The grand entry for the Prince Albert Grand Council Fine Arts Festival Monday afternoon (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

PAGC Fine Arts Festival

Arts festival kicks off at Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre

Apr 8, 2019 | 5:03 PM

Kids from all over north and central Saskatchewan have come to Prince Albert to take part in a long running event.

The Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) is hosting its 28^th annual fine arts festival at the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre.

Shona Stapleton, who organizes the festival for the PAGC said the festival has much to offer.

“There’s a long list of different kinds of visual arts that we’re doing and different kinds of crafts and different types of dancing, like we’ve got like three or four different categories in dancing and music, we’ve got a couple different categories there,” she said.

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The festivities got underway Monday afternoon with a grand entry ceremony including the leadership of the PAGC and dignitaries representing the City of Prince Albert and the provincial government.

PAGC Vice Chief Joesph Tsannie spoke after the grand entrance, and touched on the importance of events like the arts festival to encourage kids.

“This is another opportunity that we believe as a tribal council is a very good opportunity to bring our young people out and to showcase the talent we have in our communities,” he said.

Tsannie also took time to thank all the people involved with the event, ranging from the elders, chaperons and bus drivers.

The PAGC represents 12 different First Nations located in north and central Saskatchewan. Stapleton said the festival has representation from roughly 25 schools across the communities.

Since it started, the festival grew from a two-day event to a weeklong one with around 1,500 students and chaperons registered.

Stapleton said a passion for the arts led to the event’s growth.

“Not everybody is into sports. There’s a large population that love drawing, that love singing, that love dancing and they gather here and they get to show off the skills that they have,” she said.

People from 12 different First Nations are taking part in the PAGC Fine Arts Festival (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn