|
Raising Youth Awareness
Press Releases & New stories
about the event
S: (n) festival (a day or period of time
set aside for feasting and celebration)
S: (n) festival, fete (an organized series of acts and performances
usually in one place)
The third annual Parkdale Youth Festival takes place
on Saturday August 25th from 12:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. at Masaryk-Cowan
Park, Queen and Cowan. It’s a day of family entertainment
to raise awareness for various Parkdale youth service organizations.
There’s definitely a need for awareness of available
youth service organizations within the city, whether this be for help
in finding a job, finding a place to stay, or getting the next meal.
The goal of the Festival is to create awareness by providing a fun interactive
community based event. The end result is to create an accessible reference
database of services that are available to youth. The website currently
has a list of past organizations.
The Festival will be comprised of various components,
including an "Interactive Art Zone" where individuals can
contribute to a “mural of street art". At the end of the
day these pieces will be offered to various community organizations
in hopes that they are proudly displayed. Throughout the day there will
also be a variety of performances, a children’s activity area
and wading pool, a Marketplace of local artisans and vendors, and a
Community Information Fair with displays of materials from various youth
organizations. This is the last weekend before youth head back to school
which makes it all that much more important to get this information
out.
Musical performances on the Mazaryk-Cowan Park Stage starting
at 1PM, with The Ugly Bug Band, Box Full of Cash, Fred Spek/Camp Combo,
Janet Whiteway, Laura Repo, Chris Bottomley, Spacecraft 7, The WG's,
The Apollo Effect, The Old Soul.
Youth Entertainment on the Cowan Ave Stage starting at 1PM with theatre,
puppetry, musical performances, African drumming, Bhangra dance, and
DJ’s. Presented by Culture Link - Youth Theatre Program, Concerned
Kids - Puppet Show, Projek Raw Dance Team, P.E.A.C.E - Mind, Body and
Soul, Soulpepper Theatre - Youth Program and 4Unity Productions.
University of Toronto’s CIUT-FM will be doing a
Live-To-Air broadcast for the full duration of the Festival. Tune into
89.5 FM or www.ciut.fm on the internet if you are unable to attend,
and hear all the Park Stage performances.
Official sponsors include NOW Magazine, CIUT FM 89.5,
Woolfitt’s Art Supplies, Babbleweb, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Pizza
Pizza, Long and McQuade, Metalworks Studios Inc, Parkdale-High Park
MPP Cheri Dinovo and Ward 14 Councillor Gord Perks.
With support from Parkdale Liberty Economic Development
Corporation, Parkdale Liberty Newspaper, Gleaner Publications, and Masaryk-Cowan
Community Centre
Again this year there will be an After
Party featuring several performances and DJ’s as part of
P-Fest, presented by Triple-X Productions.
Rhino Bar, 1249 Queen Street West, 9PM, $10 - DJ's: General Ready and
Triple-X - Guest DJ Set : Countess Christsmasher (Procon) - Live Sets:
Put The Rifle Down and Dirty 30.
.Presented by Triple-X Productions - more info at www.themarsbar.com
Come out and support the leaders of tomorrow and enjoy
a great day of entertainment for everyone.
Media Inquiries, Volunteers, Performers, Artists and Vendors
Contact: Festival Innovator, Bryen Dunn, info@parkdalefestival.com
Festival
Media Stories 2006
A slice
of the real Queen
Toronto Star
Aug. 26, 2006
Another weekend, another festival.
Not quite. The Second Annual Parkdale Youth Festival
(noon to 8 p.m. today at Masaryk-Cowan Park, Queen St. W. at Cowan
Ave.) is a slice of the real Queen St. W. — at least when
it comes to art — now that almost everything farther east
along Queen St. has been so thoroughly gentrified.
Some real finds can be had in the art marketplace at the
festival that includes live performances and an "Interactive Art
Zone" where visitors can add to a street mural.
In case of rain, many events will be moved inside to the
gymnasium in the Masaryk-Cowan Centre. An after-party follows the end
of the day's events.
Eye Magazine
Aug. 24, 2006
| YOUTHFUL
VIBE
Toronto
Eye Weekly, August 24, 2006 - The Second Annual
Parkdale Youth Festival, taking place (August 26) from
noon to 8 pm at the Masaryk-Cowan Park (Queen
& Cowan Avenue) , aims to raise awareness for various
Parkdale youth services. There's live music thoughout
the day and There's an after-party at Rangzen Cafe,
1600 Queen St. W. at 10pm featuring DJ Mikey Apples.
For the full complete schedule check: www.parkdalefestival.com
|
Parkdale Festival
generates interest in youth service organizations
CYNTHIA REASON - THE VILLAGER
Aug. 16, 2006
The second annual Parkdale Youth Festival is set
to descend upon the neighbourhood next Saturday featuring a wide
range of musical acts guaranteed to bring out area youth.
