LUNA Fest, Revelstoke’s increasingly popular fall festival extravaganza featuring contemporary art, performance and music, kicks off tonight. The art and sound festival takes place all weekend, running from Sept. 25 until Sept. 27.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year’s LUNA Fest includes a variety of real-time online and physically-distanced events filled with auditory and visual delights.
Pre-COVID,the family-friendly LUNA Fest packed downtown Revelstoke as locals and tourists weaved their way through downtown Revelstoke’s streets, alleyways and buildings feasting on live performances, musical delights and giant works of art.
In a story published in early September, LUNA Fest organizers said 2020’s event had been “reimagined and tailored to fit the moment” due to COVID restrictions.
“LUNA RE-IMAGINED is a real-time and virtual experience that ensures the public can participate in arts and culture in a socially distanced way while providing an enriching art experience.”
Learn more about the ‘re-imagining’ of LUNA 2020
Revelstoke’s LUNA art and sound festival ‘Re-imagined’ for 2020
Here’s a look at what’s happening LUNA Fest, running Friday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 27:
LUNA Sound
When: Friday, Sept. 25
Time: 6:30 p.m. —8: 30 p.m.
Location: Catch the livestream on Facebook or YouTube
Photo: Aza Nabuko
Catch the premiere of Full Circle, the newest work from Revelstoke filmmaker Francois Desrosiers. Filmed locally, this 22-minute long art film features the authentic stories of eight Revelstoke residents and explores a psychologists theory of emotions, touching on the relationship between cycling, mental health and happiness.
Hosted by Carly Moran, other performers taking part in the first ever virtual Luna Sound include: Ralph Escamillan, a Canadian-Filipinx, boundary-expanding performance artist; Edzi’u a 2 Spirit Tahltan and Tlingit sound artist, songwriter and composer who weaves together electronic soundscapes and audio manipulation, and; Leila Neverland, a singer/songwriter whose transformative performances match her humongous voice.
Watch a performance by Leila Neverland here:
See the full schedule for LUNA Sound here.
LUNA Arts
When: Saturday, Sept. 26
Time: 10 a.m. —5 p.m.
Location: Downtown Revelstoke/Art Alleries
Expanded for LUNA 2020, Revelstoke’s Art Alleries are a barrier-free, open-sky gallery experience featuring a number of eye catching, sustainably created artistic pieces. Take your time and stroll through the Alleries where you’ll discover a variety of permanently installed works by various artists including Bruno Long, Rob Buchanan, Kyle Thornley and Kelly Hutcheson. You’ll also find six new pieces in the form of sculpture, photography, mixed media and stained glass.
Can’t make it to check out Art Alleries in person? LUNA has you covered, with an on demand curator tour where you can learn more about the pieces, including the artist’s inspiration, mediums chosen and more.
Denis Severino and Myra Morrison perform during Guerrilla Gigs:
LUNA Arts also includes pop-up performances by Leila Neverland, Diemm, and a slew of local talent including Sylvain Hebert; Partial to Pie, ;wife husband ‘duo’ and local folk favourites Myra Morrison & Denis Severino; Practically Bros, a duo of acoustic folk musicians Maggie May and Amy Burton, and; Aza Nabuko, a multi-instrumentalist raised in Revelstoke whose style is described as a junction of genres with tones of chill-out indie and powerful pop/alternative vibes.
Learn more about this year’s LUNA Arts here.
LUNA Studio
When: Sunday, Sept. 27
Time: 10 a.m.—3 p.m.
Location: Downtown Revelstoke/Art Alleries/MacKinnon Hall
This year’s LUNA Studio features two physically-distanced events. Participants are asked to wear masks in the Climate Action Workshop and during the artist Q&A.
Climate Action Quilt Workshop
10 a.m. —12 p.m. & 1 p.m.—3p.m.
Led by local artist Jackie Pendergast, the Climate Action Quilt Workshop is part of a collaborative youth call-to-action and community project with four schools in School District 19, Revelstoke. Participate in the making of a LUNA 2021 project by creating your own patch to be included in this large scale project. Entry to the drop-in workshop is through the front of the Explorer Society. For those unable to make the in-person workshop, patch-making kits will be available at the Sugar Shack starting October 1.
Artist Q &A
Meet four Art Allery artists, ask questions and get insight on the creative process, inspirations, techniques and more. The Q&A series kicks off at 2 p.m. in the Roxy alley with artist blacksmith Kyle Thornley. You’ll find award-winning photographer and editorial cartoonist Rob Buchanan in the RBC alley at 2:30 p.m.; Kelly Hutcheson from MTN Made Studio in the Revelstoke Credit Union Alley at 3 p.m., and; photographer Bruno Long in the Sugar Shack alley at 3: 30 p.m. Long’s photography series A Friend of A Friend, a project that features photographs and stories from 50-different people. The portraits, all edited together, is one of the new Art Alleries pieces being unveiled during this year’s LUNA Fest.
Get all the details on LUNA Studio here.
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