Peace River North Performing Arts Festival returns after two-year hiatus

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Dancers, singers, and musicians will once again grace the stage on Thursday at the North Peace Cultural Centre for the first Peace River North Performing Arts Festival since 2019.

President of the Peace River North Performing Arts Festival, Margaret May, says performers are looking forward to a live audience after only taking part in virtual events during the pandemic.

“We’re just very excited to be back on stage, there’s nothing like the live performances. We’ve got quite a full program of dance happening and then we’ll segue into music in the following week,” May said.

“One of the sectors that suffered the most is performing arts through the pandemic and a lot of it has been the uncertainty because the first year we sat for a while and then we just cancelled [the festival],” She continued.

May adds that the following year, the festival was held in a virtual format.

Kicking off Thursday, April 21st and running until May 1st, the festival will feature performers from throughout Northern B.C. and Alberta.

Admittance cost per session is $3 or $15 for a weekend pass for those wanting to watch the dance performances.

“Right after the dance performances, we’re booting them out and the choirs are coming in. Then there’s a bit of a gap [Monday and Tuesday] and we have the school bands will be in on, on Wednesday all day,” May explained.

The festival will take another pause while musician Johnny Reid performs at the Cultural Centre on April 28th and 29th and will be backApril 30th and May 1st with piano and strings performances.

View the full schedule for the festival as well as the dance schedules below: