Category: news

You may ask yourself, “How does The Carnival Band achieve such a tight sound? How do they play so loudly, and yet with so much finesse?” Well, we rehearse every Monday evening from 7:30 till 10:00pm at Britannia Community Centre. Feel free to drop by anytime. We are always looking for more players (You don’t even need previous musical experience.)

EXCEPT THIS COMING MONDAY (November 23)!!!

The Carnival Band is foregoing their regular rehearsal time and are playing house (band) for the political theatre company, The Wrecking Ball. Think Paul Shaffer meets Cab Calloway.

The evening, aiming to tackle draconian cuts to the arts, features Canada’s leading theatre artists taking on the BC government from coast to coast.

In Vancouver, at the Vogue Theatre at 918 Granville Street. Doors are at 8:00pm and tickets are by donation. Come take in some good music, some good theatre and voice your displeasure at what is happening to arts funding in this province.

Please read more about the event here.

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Dear Carnival Band Family,

The Carnival Band recently returned from HONK! Fest where we met up with almost 500 other street musicians from all over the US (and Italy). Cambridge, Harvard and Boston, Mass, didn’t see it coming! Check out what HONK! is all about here.

Now, back home in Vancouver, we are slipping comfortably into our role of activist horn blowers and social justice drummers. Starting with this evening, we have got a number of events supporting causes from Vancouver and beyond.

6:00pm Thursday Oct 22 at the Four Seasons Hotel (791 W Georgia St.)
Heart for the homeless Gala.
This is a black-tie, Players and Painters, fund-raiser to support homelessness charities. The Carnies will be dressed in their finest evening wear. We will play, and painters will paint and their work will be auctioned off. Tickets are 60$.

Bridge to a Cool Planet
11:00am Saturday, October 24th – Parade from Cambie Bridge to Science World
Come be a part of the parade as we march across Cambie Bridge to Science World.
This event is part of 350.org climate initiative in response to a meeting or world powers in Copenhagen, Denmark to try and hash out some emissions agreement.
Why is 350 important…350 is the most important number in the world—it’s what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Check out more about Bridge to a Cool Planet here

Parade of Lost Stuff (Souls)
7:00pm Saturday, October 24th – Grandview Park, Commercial Drive

Sadly, our dear friends at Public Dreams are unable to put on the Parade of Lost Souls this year. Thus, we will just have to do it without them. Note – this event is in no way affiliated with Public Dreams. There will be the usual gang of weirdos, however, being all spooky on the Drive. Don your favourite costume and come be spooky with us.

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Yours in Community,
The Carnival Band

Dear Carnie Fans,

What does summer and The Carnival Band have in common?
We both just wont quit!
(hilarious)

We have two epic gigs this weekend

Gig the First:

Home for the Games Fundraiser
When: Friday, September 25th – Doors at 8:00pm
Where: Waldorf Hotel (1489 Hastings Street E.)

Join Knifey Spoony, Sambata and The Carnival Band in a fundraiser for Home for the Games. There is also human-head whack-a-mole for whack-happy among us.

All proceeds from this concert will go to Home for the Games, a non-profit organization seeking to harness the excitement of the Olympics and channel it towards those who need it most. Home for the Games is website that matches homeowners wanting to rent their rooms or houses out to Olympic visitors. The homeowner sets the price of their accommodation, and then donates a minimum of 50% of the money they earn to a trust fund that will be split between two housing charities on the Downtown Eastside: StreetoHome and Covenant House.

Gig the Second:

Boston or Bust Fundraiser
When: Sunday, September 27th 11:00am till the wee hours of the morning
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson Street)

On October 8th, The Carnival Band is travelling to Boston, MA to take part in HONK Fest, a festival celebrating street band culture. Imagine, The Carnival Band honking and frolicking with 26 bands much like us! It is as crazy and as magical and you might expect. Help us pay for our passage to Boston by dropping by The Vancouver Art Galley and tossing some cash our way. We’re playing until we get enough to go, so if you want us to shut it – it’ll cost ya!!

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Carnie friends,

The Carnival Band is playing The Bourbon (50 W. Cordova) this Saturday. Come check us out in our top hats, tails and gowns. The evening also features Minotaur and Mexican Drug Patrol. The show starts at 8:00pm and is done by 11:00pm, so get there early.

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Yours in Community,

The Carnival Band

Dear Friends,

The Carnival Band is coming off an exciting weekend. This past Saturday we celebrated our 10th year of playing for the people. We we joined by our friends The Yellow Hat Band, Circus Aerialists, Orkestar Slivovica, Knifey Spoony, Dixie Star Story Telling and Night and Day Dance. Check out photos here.
A big thanks and a lot of love to those who have Carnied along side us throughout the years.

The Carnival Band does Sunday!
There’s no rest for the Wacky!

