Kootenay Festival of the Arts

Kootenay Festival of the Arts is an adjudicated performing arts festival co-sponsored by the Nelson Musical Festival Association and the Trail Music Festival Association, nonprofit societies managed by volunteers from the West Kootenay area.

Your donation supports the extraordinary effort of the Board members and other volunteers, participants and adjudicators who share in the success of the festival when based in Nelson.

Uniquely situated in Nelson and Trail, British Columbia, the festival provides a showcase for young people in the Kootenay area to demonstrate their talent in categories of Piano, Vocal and Choral Arts, Strings and Guitar, Woodwinds, Speech and Dramatic Arts, and Dance.

The format of the festival is to bring in excellent adjudicators in each discipline to work with students. Some students with unusual proficiency are referred to the provincial festival (Performing Arts BC) where they may excel and be given opportunity to showcase nationally. This festival is actually the onlyway to participate in the provincial and national festivals.

The churches and theatre venues of Nelson have always participated in this festival. The Festival opens opportunities for many volunteers to manage the venues and welcome the participants; many of these people are our seniors.  Children as young as four years old participate as well as adult learners.  Local businesses and sponsors have been pleased to contribute in support of the event since its inception. It is estimated that 3000 people are involved in this festival as participants, session audiences, sponsors, volunteers and two full-house Festival Highlights Concert audiences, all descending upon the downtown or church neighbourhoods of Nelson, dining and using hotels for a two week period.  The festival has historically served to bind the region culturally, as Trail and Nelson have alternated and shared this event for so many years.  The participants come from as far afield as Creston, Argenta and Grand Forks; dance participants from Spokane, and the Okanagan.

“A music festival is a good thing in itself. It is chiefly beneficial to the young who through the competitions have an opportunity of learning much about music that they could learn in no other way.  The fact that the festival is to be held annually will encourage interest in music generally as the competitors have to spend months in practicing for the contests.” 

                                               These words were originally written for the first festival in 1930.

The very first Kootenay Music Festival was held on May 29 & 30, 1930 in Nelson’s venerable old Opera House. Shortly after, on July 17, 1930, the Nelson Musical Festival Association was incorporated under the Societies Act as the governing body of the annual Nelson Music Festival, or "Festival of the Arts" as it is referred to today.

The goals of the Nelson Musical Festival Association are to promote, arrange and carry out competitive music festivals, and to encourage any other activities having as their object the development of musical ability and the appreciation of good music and allied arts.

Nelson Musical Festival Association, a registered non-profit society,is dedicated to providing an opportunity for young performers to achieve excellence.

Activities & Functions of the Association:

• To sponsor a community Music Festival on a bi-annual basis; 
• To arrange publicity for the Festival; 
• To solicit advertisers to sponsor ads in the Syllabus; 
• To solicit donations for cash awards; 
• To arrange for first-rate adjudicators for all disciplines; 
• To arrange for rental of facilities to be used as venues; 
• To schedule entrants/participants into classes; 
• To organize community volunteers to assist Festival Committee as needed; 
• To liaise with other community cultural groups and the Provincial Music Festival Committee