church.
Residents are encouraged to bring their lunches to Crescent Park to enjoy free performances by festival participants, as this year’s Moosic in the Park occurs on Tuesday, May 13 and Wednesday, May 14, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
There are 111 groups attending this year, and with each group bringing roughly 40 students, that means there will be almost 4,500 extra youths visiting The Band City, said Janie Fries, chairwoman of the festival committee.
“This probably is going to be the biggest festival ever, but it doesn’t look like it because we’re not marching down Main Street,” she chuckled.
Last year, 102 groups attended the event.
Many music directors who have attended with their groups for years have told Fries that they continue to come because they see the event as valuable for their students, musically and socially, the committee chairwoman continued.
About 30 groups are coming from Manitoba, while roughly five groups are visiting from Alberta, which is unsurprising since the latter province offers three similar festivals during the year, said Fries. However, the Alberta groups that are coming are the dedicated ones.
“I got this one band director from Red Deer this year. She said, ‘It’s my last year teaching, I’m retiring, and I’m feeling a little bit guilty because I’m not going to the Red Deer Festival,’” Fries recalled. “‘(But) I’ve always wanted to go to the Moose Jaw Festival and I’m going there before I retire.’”
Fries agreed that travelling to festivals is one of the perks of joining a band or choral group while attending such events can be a good experience. However, these benefits can also extend to travelling with sports teams.
She pointed out that if the City of Moose Jaw rolled out the red carpet during any youth-focused event or tournament and treated kids well, that could leave such a lasting impression that they may consider coming back as young adults to visit or live here.
“I just think the more we can put out a positive sense of community for kids from the Prairie provinces, it will bode well for the continuation of our tourism and our community,” the festival chairwoman said. “I think that’s the bigger picture, to tell you the truth.”
The festival has a page on its website informing band and choral directors about the many activities that are available to them and their students during their stay, along with restaurants and other amenities.
While the festival began in 1950 and is technically 75 years old this year, Fries noted that the pandemic cancelled the 2020, 2021 and 2022 events, which is why this year is the 73rd anniversary.
Click here for more information about the upcoming festival and the event’s history.