This Sunday, September 6th, we are playing at the Rickshaw Theatre with Fake Shark Real Zombie, Influents, and Axiom. An exciting event at an exciting venue.

The Rickshaw is at 254 E. Hastings.

Come and help us kick off the next 10 years in style.

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Carnival Band Fans,

This Saturday, August 29th, the Carnival Band is hosting DecaDance in celebration of our 10th year of musical merriment. Come join us as we look back on 10 great years of making music on Commercial Drive and around the world. Carnies past and present will be joining forces with some special guests from Vancouver and further afield as we bust a celebratory move in Strathcona Park.

The skinny:

Where: Strathcona Park (857 Malkin Ave)
When: 1:00pm
Why: TEN YEARS of Carnie love!
Who: 1:00-1:45 Knifey Spoony
2:00-2:45 Orchestar Slivovia
3:00-3:45 Yellow Hat Band (Seattle)
4:00-4:45 The Carnival Band

The event also features Dixie Star Story Tellers, poi dancers, face painters, silk aerialists and, of course, birthday cake.
Fun for the whole family!
You are invited as we celebrate the past and plan for the next 10 years!

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Yours in Community,

The Carnival Band

East Vancouver’s favourite group of marauding musicians, The Carnival Band, invites you to their tenth birthday celebration; DecaDance at Strathcona Park;

1 to 5pm, Saturday, August 29th

The Carnival Band is a community music project, filling our city with music from around the world as a means to personal and political empowerment, social change and creativity.

Along with The Carnival Band will be special guests Knifey Spoony, Orkestar Slivovica, and Seattle’s,The Yellow Hat Band ; Silk Aerialist Dancers, Dixie Star story-telling, face painters, poi and hoola hoopers and, of course, birthday cake – all happening at Strathcona Park, 857 Malkin Avenue.

So come one, come all; Saturday August 29th at 1:00pm, celebrate The Carnival Band’s ten years of musical merriment. Fun for your whole family!

Here’s another reminder about the Work Less Party PARTY happening this Saturday, June 6th at 9pm at the Japanese Hall (487 Alexander). Not only is there the usual menu of body art, dream scenes, and terrific music (including Five Alarm Funk, Orkestar Slivovica, and yours truly), but there’s also a new tea garden installation on the rooftop! Details here – hope to see you there!

And for those of you interested in joining us on a sea cruise, come to the Sunshine Coast for the Gibson’s Jazz Fest on Saturday, June 13th. We’ll be playing at 4:30 in Dougal Park, in between a dozen or so other great acts. Look out for impromptu jams on the ferry as well. More info at http://www.coastjazz.com/

Happy Summer Everyone!

Well, it may not be solstice yet, but the sun sure is shining. Before that big day, there are a few happenings we thought you should know about.

Saturday, May 23rd: The Great Turning: an Unconference to Be The Change

Saturday, May 30th: The 35th Annual Camp Alexandra Festival

This is Crescent Beach’s most anticipated event of the year, with live performances and scores of crafters all day long. Admission is free all day. The Family Fun Zone runs alongside artists of all stripes and refreshments from 11am to 6pm. At 6pm, The Carnival Band comes on to start up the evening stage, featuring Jesse Burch, Heidi McCurdy and Mojo Zydeco. Come for a beach picnic, stay for some great entertainment until at least 10pm. More info at http://www.campalex.com/sub/events.php#festival

Wednesday, June 3rd: Heart of a Citizen: A Public Dialogue Series on Civic Engagement

SFU is hosting a series which “explores the diverse and provocative ways ordinary citizens become extraordinary participants in democratic life.” We thought that sounded pretty good, so the Carnival Band will be performing at the third dialogue, titled “Celebrating Citizen Engagement: How do community festivals and the arts engage citizens and create social change?”. The Open Air Orchestra Society president, Brandon Walker, will be speaking at the dialogue following the band’s performance. Meet at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Asia Pacific Hall, 580 West Hastings Street, 6:30–8:30pm. The sessions are free, but because space is limited it’s a good idea to register online ahead of time. More info at http://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/heartofacitizen.pdf

Saturday, June 6th: Work Less Party Party with Five Alarm Funk!

After all that work to shape the world, what better way to have a bit of fun than with the Work Less Party? This shindig is shaping up to be one of their best yet, with Five Alarm Funk, Orkestar Slivovica, and the Carnival Band all rocking the stage. As always, you’ll have ample opportunity to get wild with the kinka booth and frisky tent. A body painting competition and costume competition are shelling out $1000 in prizes! $15 if you arrive in costume, and $20 without (why would you ever go to this party out of costume?). Advance tickets are $2 less. Doors at 8pm, mayhem from 9pm – late. Go to http://www.worklessparty.org/party/party.htm for more info.