Arts & Ideas alive at the 2014 Banff Summer Arts Festival

Banff Summer Arts Festival: June 14 to August 23, 2014
Over 85 public events including 30 free events for all ages
Amphitheatre tickets on sale May 7 and all other events on sale May 9
Box office: 403.762.6301 or 1.800.413.8368

Banff, Alberta, May 6, 2014 -- Good things come to those who wait. And the waiting is over as tickets for the spectacular 2014 Banff Summer Arts Festival go on sale this week.

This summer, from June 14 – August 23, The Banff Summer Arts Festival (BSAF) showcases the very best in Canadian and International talent. BSAF 2014 allows you to experience unparalleled performances and events in contemporary dance and ballet (Dance Masters, Still Here by Heidi Strauss, Louise Lecavalier); indie rock (Daniel Lanois, Kevin Drew, Percussion Cabaret), Indigenous arts (Diverse as This Land and National Aboriginal Day), main stage opera (Russell Braun); literary readings (Joseph Boyden and Jean Sioui), political talks (Our Man in Tehran: Ken Taylor) and a visual art lecture series (Shary Boyle) at our indoor and outdoor cultural venues.

The Banff Summer Arts Festival is deeply connected to The Banff Centre’s arts programs. Each year, the Centre supports the commissioning and creation of new work by individual artists and arts collectives. #Uncle John on August 2 - an open-air opera inspired by Mozart’s Don Giovanni - is a partnership between The Banff Centre, Against the Grain Theatre, and Canadian Opera Company that will be performed in venues around Banff. Joseph Boyden on June 25 celebrates the newest Banff Centre Press publication Languages of our Land: Indigenous Poems and Stories from Quebec; and on July 23 we experience the launch of the You Were in My Dream, an interactive art installation at the Walter Phillips Gallery.

 “Summer is a great time to be in Banff,” says Carolyn Warren, vice president, arts at The Banff Centre. “The Festival brings artists together across disciplines to collaborate and interact with audiences in unexpected and surprising ways.”

Celebrating Canadian Talent

There are many more names that will bring Sleeping Buffalo (Tunnel Mountain) to life this summer, but here are a few Canadian artists just for starters…

Described as 'the most tragically brilliant dancer alive today’, Louise Lecavalier is an iconic Canadian contemporary dancer and choreographer. On June 18 she presents So Blue at the Eric Harvie Theatre. This high-voltage ballet duet with dancer Frédéric Tavernini and set to the visceral music of Mercan Dede, showcases her work as a choreographer.

The summer season in the stunning Shaw Amphitheatre kicks off on July 1 for our special Canada Day Concert presented by The Banff Centre and the Polaris Music Prize. Hosted by Steve Jordan (founder and Executive Director of the Polaris Music Prize), this concert features an eclectic mix of hip Canadian music – A Tribe Called Red, Holy Fuck and Shad.

Continuing on a roll of outdoor events at the Shaw Amphitheatre, on July 20 Shane Koyczan, one of the most distinctive and celebrated spoken word artists of his time, takes to the stage with special guest Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk singer from Nunavut, for an unforgettable outdoor spoken word matinée. Tagaq came to international prominence for her collaborations and tours with Bjork and the Kronos Quartet.

On July 26, Coeur de Pirate, the nom-de-plume of award-winning pop singer Beatrice Martin, lights up the stage at the Shaw Amphitheatre. For classical music lovers, our Music for a Summer Evening series (21 evenings) in the Rolston Recital Hall features emerging artists who represent the best national and international classical musicians.

The Banff Summer Arts Festival is designed to appeal to all ages and all cultural interests, with large-scale main stage shows, intimate club gigs, as well as vivid literary and visual arts content, all set against the backdrop of the stunning Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park. Join us at the intersection of art and ideas this summer!

— 30 —