The goal of the day-long music and art festival is to
generate interest in youth service organizations by providing a community-based
event, said Bryen Dunn, festival innovator.
"We really want to make this a fun interactive day
for everyone, with the main focus on bringing awareness to what's available
in the area for youth, along with providing a full day of great entertainment,"
he said.
With that in mind, a Community Information Fair with displays
of materials from various youth-oriented organizations will be on location
at the festival for participants to check out.
Some of the organizations involved will include the Parkdale
Community Information Centre, Riverdale Immigrant Women's Centre, the
Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre, the Newcomer Youth Centre at CultureLink
Settlement Services, Parkdale Community Health Centre, Planned Parenthood
of Toronto, the Gay and Lesbian Youth Line, St. Stephen's House youth
employment services agency and Mazemaster youth employment website.
Peggy Nash, MP for Parkdale-High Park, and Ward 14 Councillor
Sylvia Watson, (Parkdale-High Park), will also make an appearance.
Dunn said he hopes the end result of the festival's collaborative
efforts will be the creation of an accessible, all-in-one online directory
of services available to local youth.
"Right now, there's no one area for youth to go to
for information on services available to them," he said. "It's
not cohesive or under one umbrella, so that's the main focus of what
we're trying to do."
To draw young people down to the festival, Dunn has lined
up a variety of musical acts to perform throughout the day, including
some out-of-town acts.
"The lineup is quite diverse, a direct reflection
of the Parkdale community," Dunn said, adding that the free event
will also offer a children's activity area complete with kids' sidewalk
chalk and face-painting stations, wading pool and storytelling sessions.
"It's a day of entertainment for the whole family."
The Parkdale Festival will run from noon until 8 p.m.
at Masaryk-Cowan Park, at the corner of Queen and Cowan, on Aug. 26.
The event is rain or shine, and will relocate to the Masaryk-Cowan
Community Centre in the event of showers.
Following the day's events will be P-Fest, the official
Parkdale Youth Festival After-Party at Rangzen Cafe, 1600 Queen
St. W., presented by Triple-X Productions. Doors open at 9 p.m.
with limited capacity for this licensed event.
Things get heated up early with Toronto's own Bad Robots,
Evil Doer (cyberoptic electronics) hitting the stage at 10 p.m. followed
by now-defunct kQuattro (ghettotech) playing a one-off performance.
Funky Brooklyn hip hop duo, Mad Happy will shake things up around midnight,
followed by Montreal electro masters, Duchess Says, closing the showcase.
For information go to www.parkdalefestival.com or www.themarsbar.com
Parkdale
Festival gears up for fun
CYNTHIA REASON - THE VILLAGER
Jul. 28, 2006
The second annual Parkdale Youth Festival will come to the neighbourhood
on Aug. 26, featuring a day of music and art to raise awareness
for various youth service organizations. The goal of the festival
is to generate youth interest by providing a fun, interactive
and community-based event, said Bryen Dunn, festival innovator.
Dunn said youth often have difficulty accessing the services
they need – whether it is assistance with finding a job, a meal,
a place to stay or language and school upgrading – simply because
they don’t know where to look.
“Right now, there’s no one area for youth
to go to for information on services available to them,” he said.
“It’s not cohesive or under one umbrella, so that’s
the main focus of what we’re trying to do.”
Dunn said he hopes the end result of the festival’s
efforts will be the creation of an accessible, all-in-one directory
of services that are available to local youth.
With that in mind, a Community Information Fair with displays
of materials from various youth-oriented organizations will be on location
at the festival for participants to check out. Some of the organizations
involved will include the Parkdale Community Information Centre, the
Riverdale Immigrant Women’s Center and CultureLink’s Newcomer
Youth Centre.
“We’ll be providing a complimentary table
to any service organization that has a youth component and wishes to
be involved,” Dunn said.
The festival will also feature a variety of musical performers
that will take to the outdoor mainstage over the course of the event,
from the African jazz stylings of Uhuru Inception, to the blues and
rockabilly chords of Tight Like That, to the pop, funk and hip hop beats
of Brooklyn’s own Mad Happy.
“It’s a day of entertainment for the whole
family,” Dunn said, adding that the free event will also offer
a children’s activity area complete with sidewalk chalk and face-painting
stations, wading pool and storytelling sessions.
In addition, the festival will contain an Interactive
Art Zone where festival-goers can contribute to street art murals over
the course of the day. By the end of the festival, these pieces will
be donated to various community organizations in the hopes that they
will be proudly displayed, Dunn said.
