blog

The Hall Comes Alive

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:12:51 +0000

The first glimpse of the almost-complete Hall was at Doors Open YYC and Culture Days Sept. 28-30. Hundreds of folks toured the Hall, viewing the performance space, offices and complicated inner workings of the building. At happy hour Friday and Saturday, stellar Calgary artists – Reuben and the Dark, Hollow Brethren, T. Buckley and Eve Hell & the Razors – were the Hall’s first live performers.

On October 30, we were thrilled to host Honen’s International Piano Competition volunteer appreciation night. The Hall’s acoustics and design were the perfect setting to witness the intense virtuosic playing of Honen's 2012 Prize Laureate Russian Pavel Kolesnikov. Here's just a taste of the performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcqv1cm66aU&feature=youtu.be

We’re looking forward to hosting future Honen’s events, including Storytellers on February 17, with Hong Xu and Denise Clark.

Raise a Little Hall campaign begins Dec 5!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:52:39 +0000

The Calgary Folk Music Festival will launch its first public fundraising campaign in over a decade this December 5-16, in support of Festival Hall.

Festival Hall is the new home to the CFMF offices and a new performance facility in the heart of Inglewood. The Hall will feature a 150-180 seat performance space with state-of-the-art acoustics. The Hall will be programmed year-round by the CFMF for special concerts, educational programs, workshops and master classes, and will also be available to rent by non-profit and arts groups at accessible rates. It will also be available for private and corporate rentals.

Raise A Little Hall is an extension of the fundraising efforts the CFMF has done to date. Through private donors, government grants and corporate support, the Hall is more than eighty percent funded.

Raise A Little Hall is an opportunity for the CFMF’s dedicated audience and volunteer base to participate in our fundraising, and to make their mark on Calgary’s music scene. Goals for this fundraising drive will be targeted towards the costs of our sound system and bike racks, illustrating our desire for the Hall to be an exemplary performance space, and showing our commitment to alternative transportation.

For twelve days in December (December 5-16), the CFMF will be encouraging donations from $25-$500, with various incentives at each level, including a limited edition Raise A Little Hall T- shirt, and the opportunity, at the $500 level, to be a part of our Drink Rail campaign, allowing the donor to have their name etched permanently on the drink rail in the lobby of Festival Hall.

Over these twelve days, the festivalhallcalgary.com website will feature artist testimonials about the importance of Festival Hall, have daily draws for incentive prizes, and allow our audience to share their excitement about the Hall.

On Friday, December 16, the final day of the funding drive, the city will come alive with CFMF pop-up concerts, and volunteers and audience members will be encouraged to wear their festival t-shirts to work.

Saturday, December 17 will be the closing party for the funding drive with our second annual Indie Rock Xmas, an evening of holiday music performed by local artists at the beautiful Arrata Opera Centre. Artists performing this year include: My Dear Watson, The Collective, Savk, The Magnetic North, Scarves and Scars, Heather Blush, Dan Vacon, Eve Hell, Kenna Burima, Ship Shape, Brooke Wylie and Tom Bagley.

TedX Calgary at Festival Hall

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:57:14 +0000

Registration is open for the next TEDx event in Calgary and we think you should take a gander.

Here’s the website and the application page for...

TEDxCalgary
volunteer...even better

November 18, 2011
Calgary Folk Music Festival’s Festival Hall - 1215, 10 Ave SE

People in Calgary care and they show it with action.

Calgarians volunteer double the amount of the national average. The city is home to more than 5,000 non-profit organizations. And with a volunteering backbone including 100 years of the Calgary Stampede and almost 25 years of a growing Olympic legacy – ours is a city that volunteers great.

Let's find out if we can volunteer...even better.

Make every hour count better.

Make every effort go farther.

Make every dollar last longer.

TEDxCalgary will act as a catalyst, the speakers will provide the inspiration, you can bring your own motivation and the whole lot of us will leave the room full of determination. We’ll workshop a little, entertain a little and think a lot. By learning from each other's big ideas and inspiring practices, Calgary will continue to lead the country and even the world as the best volunteering community anywhere. Why not aim high?

We’re going to ask a few questions:

What are the most inspiring practices in Calgary’s non-profit world? Think collaboration, think efficiency, think innovation.

How can we identify and support game changers and game changing ideas?

How can we make these ideas happen? Is there something new that needs creating? Is there someone out there already doing this who needs more support?

By learning and adapting, by marshalling resources and by supporting each other, our tremendous pool of volunteers, engaged corporate community and innovative non-profit organizations can accomplish pretty much anything.

Let's do it. Let's volunteer...even better.

And then let’s party...even better. We’re heading to the Ironwood after the last speaker to continue the sharing. If you want to stay at the Ironwood past 7:00 p.m. to enjoy CR Avery & Wil, check out theirwebsite <http://ironwoodstage.ca/> for reservations.

Welcome to Festival Hall

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:21:31 +0000

The excitement among the staff at the Calgary Folk Music Festival is palpable. We are moving into our new home in the new year. This represents a lot of change, a long time coming!

What is Festival Hall? It's a permanent home for the festival staff, a meeting space for our volunteer army (1600 strong!) and a brand-new performance space for Calgary artists and arts groups. We will be programming the space for our initimate year-round concert series and educational programs, but the space is for you too. Festival Hall is an incubator space for artists in residence, a beautiful room for recording live concerts, and a meeting space for out-of-the-ordinary corporate functions.

All of the details of the space will be revealed in the new year. Until then, stay tuned for some exciting ways you can help us Raise a Little Hall!

Read our FAQ page for the minute details of the project.

Donate to our Drink Rail campaign to make your mark on Calgary's music scene!