2013 FESTIVAL GUIDE may • 17 • 13 PUTHeadline Ros atueYO dolent wis am Uauguer alisiR tat fest face FORwaRD Waa-hoo,By it’s Credit time Tktktkttktkt to get your war paint on for festival season! We’ve got 152 of ’em to colour your summer. Connect to your city at More Fun Inside: Mumford & Sons vs. Fleetwood Mac A Late Bloomer Aces the Art Game + + Tom’s House of Pizza Turns 50 2013 FESTIVAL GUIDE PUT YOUR fest face FORWARD To celebrate the start of festival season, we asked a professional face painter to “illustrate” several events on living canvases—the mugs of Swerve staffers and contributors. And we’ve rounded up 152 festivals to colour your spring, summer and fall. face paintings by photographed by LÉ A SELLEY MARC RIMMER “[Adults also] LET’S FACE IT, after want to feel the age of about six, legal opportunities to make minor, joyful spectacles of ourselves are few and far between. special, get (True, Roughriders fans seem to find a way around the noticed, maybe cultural and emotional barriers that prevent the rest of get some good us from embracing our inner jubilant freaks on a regu- lar basis but, well, we can’t all be from Saskatchewan.) vibes bouncing Wouldn’t it be great, though, if every once in a while off of everyone you could, for instance, get a stranger on the bus to look around them.” up from his iPad and smile? Or occasionally inspire the barista taking your coffee order to look directly into your —Léa Selley eyes with a bit of awe and wonder? While we’re not sug- gesting you leave the house in a watermelon helmet, we do think the coming festival season smooths the way for us to surprise, amuse, connect and otherwise jolt each other out of our routines, which can only make us a lighter, loftier, more harmonious bunch the rest of the year. Calgary’s Léa Selley—a self-taught face painter who has Spidermanned and princessed up thousands of Calgary faces—knows the power a little dose of out-of- the-ordinary can have on humanity. A former cartog- rapher and web designer, Selley took up face painting five years ago on a whim at her daughter’s Halloween birthday party. She was a natural at artfully transforming faces faster than you can say “gimme fangs” but also at the formidable task of getting kids to sit in a chair for upwards of 15 minutes at a stretch. Selley, whose three daughters admit that they have, at long last, grown weary of their mother’s practice sessions, is now booked up year-round at Stampede events, Comic Con, private functions and, most weekends, a booth at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. She loves the work, in part because of the celebrity pedes- tal she’s put on when she arrives at kids’ events, but also because of the magical inner transformation she sees take place in her customers. “I think the reason kids love getting their faces painted is that it results in them getting a lot of attention, lots of smiles and eye contact and positive comments,” says Selley. The magic isn’t restricted to children: Selley has many return adult customers who come to her because “they want to feel special, get noticed, maybe get some good vibes bouncing off of everyone around them.” Sometimes it takes a sparkly purple butterfly on the cheek or some glitter-rockstar eye makeup to kickstart a conversation. So, while the myriad festivals we’ve presented here for your summer planning pleasure come complete with invitations to leave inhibitions at the gate and fall into a thoroughly exuberant groove with your fellow music-, poetry-, dance-, barbecue-, marathon- , opera- and food- lovers, you might want to keep an eye out for the face painters on the festival circuit this summer. They’ll tease your most expansive, festive self out of hibernation— possibly for good. —Jacquie Moore t w e n t y -t w o 2013 FESTIVAL GUIDE MAY Scotiabank Calgary Marathon WHEN: Thursday, May 23 to Sunday, May 26 ImaginASIAN Asian Heritage Month WHAT: Join over 10,000 participants in a full mara- WHEN: Throughout May. Wrap-up Saturday, May 25 thon, half marathon, 10K or 5K family walk and run WHAT: Featuring a film series, bus tour, theatre, and kids’ marathon, Sunday, May 26. Also enjoy a book launch and cultural gala. free three-day Health and Wellness Expo, Thursday, WHERE: Locations around Calgary. Calendar at May 23 to Saturday, May 25. asianheritagecalgary.ca. WHERE: All races start and finish at Stampede Park. calgarymarathon.com. Health and Wellness Expo at Faith Fest The Big Four, Stampede Park. WHEN: Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 WHAT: Includes performances by Juno award- Canadian Rockies Cowboy Festival winner Brian Doerksen and Panic Squad, clean WHEN: Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 26 comedy improv. WHAT: A festival in the heart of the Canadian WHERE: Rosebud Opera House, Rosebud, Alta. Rockies with music, poetry performances and eve- 1-800-267-7553, rosebudtheatre.com. ning dances. Artists include Bobby Bare, Tim Hus, The Wardens, Doris Daley and more. Otafest WHERE: David Thompson Resort, Nordegg, Alta. WHEN: Friday, May 17 to Sunday, May 19 (Three hours northwest of Calgary). 