The sixth annual downtown Courtenay Elevate Arts Festival kicks off Wednesday evening (May 31) with a hat-trick of events. These include a pop-up trade show, a different kind of talent show, and an after-party for creatives, entrepreneurs, and fellow-travellers.
The evening, organized by LIFT Comox Valley, is focused on talent.
鈥淚 believe that when we grow our local talent, we grow our local economy,鈥� says LIFT VIP and special event sponsor Monica Parkin, of Invis Mortgages.
Things start happening at 5 p.m. at the Courtenay Legion with the first-ever LIFT Trade Show. This pop-up reveals what a number of LIFT VIP businesses are doing. Among them: Bluebird Pads, Re Bastien Portrait Photography, Jace Pierson Sun Life Financial, Wags Doggy Bags, Heart Drum Beat Brain & Body Training Systems, Panther Workwear, The Old House Hotel & Spa, and Speedibin Composter. Futurpreneur Canada will also be on hand, looking forward to meeting young entrepreneurial talent.
At 6:30 p.m., Community Voices II challenges seven creative entrepreneurs to tell their story of 鈥渓iving local, thinking BIGger鈥� with only seven minutes and seven slides. This is the second time LIFT is collaborating with CV Collective and builds on CVC member Ian Adams鈥� previous series鈥� of evenings featuring local talent.
The final event, the eighth #WeAreYQQ Party, takes place at Gladstone Brewing at 8 p.m. Music by DJ Adil, fun and games by 鈥�#WeAreYQQPartyCrew Boss鈥� Leanne Zdebiak-Eni.
The presenters at Community Voices II represent a wide range of talents or examples of the Comox Valley鈥檚 鈥渒nowledge economy.鈥� They include Wendy Nixon Stothert鈥� of Choral Valley, Tom Keenoy鈥� of Kitestrings/Medium Rare Interactive, community animateur Meaghan Cursons鈥�, craftsman Cyrill Werlen鈥� of Cascadian Wood Tech, Step Carruthers鈥� of, among other things, Phat Tank鈥� and Lucky Village Enterprises鈥�, Alex Bowman鈥� & Kate Waddel of Byte Me Robotics, and 鈥媟ecent Dragons鈥� Den pitcher, James Flawith鈥� of Lil Worker Safety Gear鈥�. The lineup is guaranteed to elevate your understanding of the creatives growing a grassroots 鈥渢alent economy鈥� in the Comox Valley.
For example, Keenoy, a transplant to the Comox Valley by way of Brooklyn, New York, runs Medium Rare Interactive in Courtenay. He鈥檚 also building Kitestrings, a solution to Internet security that could put the local tech scene on the global map. You can follow Kitestrings on Twitter @kitestringsapp.
Tickets are by 鈥渟uggested donation鈥� online and at the door. Net proceeds from the event support the volunteer community economic development organization that annually creates the Elevate Arts celebration of local talent.
For more information about May 31 events, and for tickets, see WeAreYQQParty.ca
