Category: news

Tuesday, August 19th, the Carnival Band will be performing at the Decent Exposure Theatre Company fundraiser at Backstage Lounge. Led by long-time Carnival Band trumpeter Nathan Detroit Barrett, Decent Exposure is responsible for such great features as the YouTube sensation “Melt Face“.

This variety show will feature live music, comedy and dance. Sharing the stage will be Vancouver’s own Blackberry Wood, gearing up for their forthcoming tour to London. Doors at 9pm with a $10 suggested donation.

On Saturday, Aug. 16th, 10-11 am, the Carnival Band will be performing at the Annual UBC Farm Blackberry Festival Market. The market celebrates the season and demonstrates our great potential for local, urban food production. The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm is Vancouver’s last working farm, and one of only a handful of urban farms in Canada. Over 150 varieties of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers from the farm will be available for sale, as well as eggs from their free-range chickens.

The farm is under threat from UBC to be turned into condos, and demonstrations at the market are part of the ongoing fight. The band will be attired as fruits and vegetables for the show (naturally).

On Friday, August 8th, the Open Air Orchestra Society will be throwing a party like no other at the Fairview Pub, 898 West Broadway. The Carnival Band is headlining the night, with special guests Hemingway’s Gun and PIM: two bands that have grown in part out of the skill and performance ethic learned through the Carnival Band.

A pittance of a cover ($10) will be charged, with all proceeds towards bringing more music to your city! Doors at 9pm, music at 10.

To the great festivals of coastal British Columbia

The Carnival Band has been invited to perform at Artopia in Sointula, and Seafest in Alert Bay during the weekend of July 25th-27th. Both events mark the height of the summer season for these northern island communities, where music, dance, and wonderful fresh food provide ample cause for celebration.

The Open Air Orchestra Society is proud to share the colour and vibrancy of the Carnival Band throughout this particularly beautiful corner of Canada. During the voyage, band members hope to perform with the Comox and Port McNeill farmer’s markets, as well as local neighborhoods on Malcolm Island.

The Carnival Band is thrilled to be leading Vancouver’s biggest Canada Day parade on Granville Island this year. The Parade will begin at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, July 1st, near Ocean Cement.

Festivities will be taking place on Granville Island all day, from 7am to 7pm. Join us in this family friendly and fun event, with free jazz performances courtesy of the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, roving performers, face painting, tattoos, and tons of activities for visitors of all ages. International events and performers will add to the vibrant and diverse culture that makes our country worth celebrating!

The Work Less Party is at it again – this time with a Carnivale themed party, complete with kissing booth, spanking booth, and body art competition. It all happens Saturday, June 28th at their latest favorite venue: the Japanese Hall, 487 Alexander Street. Join the Carnival Band and many other performance artists at the city’s most outrageous Party. Festivities begin around 9pm.

Sunday, June 15th is Car Free Vancouver Day, and the Carnival Band will be out in force. From 10am to 3pm, the band will be performing nearly non-stop along Commercial Drive. Look for us on rooftops, in trees, at nomination conventions, and of course in the street. In particular, we will be performing at the Parker Street stage from 2-3pm.

Car Free Day is an annual festival which this year fills four Vancouver neighborhoods: Commercial Drive, Kitsilano, the West End, and Main Street. Without the noise, smell, and safety hazards of cars, the people of the city are able to come out and greet one another in public space with performance, healing arts, and of course vibrant commerce.

From the festival website, these events were originally established as a way to protest the Gateway, a “highway-building megaproject which would bring thousands more cars into our neighbourhoods as well as destroying Burns Bog, valuable farmland, and the wildlife of our region.” For more information see www.gatewaysucks.org

The Carnival Band is proud to support the Collingwood Days celebration once again this year. The transportation themed festival is an established event of Vancouver summer, made possible by hundreds of artists and community leaders.

The band will lead a parade from the Joyce skytrain station starting at 11am on Saturday, May 31st. A short parade set will follow. Come out and dance with us!

Against all odds, Garibaldi, a small kindergarten to Grade 3 Eastside school slated for closure in September, recently won a signal victory by convincing the Vancouver School Board to keep their school open. The Carnival Band was proud to perform in the school board chambers both before and after their decision, and to celebrate with the children of this community with a parade.

Over a six month period this small school and its surrounding community put together an innovative 60 page plus brief that COPE trustee Al Blakey described as “a remarkable and visionary educational document”.

The VSB, while offering a modified proposal that differed from the original Garibaldi submission, recognized the value of the school’s detailed submission with several NPA trustees commending the community for its persistent effort.