One of the contestants rocks out during the Adventure Youth Talent Show in February 2020. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

Good Times

P.A. Winter Festival set to rock online

Feb 5, 2021 | 8:00 AM

The live crowds may not be around because of COVID-19 restrictions but there’s still a growing buzz for the Prince Albert Winter Festival which kicks off Saturday night.

A series of eight evening events in the coming two weeks starts off with the webstreamed Rock Show Experience at 7 p.m. The one-hour gig of classic rock will be on the festival’s YouTube channel, as will the Youth Extravaganza on Sunday night at the same time. A number of other events will follow between Feb. 13 and Feb. 21.

In any given year in the past the sight of snow sculptures around town was the signal for the community to get ready to head to various venues for some big-time entertainment. And while the pandemic means everything except the Feb. 19 fireworks display online, the organizers say there’s growing excitement in support of all they have to offer.

“I think a lot of people are talking about it,” committee president Bev Erickson told paNOW. “We’re getting more and more phone calls and a lot of people have been going to our web and Facebook page.”

She said normally live attendances for the various shows can reach anywhere from 150 to 550 people, depending on the venue, and there’s no reason why they can’t exceed that with the online shows.

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“That’s our hope, for sure. It’s always a good thing the more people that see the local talent.”

Erickson explained the webstreamed shows were pre-recorded one act at a time at the Exhibition Grounds and while there’s no charge to enjoy the YouTube presentations they hope the audiences will make a donation to help with the various expenses they’ve incurred.

Their 50-50 draw – which saw $2,500 handed to a lucky winner – was so popular they’ve started up a second one and there is also a raffle.

All the details can be found on the P.A.Winter Festival webpage or their Facebook page.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow