Prepare To Be Amazed With Some WinterPLAY Magic!

Prepare To Be Amazed With Some WinterPLAY Magic!

Come one, come all to see the street performer and busker extraordinaire, Nikolai Smith! This familiar WinterPLAY personality – who you may remember from last year’s Festival as the renaissance jester – is back to wow you once again in 2016 with his juggling, sleight of hand and roving entertainment. Nikolai’s comedic, interactive and energetic performance makes him one of Alberta’s most sought-after festival entertainers and a Fort McMurray fan-favourite.

With a full weekend line-up, you can be sure to see Nikolai’s act on the following dates and times:

·         Friday, February 19 @ 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

·         Saturday, February 20 @ 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

·         Sunday, February 21 @ 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

One aspect of Nikolai’s performance that makes his show so fun to attend is that he often needs members from the audience to be his assistant to help complete his tricks. For kids who want to be selected, (and for parents who want to avoid the limelight), Nikolai offered up one secret to improve your chances at getting picked, (or for parents, getting looked over): SIT UP FRONT! That’s right adult viewers, if you think hanging out in the back row will keep you out of the performance, Nikolai said that’s his favourite area to pull parents from to engage in the show. So don’t be shy when attending a Nikolai show: get up close, prepare to be amazed and get ready to shout ABRACADABRA!

For more information on Nikolai Smith, check out his website at: http://www.nikolaismith.com/.  

Dan Gillies Performs at the 2016 WinterPLAY Festival

Dan Gillies is no stranger to the Wood Buffalo community – especially if you attended last year’s – 2015 Western Canada Summer Games Opening Ceremony- having performed at countless festivals, private events and bars since 2008. He’s known for his jazzy instrumental performances, but at this year’s WinterPLAY Festival you’re in store for a very different Dan Gillies than you’ve seen in the past.

On Friday, February 19, 2016 from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. you can expect to hear the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls, Foo Fighters and a plethora of Big Shiny Tunes 2 artists thanks to Dan’s 90s rock-inspired set-list! With his hair down and a more rock-inspired look, you might be caught doing a double take, half thinking you’re seeing Dave Grohl himself on the stage.

Being collaborative and sampling from different genres is what’s kept Dan’s career thriving. He says that being versatile and willing to try new things is what has allows him to capitalize on so many different performance opportunities. While he considers himself primarily a strings man, he does own a set of bagpipes (though rumour has it they won’t be making an appearance anytime soon in one of his performances). Dan’s new “rock show” set is the culmination of a pet project idea that started about a year ago and one that he’s been testing out at a variety of events since then. It’s very exciting to have Dan perform at WinterPLAY again and he couldn’t be more excited to continue to share this new vibe of his with the RMWB community.

So whether you’re a long-time fan of 90s era music or just looking to have a music-filled Friday night out, but sure to check out Dan’s set at 7 p.m.!

For more information on Dan Gillies music, please check out his website: DanGilliesMusic.com. 

WinterPLAY Snow Art Challenge - Come Play in the Snow!

Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, this year’s WinterPLAY Snow Art Challenge is sure to get your creative juices flowing. Taking place on Saturday, February 20 and Sunday, February 21 – on the hill beside the Snye – WinterPLAYers are invited to contribute to this year’s first ever community art mural!

Local artist Sonia Burke-Smith, who runs the Boreal Artist Institute, is the Wood Buffalo resident responsible for bringing the Snow Art activity to WinterPLAY 2016. She and other artists from the Boreal Art Institute will be on site from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day to help, encourage, guide and inspire all participants to make the mural.

Brushes and spray bottles will be given to participants to create their masterpieces. Whether you use stencils or let your own artistic creativity guide you, the goal of this WinterPLAY activity is to create a free-flowing art piece with no parameters. The end result will be a physical representation of our community’s diverse culture, our Northern Spirit and our residents’ collective voice. The added bonus of this activity is that it will live on long past the festival. Community members can re-visit the piece and see its many changing phases until spring rolls into Wood Buffalo and the last colourful drop of snow melts away.

For those who may be worried about the Snow Art Activity’s environmental impact, do not fear! Food colouring will be used so as not to harm or disrupt the area.

Lastly, the whole event is sponsored by KAOS! All participants are eligible to enter into the draw, where at the end of the weekend three lucky winners will be selected at random to win an amazing Art themed gift basket.

Be sure to check out this colourful event and make your artistic contribution to our community art project!