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Artscene By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 21 · Wednesday, May 12, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE Festival is all For the Love of the Arts O akville's non-profit arts community had the problem of not having a place to be seen so the arts groups came together under one roof to combat the issue. Now, that action continues in the sixth annual edition of the For The Love Of The Arts Festival, which, for one day, will again be an event that welcomes all of Oakville's various arts groups. "It's fun because it's a whole hodgepodge of things and all of the different disciplines get to perform," said Britta Martini-Miles, executive director of CommUnity Arts Space, which is hosting the event. The festival takes place Sunday, May 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Town Hall located at 1225 Trafalgar Rd. Featured will be visual artists, musicians, dancers and theatre performers. All the entertainment is free to the public. There will also be wood carvers and sculptors, fabric artists, paintings, photography and cultural groups too. "What we have focused on for the last three years is getting everybody just a little bit of time," Martini-Miles said. "That way everybody does a little bit and for the audience it's wonderful because there's some dance, there's some theatre, there's improv, there's even more people will come out this year as they hope to grow the festival. "Our dream is to build it into something larger. There is a void for a community festival in the sense that there is nothing else like this," Martini-Miles said. "This is a festival for the whole community." Another new event this year is a cartoon pitching contest, put on by one of the event sponsors, Pipeline Studios Inc., which has produced TV shows such as The Backyardigans and Babar. People were asked to submit a pitch for a cartoon and the winner will be selected at the festival. The festival will boast a variety of participants, both young and old. "We're trying to make it so that there's something for everybody," said Martini-Miles. And while something in particular may draw people to the festival, they may discover new things in the process. Arts groups will have display tables with information for anyone who may be interested. Martini-Miles noted art is for everyone. "Any of these activities bring companionship," she said of various art forms. "They bring knowledge of skill and it's something you can do when you're young or when you're older," she said, noting people may find an art form that interests them and suits their aptitudes. For more information, visit www.communityartsspace.ca. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER FOR THE LOVE OF IT: Britta Martini-Miles, executive director of CommUnity Arts Space is ready for this weekend's For the Love of the Arts Festival to be held at Town Hall on Sunday, May 16. classical music, traditional music and youth bands." New for this year will be a series of concerts by local youth bands taking place outside of Town Hall. The bands include Freestate, Kick the Door Down Jackie, Project Skank, Stereokid and Tatiana & Desiree. "I have three teenagers myself and I'm very aware that there's not much for teenagers to do in Oakville. Oakville is pretty, but a little bit boring," Martini-Miles said. "For youth bands in particular, one of the problems they face is that they are under-19 so they can't do gigs in bars because they can't get in." While the festival takes place inside Town Hall, the youth bands will perform outside as long as the weather co-operates. "We really take over all of Town Hall. It's jam-packed with people doing things and it's all free," MartiniMiles said. The event sees about 1,000 visitors each year, but organizers are hoping The Oakville Arts Council will honour local artists at the red carpet Cogeco Stars Among Us Thursday, May 13 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. "Stars Among Us is a way to honour the many artists, arts groups and businesses that cultivate and enrich the creativity of our town," said Mayor Rob Burton, in a news release. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. Local artists performing include the Paula Gardin Band, Chris Reid, 12-year-old Leslie Ashworth on violin and a guest Stars Among Us at Oakville Centre Red carpet finalists are ... appearance by award-winning guitarist Johannes Linstead. Winners from the categories of visual, media, performing, and literary Arts will be announced with each receiving $500. New this year is the young artists category for those 18 years of age and under. There will also be a live auction and an after party at O'Finn's Irish Temper. Ticket holders will receive a $10 gift certificate for the restaurant. Tickets cost $60. Proceeds will aid local artists and arts groups and raise awareness of the arts in town. For tickets, visit www.oakvillecentre.ca. The Oakville Arts Council finalists for its Cogeco Stars Among Us awards ceremony include 15 Oakville residents, three per category. The finalists are: · Literary Arts category -- Kim Addison, Peter Gruner and Derik Hawley. · Media Arts category -- Bartosz Pawlowski, Mike Przysiezny and John Serre. · Performing Arts category -- Paula Gardin, Jo Kemp and Scott Laurin. · Visual Arts category -- Anna Kutishcheva, Bill Smith and Ixchel Suarez. · Young Artist category -- Leslie Ashworth, Andrew Chown and Quinn Dalgarno. Artists had to be nominated and a jury comprised of arts professionals residing outside of Oakville selected the top three in each category. For more information, visit www.oakvillearts.com. Johannes Linstead