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Rhythmfest 2013

Saturday, August 10, 2013
10:00am – 9:00pm
Heritage Park

Celebrate the universal language of rhythm! Barrie's 4th annual interactive festival will feature entertainment, workshops, food, and merchandise from around the world. Grab an instrument and be part of it!

Sponsorship/Promotion Opportunities

As an event partner, you can build brand recognition through our promotion campaign including radio and print advertising, website, and printed materials. Engage with thousands of participants, primarily Barrie and area residents, through on-site recognition and brand activation. Our partnerships are valued and contribute directly towards providing a variety of exciting activities at absolutely no cost to participants. Opportunities are available starting from $500, including a limited number of outdoor spaces available to promote your business. If your business is interested in becoming a Rhythmfest partner, please contact Amanda Dyke, Community Events Assistant, at (705) 739-4220 ext. 4593 or adyke@barrie.ca.

Vendor Opportunities

Do you offer an interesting, unique or ethnic product that you want to share with the Rhythmfest audience? If so, we want to hear from you! Please call or email Amanda Dyke at (705) 739-4220, ext. 4593 or adyke@barrie.ca. Please be sure to include details about your product offering and photographs, if applicable.

Performer Opportunities

The search is on for talented artists to be featured at Rhythmfest 2013, with a focus on highlighting local talent. If interested, submit a letter or email including a biography, contact information, and a sample of a recent performance or recording for the selection committee to review. This could include a CD/DVD or link to EPK, MySpace, YouTube, or other website with examples of audio/video. Submissions can be sent to the Department of Culture, 24 Maple Avenue, 2^nd Floor – attention: Amanda Dyke or to adyke@barrie.ca.

Rhythmfest 2012

The City of Barrie’s third annual Rhythmfest, held August 11th, was a huge success! It brought together a variety of incredibly talented performers, unique vendors, generous sponsors and hard-working volunteers.

The City of Barrie would like to acknowledge the support of Music Pro and Blah Blah Blah Magazine in supporting our first Just Beat It! Search for Barrie’s Best Drummer. A big congratulations to Mitchell Parry, a 13-year-old Barrie resident who wowed our panel of judges and beat out nine other drummers to be crowned Barrie’s Best Drummer!

Tribute to Archie Alleyne

It's a Rhythmfest tradition to honour a percussionist who has made a significant contribution to the Canadian music scene - this year we honoured Archie Alleyne.

Archie is a Toronto born musician, entrepreneur, activitist, mentor, and philanthropist...truly a legend in our time. Over his more than 63-year career, he has made music with some of the finest artists of yesterday and today, including Billie Holiday, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Mel Torme, Big Joe Turner, Abbey Lincoln, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Staple Singers, and many others.

Through his contemporary group, Kollage, the hard bop sextet he co-founded with the late Doug Richardson in 2000, Archie has joined creative forces with accomplished young talents to continue to make timeless music and preserve the tradition of authentic live musicianship.

Over his illustrious career, Archie's 'straight-forward, swinging style distinguished by his deft brush work', has taken him around the world. He has toured extensively across North America, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

Archie is a member of the Order of Canada and has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Toronto Musician's Association.

Please join us as we honour Archie Alleyne at Barrie Rhythmfest 2012!

Performances and Workshops


10:05am	Opening remarks	Welcome to Rhythmfest 2012!
10:25am	Shirley Hay and Marilyn George	Native singing and drumming performance
10:55am	Please & Thanks	Hip Hop and beat box performance
11:20am	Victoria Mestres	Latin dance workshop
11:50am	Ruben Esguerra	Percussion workshop
12:20pm	Errol Lee	Dance workshop/performance
12:50pm	Enviro Drum	Workshop/performance
1:30pm	Rhythmfest Jam hosted by Muhtadi World Drummers	Muhtadi is the founder and artistic director of the Muhtadi World Drummers. He is one of Canada's premier percussionists, playing djembe, bongos, congas, timbales, steel pan, and many other percussion instruments. He has performed extensively, both nationally and internationally; however, much of his career has been devoted to teaching the art of hand drumming in community arts programs, schools, and community centres. He is the founder of the highly successful, three-day Muhtadi International Drumming Festival. This annual event is the largest in Canada celebrating the art of drumming.
2:30pm	SamulNori - Korean percussion ensemble performance	SamulNori is a group of dynamic musicians dedicated to performing and preserving traditional Korean music and dance in Canada. Since these superb percussionists joined in 2000, SamulNori Canada has sparked a renaissance in Korea's music scene and garnered acclaim in Canada.
2:50pm	Cassandra Fox - Middle-eastern dance performance	Cassandra has been an instructor of Middle Eastern Dance (more commonly known as bellydance) since 2008. She has become an ambassador for her chosen form and is known for her introductory workshops in Middle Eastern Dance explaining some of the movement, rhythms, and culture that make up this expressive dance style.
3:20pm	Jeff Salem	Drumset demo/clinic hosted by Music Pro
3:50pm	Tribute to Archie Alleyne	Honouring Jazz drumming legend, Archie Alleyne
5:00pm	Just Beat It! Search for Barrie's Best Drummer	NEW in 2012, Barrie Rhythmfest will feature the Just Beat It! Search for Barrie’s Best Drummer presented by Music Pro and BlahBlahBlah Magazine. This drum solo competition will give Barrie and area drummers the chance to perform a drum solo for a panel of highly esteemed judges for a chance to win some great prizes. Come check out performances by some of Barrie's most talented drummers!
6:00pm	Iya Ire - Afro-Cuban dance and music workshop/performance	One of Toronto's newest and most vibrant performance groups specializing in several different genres of Afro-Cuban traditions, present an enthralling and comprehensive interpretation of Cuban folklore. The mission of these young musicians and dancers is to educate communities about the diversity and beauty of Afro-Cuban traditions through performance.
6:40pm	Stephanie Cadman and Celtic Blaze - Celtic dance and music performance	Stephanie grew up with a passion for dance and theatre and was one of Canada's top violinists featured in the production of 'Bowfire'. As a dancer she is accomplished in tap, Celtic stepdancing, ballet, and jazz. She has appeared as a dance soloist and fiddler with symphonies all over North America, including the Kennedy Center's National Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, Stephanie established the touring production 'Celtic Blaze', which fuses her virtuosi fiddling and stepdancing into a theatrical setting backed by a band. The show is characterized by a rich tapestry of original and modern Celtic traditions with emphasis on visual, as well as musical appeal.
7:20pm	Hummingbird Tassa Drummers - South Asian drumming performance	Hummingbird Tassa Group started in Trinidad in 1954. In the years following, the leader, Deo Doon, taught his four sons to play many intricate Tassa rhythms, or "hands", as they're called. This talented family band consistently won every major Tassa competition and was for many years the most sought-after Tassa band in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1989, one of the sons, Vijay, immigrated to Toronto and, with his sons and nephews, re-created this legendary East Indian band. The Caribbean community in Canada almost unanimously acclaims the Hummingbird Tassa Group as the best of all Tassa bands in Canada.
8:00pm	Arecibo with Brownman Ali - Latin Jazz band performance	Arecibo is a deeply exploratory Latin-jazz outfit under the direction of Trinidadian-born, New York City schooled, multi award-winning jazz trumpet player Brownman Ali. Delving into Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Brazilian modern jazz traditions in the New York Latin-jazz spirit, the ensemble features some of Toronto's most acclaimed jazz and Latin music specialists. This group explores the depths of Latin-jazz with fearless, unrelenting energized intent.
9:20pm	Interactive Jam	Bring an instrument and join in!
Schedule subject to change.