With registrations closed, there’s less than a month remaining until district performers once more take to stages across the region to take part in the Festival.
The Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts is celebrating its 84th year in 2026 and is marking the occasion with more excellent performances from artists of all ages in the Rainy River District. Classes begin in the last week of March and continue through April, before concluding with the annual Festival Highlights concert in early May.
Festival board president Marie Brady said the number of performers registered each year have been steadily increasing, an indicator of the continuing support for the festival and the strength of today’s art classes and teachers.
“We had over 100 entries in piano last year, which is a huge increase over the last few years,” Brady said.
“The numbers were much larger years and years ago. It was a good increase last year. We tried to squeeze it all into two days last year, and managed it, but it wasn’t in our best interest. If we have over 100 entries again this year we’ll have them over three days.”
One of the bigger tasks at hand for the Festival committee is organizing the adjudicators who come in for each round of performances and share their experience and expertise to help local performers grow their skills. Brady said most of the adjudicators have been locked in, and that the Festival has made a key partnership this year that will help in the adjudication of an entire category of performances.
“All of our adjudicators are close to being in place,” Brady said.
“We have three from Winnipeg again this year for piano, vocal and instrumental… getting the adjudicators is always my biggest challenge in the spring because the sooner we can get someone engaged, the better for us. Often Mrach and April are very common festival times in Manitoba, they might already be otherwise adjudicating somewhere, or if they’re teaching then lots of times it’s exam or recital time. So finding these adjudicators is often tricky.”
Brady continued on to say that local playwright and trivia host Robin Taylor Wright will be adjudicating for the Festival’s English Drama classes this year, and that Seven Generations Education Institute (SGEI) has offered to provide the adjudicator for the Anishinaabemowin Drama classes.
“Darcy Jones is on our committee and she works for Seven Generations and so Seven Generations has very kindly offered to provide the adjudicator for us, and so she’s looking beyond the Rainy River District for someone,” Brady said.
“They may also be using them as a guest speaker for other events at Seven Generations. It’s wonderful to have that collaboration with Seven Generations.”
One of the strengths of the Festival all of its years has been the board of directors who work behind the scenes to ensure the shows go on, and Brady noted that there are 12 members on this year’s board who she said are very engaged in making each day of performances are set up and ready to go for the performers, adjudicators and audiences.
Equally as important, Brady said, are the volunteers who also step in to ensure each of those days run smoothly, either at the front of house, as assistants for the adjudicators, or even as building security for late night programs.
“Last year we had about 40 volunteers in total,” Brady said.
“We need security at some of our venues for evening sessions, just to watch the doors in case someone comes in who isn’t really attending. Maureen Hahkala is our volunteer coordinator and people can call her if they would like to volunteer.”
Those interested in volunteering can contact Hahkala at 274-1034.
The thrill of performance is often enough to entice participants to the Festival, but Brady also stressed that there are financial bursaries available for some performers, and she encouraged participants to apply for them.
“I do want to encourage kids that are 12 and older that are participating in the Festival to apply for the bursaries that we have available,” she said.
“Last year there were no applications. Performers have to write a written essay to apply, and there’s a bursary for every division: piano, vocal, instrumental and drama. They write a short essay telling us how music and drama have affected their lives so far, if they see themselves using theirdrama talents or musical talents in the future, why they enjoy music or drama in 500 to 1000 words. And if they want to apply for more than one bursary, they really only need to write one essay.”
Most of the available bursaries are $150, but there are two larger denominations available as well, though one is specifically for high school students.
Brady noted that the value of the Festival to performers lies partly in the adjudication, which allows local performers to receive valuable tips and learn from the experiences of experts. These students can also then go on to compete at the provincial level in Manitoba, as the Rainy River District Festival is part of the Associated Manitoba Arts Festivals (AMAF). Brady noted that 21 performers were recommended to the Manitoba festival least year, which again provides the valuable experience of learning from other performers and adjudicators on a bigger stage.
“That’s a great experience for the kids, too, to go to the to the next level of competition and see other kids their age or at their level performing and how they do and what the competition is like, or who else is playing and performing,” she said.
“We really think that is a worthwhile venture for the kids. This year in June is when the Festival will be, and this year it’s going to be in Winnipeg.”
Not just for kids, the Festival also allows for adult competitors, and while there are perhaps only one or two each year, Brady encouraged adult performers in the region to consider the Festival come registration time as an opportunity to also hone their skills.
The Festival takes up more than a month of calendar time, which means a very busy period of time for Festival organizers and volunteers, but Brady said the experience is always worthwhile, and continues to bring out new faces.
“It’s a very busy April, but we certainly enjoy it,” Brady said.
“We did have one lady last year, her name is Rose, and she came to every performance, didn’t matter if it was piano, vocal, drama. She said,’ it’s just wonderful, it’s wonderful entertainment.’ I really appreciated that she was there not because she had grandkids or students participating, she just came to enjoy. So we made a new friend last year.”
For the complete schedule of this year’s Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts, visit their website at ff-festival.com, and keep an eye on the Fort Frances Times for additional coverage.
