The Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts held their annual Highlights Concert at the Townshend Theatre last Thurs- day, May 2, 2024. The concert is the traditional wrap-up for the festival, which ran for the first three weeks of April. Standout per- formances from each of the different categories of the festival are invited to perform the Highlights concert, and is also where the winners of various awards, including the coveted Rose Bowls, are announced to the general public. – Ken Kellar photos
DRAMA AWARDS
Anouk Barron – Joan Miller Award (Best Stage Presence in Po- etry or Prose performance, Grade 4 and under)
Beatrix Victoria Dubuc – Bertha Livingstone Award (Most Prom- ising Performer in Spoken Poetry, Grade 50
Cassandra Armstrong – Board of Education Award, Intermediate (Most Promising Performer in Spoken Poetry, Grades 7 or 8)
Alexis Latter – Board of Education Award, High School (Most Promising Performer in Spoken Poetry, Grades 9 and up)
Cassandra Armstrong and Ethan Brown – Jean Boileau Award (Best Individual Performance in the Drama Division)
Anouk Barron – CJD Best Newcomer Award (Best Newcomer in Drama)
Alexis Latter – Katy Van Drunen Memorial Award (Best Mono- logue by a High School Student)
St. Mary School Kindergarten FI-B (M. Whitfield) – Woods Award (Best Choral Speaking, Early Years Classes)
St. Mary School Grade 2 FI (A. Coyle) – St. Mary’s Catholic Women’s League Award (Best Choral Speaking, Grades 1, 2 or 3) St. Mary School Grade 5 FI (M. Brady) – Joan Allison Award
(Best Choral Speaking Performance, Grades 4, 5 or 6)
J.W. Walker School Gr 3B Core French (M. Spooner) – Elaine
Jardine Award (Best Choral Speaking Performance, Elementary) Cassandra Armstrong and Ethan Brown – Elks’ Lodge Award
(Best Drama [play or skit], Elementary)
Elena Bottomley – Canadian Parent for French Award (Most
Promising Student in French Poetry, Grades 4-8)
J.W. Walker School Grade 6 Core French (M. Spooner) – Canadi-
an Parents for French Award (Best Performance in French Choral Speaking)
St. Mary School Kindergarten FI-A (J. Gushulak), Pearce Spoon- er, Teagan Sether, Violet Kaun and Alivia Bordynuik, Firdaus Toure and Sisily Morelli, Cecilia Brady AND Meghan Spooner – Highlights Concert Award, Drama Division
Abigail Matheson – Rainy River District Festival Committee Award (Outstanding Achievement in the Festival)
INSTRUMENTAL AWARDS
Ziporah Marx – Loyal Orange Lodge #990 Award (Best String Soloist [including guitar])
Eden Waldner – Helen Parris Memorial Award (Outstanding Musicality for Strings [including guitar], Solo or Ensemble)
Go Figure (Damien Hunt, Lucas Hendrix, Ryan Brown and Theodore Donaldson) – Gillies Instrumental Award (Outstanding Instrumental Group of 2 to 8 members)
Rosina Woodgate – Recorder Award (Best Recorder Perfor- mance, Solo or Group)
Fort Frances High School Grade 8 Band, Directed by Ms. J. Bonner-Vickers – The Ralph Whetstone Band Award (Best perfor- mance by a Band)
Jennifer Fuhrer AND Elena Bottomley – Highlights Concert Award, Instrumental Division
Avery Veldhuisen – Instrumental Rose Bowl (Outstanding Indi- vidual Instrumentalist)
PIANO AWARDS
Kylie Veldhuisen – Saulteaux Consulting and Engineering (Most Promising Piano Student, Method Courses, Primary or Introducto- ry Level)
Rosie Bottomley – RoseMarie DeGagné Memorial Award (Out- standing Achievement, Method Courses, Level I)
Casey Egan – Clarence and Gertrude Bujold Family Award (Out- standing Achievement, Method Courses, Level II)
Gemma Klassen – McIrvine Women’s Institute Award (Outstand- ing Achievement, Method Courses, Level III)
Ellie Kooistra – Clarence and Gertrude Bujold Family Award (Outstanding Achievement, Method Courses, Level IV, V or VI)
Teegan Medicine – Barbara and Bruce Murray Award (Most Promising Piano Student, Examination Courses, Beginner to Grade
2)
Jennifer Fuhrer – Middle C Music Award (Most Promising Piano
Student, Examination Courses, Grades 3 or 4)
Avery Veldhuisen – Fort Frances Lions Club Award (Outstanding
Achievement, Examination Courses, Grades 5 or 6)
Julia Dykstra – Emily Louise Austin Award (Outstanding
Achievement, Examination Courses, Grades 7 or 8)
Hudson, Emmy and Aaron Heerema – Ontario Public Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Award (Best Piano Duet or Trio, Any Level) Ross Olson, Cassandra Armstrong, Peyton Jourdain AND Ame-
lia Pistilli – Highlights Concert Award, Piano Division
VOCAL AWARDS
J.W. Walker Grade 6 Ensemble – Northern Lights Credit Union Award (Best Grades 4-6 Choir)
Cornerstone Christian School Gr. 6-12 Choir (R. Martin-Brown) – St. Mary’s CWL Trophy (Best Grades 7-8 Choir)
St. Mary School Gr. 3-5 Choir (A. Lafroy) – St. Patrick’s CWL Award – (Best Choir performing a song with a “Judeo-Christian religious” theme)
Cornerstone Christian School Girls Choir Grades 7-12 (R. Mar- tin-Brown) – Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Award (Best Choir in the Festival)
Teagan McKinnon – Lillian Thomas Memorial Award (Most Promising Vocalist, 10 years and under)
Allegra Brockie AND Lilah Brockie – Vocal Teachers’ Award (Most Promising Vocalist, 12 years and under)
Cassandra Armstrong – June Clink Memorial Award (Most Prom- ising Vocalist, 14 years and under)
Alexis Latter – Elfé Forsberg Trophy (Most Promising Vocalist, 16 years and under)
Adriana Lesk – Emo and District Lion’s Club Award (Most Prom- ising Vocalist, 18 years and under)
Jennifer Fuhrer and Gemma Klassen – BDO Canada Vocal Duet Award (Best Vocal Duet)
Ava Gutormson – Garton Music Award (Outstanding Musicality and Performance)
Willow House – Highlights Concert Award, Vocal Division
Piper Lidkea – Vocal Rose Bowl (Outstanding Individual Vocal- ist)
SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES
Jennifer Fuhrer – Festival Arts Bursary (Instrumental)
Cassandra Armstrong – Festival Arts Bursary (Drama AND Vocal)
Jennifer Fuhrer – Muriel and Gordon Ross Memorial Scholarship (Piano)
Cassandra Armstrong – Stephanie Hawkins Bursary
RECOMMENDED TO MANITOBA PROVINCIALS
Vocal: Cassandra Armstrong, Allegra Brockie, Lilah Brockie, Liam Dent, Ava Gutormson,
Jennifer Fuhrer, Alexis Latter, Adriana Lesk, Piper Lidkea and Harper Woolsey
Instrumental: Jennifer Fuhrer, Ziporah Marx and Avery Veld- huisen
Drama: Cassandra Armstrong and Alexis Latter
Piano: Madeline Bottomley, Julia Dykstra, Jennifer Fuhrer, Jo- nah Homer, Brynna Strain and Avery Veldhuisen
Avery Veldhuisen (Instrumental), left, Piper Lidkea (Vocal)
Beatrix Victoria Dubuc
Beatrix Victoria Dubuc