For those in a shopping mood, the festival will also boast
an open marketplace of local artisans and vendors. The Parkdale Festival
will run from noon until 8 p.m. at Masaryk-Cowan Park, at the corner
of Queen and Cowan.
The event is rain or shine, and will relocate to the Masaryk-Cowan
Community Centre in the event of showers.
For information on how to volunteer or for an updated
schedule of performances and a list of participating organizations and
activities, visit www.parkdalefestival.com
Festival Media Stories 2005
NOW Magazine-T.O. Music Notes - Upcoming,
the Parkdale Youth Festival, August 27, 2005
Sometimes when you're young and need help, you know
that community services must be out there somewhere but you don't
know how to find them or whether they have anything to offer you.
In Parkdale, they're remedying this predicament through the first
annual Parkdale Youth Festival.
Meant to raise awareness about youth services in the Parkdale neighbourhood,
the fest brings together music, including rockabilly guy Ian Fitzgerald
and dance rock project KQuattro , street art, kids' activities, vendors
and more, with donations and raffle proceeds to be distributed among
area organizations for youth. Most importantly, there will be a community
information fair where local organizations can get the word out about
their services. All activities are free.
Promoters hope the festival will lead to the creation of a database
of area youth services so that a meal, a place to sleep or help getting
a job won't be so hard to find.
The Parkdale Youth Festival happens Saturday (August
27, 2005) from 2 to 8 pm in Masaryk-Cowan Park at the corner of
Queen and Cowan. In case of rain, all activities move to the Masaryk-Cowan
Community Centre gym (220 Cowan).
Festival raises money for Parkdale Youth
24 Hours Toronto - Jennifer Bill, August 26,
2005.
Lend your ears and eyes to a music and art festival to
raise awareness and funds for Parkdale youth services. The first annual
Parkdale Festival takes place on Saturday from 2-8 p.m. at Mazaryk-Cowan
Park, at Queen and Cowan. There will be heaps of community information
and vendor tables for local artists to display their works. Interested
performers and volunteers can contact info@themarsbar.com.
Best Bet - Parkdale Youth Festival
Eye Magazine, Kate Lacey, August 25, 2005.
You’re still stuffed with souvlaki from Taste of
the Danforth. Hell, you’re still shaking glitter out of your ears
from Pride, but no matter - it’s time for another community party.
Parkdale, the lakeside neighbourhood where gentry meets grunge, is having
its first annual festival to raise money and awareness for various Parkdale
youth services. Local vendors will sell arts and crafts (bowls from
Inspirations Studios pictured) while community-information tables offer
the lowdown on available programs. You can also test your hand at street
art at the Interactive Art Zone, where the public is invited to add
to murals-in-progress. The finished products will then be displayed
at different organizations through the community. There will be a new
spinner every hour at the DJ Station, as well as 15-minute performance
pieces in between. Rain or shine, head to Masaryk-Cowan Park at Queen
and Cowan. The event is free but proceeds from donations and raffle
tickets go toward supporting kids looking for jobs, homes and meals.
Sat, Aug 27, 2-8pm. Queen and Cowan.
Parkdale festival looks to raise money and
awareness
The Villager, Lisa Rainford, Aug. 19, 2005.
Raising money and awareness of area youth centres in the
goal of next weekend's first annual Parkdale Festival.
"The hope for this festival is to put these organizations together
to create a database for youth," said Festival Innovator Bryen
Dunn.
There is a need for awareness of available service organizations within
the Parkdale area, to help kids find employment, a place to live (temporarily
or permanently) or finding their next meal, Dunn said. Festival organizers
hope to generate awareness through a fun interactive community-based
event.
Dunn would like to see the creation of a database of services accessible
to youth.
The festival, which takes place from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Masaryk-Cowan
Park at Queen Street and Cowan on Aug. 27, will be a day of music and
art. It is a family-friendly event with an "interactive art zone,"
where festival-goers can contribute to a mural.
At the end of the day, the art will be offered to various community
organizations.
Throughout the day there will be a rotation of DJs at the "DJ station,"
spinning an array of musical genres; a variety of performances; face
painting; a wading pool a marketplace of local artisans and vendors
and a community information fair with displays from different youth
organizations.
The festival is a free event that will take place rain or shine. If
it does rain, the festival will be moved indoors to the Masaryk-Cowan
Centre. Funds will be raised through donations and raffles with proceeds
going directly to benefit services for youth.
All pages & content © 2008,
Parkdale Youth Festival. Site design/maintenance by Toronto
Web Fairy
|