Edmonton Kaleido Festival kicks off Friday night with great excitement – Edmonton | The Canadian News

Arts on the Ave and Kaleido launched their Kaleido 2021 on tour: Dancing in the streets Friday night in Edmonton.

Kaleido is known for its spontaneous end-of-summer celebration of art, music, magic, and of course dance.

The tour runs from Friday to Sunday with different events throughout the weekend.

Friday afternoon, when the sun goes down and the moon rises, so do the lanterns. The Aurora lantern celebration will begin, followed by a blazing dance party celebration.

Participants are encouraged to make their own lantern and hang it outside their home in the spirit of the festival.

Local artist Norma Collicott is excited to have her artwork on display at The Carrot Café.

“It is an opportunity to connect with people in the community. I love showing at a local café, ”Collicott said.

“This is where the people are, this is where they congregate. When you are in a gallery, people roam the street. But people are here every day. They linger, drink coffee, and look around. “

Kaleido is also a time to finally showcase the creations that artists have worked on over the past year.

“The background is red, really to say I’m here, look at me, I’m still here,” Collicott said confidently.

“So it was a very powerful piece that I did last year (during the COVID-19 pandemic). The feeling really reflects what we were all going through and the feelings we all had during the isolation and confusion of it all. “

Last year, Kaleido was the only in-person tour to take over the street and still provides the community with safe entertainment amid all the other cancellations. This year’s edition, said producer Christy Morin, focused on bringing the festival back into the community.

“The route is further north of downtown, so the Alberta Avenue district stretches from 75th Street to NAIT, which is 106th Street, from 111th Avenue to the Yellowhead Trail,” Morin said.

“That’s the big footprint … It’s really a pocket-sized community in the center of the city.”

If you’re out and about this weekend, you may find yourself in for live entertainment, or if you’re looking to attend, head over to their website for a full list of detailed times.

Did we mention that this entire weekend is free?