Arts on the Ave and Kaleido rolled out their Kaleido 2021 on Tour: Dancin’ 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 Friday through Sunday with different events happening all weekend long.
Friday evening, when the sun sets and the moon comes out, so do the lanterns. The Aurora Lantern Celebration will kick things off, followed by a glow dance party celebration.
Those participating are encouraged to make their own lantern and hang it outside of 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’s a chance to connect with people in the community. I absolutely love showing in a local café,” Collicott said.
“This is where the people are, this is where they congregate. When you’re in a gallery, people kind of wander in off the street. But people are here every day. They are lingering they are having coffee and they are looking around.”
Kaleido is also a time to finally show off creations that artists have worked on during this past year.
“The background is red, really to say that I’m here, look at me, I’m still here,” said Collicott with confidence.
“So it was a very powerful piece that I made last year (during the COVID-19 pandemic). The sentiment really reflects what we were all going through and the feelings we all had during the isolation and the confusion of it all.”
Last year, Kaleido was the only in-person tour that took over the street still providing the community with safe entertainment amid all the other cancellations. This year’s edition, producer Christy Morin said, focused on integrating the festival back into the community.
“The tour is more North Central — so Alberta Avenue District and it runs from 75th Street to NAIT, which is 106th Street, from 111th Avenue to Yellowhead Trail,” Morin said.
“That’s the big footprint… It’s really a pocket community to downtown.”
If you are out and about this weekend you might just stumble across some live entertainment or if you are looking to attend, head to their website for a full list of detailed times.
Did we mention this entire weekend is free?