After being postponed because of COVID-19 in January, the seventh annual edition of Winterruption YXE starts March 31 and runs through to April 10.
“Hopefully it’s just a nice celebration to the end of winter and going into spring,” said organizer Holly Gilroy, the office administrator at the Broadway Theatre.
“It’s a bit hectic, but we’re having fun and it’s great to work as a team and get to involve volunteers and the whole community in the festival.”
Gilroy says Winterruption festivals in cities across the country made the joint decision to postpone from their usual end of January start dates, opting to push things two months down the road.
“This was just far enough in the future that we hoped and thought everything will probably be safe enough to put back on,” she said.
“Springtime is when tours start to happen for artists, but this was kind of right before right before that time, and there was just a nice chunk of time where everyone could make it work.”
As many as 15 performers and artists will be featured in the festival, with live music, theater and stories, a drag show and an Indigenous dance group.
The Broadway Theatre, Black Cat Tavern, Amigos, and The Refinery will host indoor performances, while Gilroy says outdoor events will happen in front of Oskayak High School on Broadway.
“Lots of storytelling around the fire, which will be awesome and hopefully people won’t get too, too cold,” she said.
“It’s going to be hopefully pretty much just like every other Winterruption. We’ve got some arts and crafts going on outside so people can do some of those, and again, hopefully not freeze their fingers off.”
Gilroy says the plan will be to resume Winterruption at its normal time in January 2023.