The annual Métis Spring Festival and Arts and Heritage events highlight the activities scheduled for Victoria Day weekend in St. Albert.
1. Métis Spring Festival
The 14th annual Métis Spring Festival is happening at Servus Place this weekend, featuring jigging and fiddling competitions, as well as a talent show.
The festivities, organized by the Métis Child and Family Services Society, get underway this evening at 7:00 p.m. with a singing competition, although attendees should arrive earlier when doors open at 6:30 p.m..
The jigging competiton will take place on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., and the fiddling competition is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m..
Local Métis jigger Luc Gauthier told the Gazette recently that jigging is an old tradition that emerged shortly after European fur traders made contact with Indigenous people.
“Study its movements, and you can find traces of the steps of First Nations powwows, the shuffling of French jigs, and the hops and jumps of Scottish highland dances,” Gazette reporter Kevin Ma wrote of jigging.
The festival is free to attend all weekend.
2. St. Albert Heritage Sites start summer season
The Arts and Heritage Foundation is kicking off the summer season at the Heritage Sites this weekend.
The Heritage Sites, in St. Albert's Mission neighbourhood on Meadowview Drive, feature the historic grain elevators, the Chevigny House, the Belcourt House, the Cunningham House, and more.
To mark the start of summer, Arts and Heritage staff are inviting St. Albertans to participate in their “Planting Seeds + Growing Community” event wherein residents can plant vegetables which, once fully grown, will be donated to the St. Albert Food Bank.
Nearly 200 pounds of carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables were grown for the food bank last year at the community garden in the Heritage Sites lot.
Gazette reporter Anna Borowiecki wrote earlier this week that the Valour Park Association, a non-profit that restores and preserves Canada’s older military vehicles and war-fighting equipment, will be on location this weekend showcasing several restored military vehicles.
The Heritage Sites will be open all weekend from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with activities scheduled between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and admission is free.
3. High Energy 29 at Art Gallery of St. Albert
Time is running out to see the artwork of over 100 local high school students being showcased at the Art Gallery of St. Albert in the High Energy 29 exhibition.
“Returning for its 29th year, High Energy 29 brings together over 120 artists from five local high schools: Bellerose Composite High School, École Alexandre-Taché, École Secondaire Paul Kane High School, St. Albert Catholic High School and Outreach High School,” the gallery's website reads.
“The works in the exhibition result from countless hours spent in the art room or at home. Sketching, practicing, planning, critiquing, working and reworking, experimenting and exploring – the journey to a finished piece is full of creativity and discovery.”
The gallery is open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and admission is free, although donations are encouraged.
The exhibition's last day is May 25.
