They may not have painted the town red, but the Winspear Centre was certainly abuzz with some of the Edmonton arts community’s most talented at the 28th Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts, held April 20.
Almost 1,000 guests – including business leaders, artists and, of course, Mayor Don Iveson – celebrated the arts with a ceremony produced by Catch the Keys Productions and presented by the Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton. Awards were given to emerging artists, visionaries and corporate supporters. Attendees were treated to sandwiches, popcorn and candy from Elm Catering. ” [This event] connects supporters of the arts with artists at all stages of their careers and across genres,” said Iveson. “So it’s a reminder to us that we really do have something special here that we should never take for granted.”
Performances ranged from the music of lifetime achievement award winner Tommy Banks to the comedy of the cast of Theatre Network’s Hey Ladies!, the hosts for the evening. 1. Jay Bardyla (his shop, Happy Harbor Comics, won the Mayor’s Award for Innovative Support by a Business for the Arts) and Alena Helgeson 2. Ryan Anderson and Rebecca Anderson 3. Ariane Mahryke Lemire and Chris Martin 4. Rob Harpin and Jennie Vegt 5.RoseGintherand BrendaMcNicol 6. Christine DeWitt and Brianne Jang 7. Ahmed Ali and Kristina de Guzman 8. Kate Rich, Mary Persson and Paul Freeman 9. Joe Nolan and Trevor Mann 10. Tara Wright, Melanie McDaniel and Amber Byrne of Capital City Burlesque, who performed with the Wet Secrets to close the night