1-888-810-2103, WHAT: A celebration of Japanese animation and davidthompsonresort.com. culture featuring a costume contest, vendors, panels, special guests, dances and much more. Musical perfor- Contrasts University of Calgary mances by Kieran Strange and Umbrella. Chamber Music Festival WHERE: ICT and MacEwan Students Centre, U of C. WHEN: Friday, May 24; Wednesday, May 29; Friday, otafest.com. May 31; and Friday, June 7 WHAT: The centrepiece of this year’s fest is Gravity Cochrane Children’s Festival and Grace, a celebration dedicated to Allan Gordon WHEN: Saturday, May 18 Ball. Also, performances by Erhu virtuoso Yumeng Leo Papin, 5, is WHAT: The 10th annual festival featuring interactive Wang, Edmond Agopian and the Contrasts Festival purrfectly painted games, crafts, roving performers and entertainment. String Orchestra, Duo Solista and winners of the for the festivities at WHERE: Spray Lakes Family Sports Centre, 800 Frank Simpson CYO Concerto Competition. Olympic Plaza. Griffin Rd., E., Cochrane. Tickets at the door or in WHERE: Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rozsa Centre, advance. cochrane-tourism.ca. University of Calgary (206 University Court N.W.). All events at 8 p.m. 403-210-7576, music.ucalgary.ca. Serbian Festival WHEN: Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival mega-FEST FOR THE mini-set WHAT: Featuring Serbian dances, cuisine, sports WHEN: Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 26; and displays. Wednesday, May 29 to Saturday, June 1 WHAT: CALGARY INTERNATIONAL CHILDREn’S FESTIVAL, calgarykidsfest.ca WHERE: Marda Loop Communities Association, WHAT: Featuring boundary-pushing documentaries, WHEN AND WHERE: Wednesday, May 22 to Saturday, May 25 at the Epcor Centre for 3130 16th St. S.W. serbianfest.org.s local youth content, internationally acclaimed film, comedic shorts packages and gala parties. the Performing Arts and Olympic Plaza. Cost: Free for open-air activities and $14.29 - Bach at Knox WHERE: The Plaza Theatre, 1133 Kensington Rd. $21.99 for performances. WHEN: Wednesday, May 22 to Saturday, May 25. N.W. 403-244-1956, fairytalesfilmfest.com. WHAT: Explore the many aspects of Johann Sebastian WHY GO: Where else can the kids get painted up inside a whale, bust out some karaoke Bach with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Heritage Park’s Festival of Quilts hits, take their arts and crafts to the next level and take in a stellar lineup of world-class Includes a presentation of 32 Short Films About Glenn WHEN: Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 children’s entertainment? Why wouldn’t you attend this action-packed four days of the- Gould at the Plaza Theatre, 1133 Kensington Rd. N.W. WHAT: Western Canada’s largest outdoor quilt WHERE: Knox United Church, 506 4th St. S.W. show featuring workshops, special displays, pancake atre, creativity and education? Um, wait, we mean why wouldn’t you bring the kids? 403-571-0849, cpo-live.com. breakfasts and hundreds of homemade quilts deco- Who’S HEADLINING: There are lots of big names on the roster this year including A rating Heritage Park. Calgary International Children’s Festival WHERE: Heritage Park Historical Village, 1900 Brown Bear, A Moon and A Caterpillar from Nova Scotia’s Mermaid Theatre; The Tap WHEN: Wednesday, May 22 to Saturday, May 25 Heritage Dr. S.W. 403-268-8500, heritagepark.ca. Kids; a new interpretation of Pinocchio from Roseland Musical & Urano Dance Troupe of WHAT: Family-friendly world-class performing arts Spain; and Pete the Cat from Eric Litwin. and free open-air activities. Includes theatre, music, 4th Street Lilac Festival puppetry and more. Come see Pete The Cat, Treasured WHEN: Sunday, May 26 WHAT’S NEW: The “Festival at a Glance” download (available on the website) makes Stories by Eric Carle. WHAT: Massive free street festival with over 500 ven- scheduling your fun-filled days a breeze. A few minutes of planning ahead will allow you WHERE: Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts and dors of food and crafts, buskers and six stages of live to make the most of Kids’ Fest’s action-packed agenda. Olympic Plaza. Tickets at calgarychildfest.org. music. Event kicks off with a parade at 10 a.m. starting at 25th Avenue S.W. running north along Fourth Street WHAT TO WEAR AND WHAT TO TOTE: There’s no dress code in effect at this fest; just National Jazz Summit to 13th Avenue S.W.