IN PERFORMANCE
What: Voices in Nature
Where: Outerbridge Park, 1181 Royal Oak Dr.
When: Aug. 24-Aug. 26
Admission: Free (register at )
The grounds of Outerbridge Park in Saanich will be alive with the sounds of music and poetry next week as a partnership between the District of Saanich and 91原创 Opera activates the Royal Oak sanctuary for three days of free arts programming next week.
Local singers, poets, and visual artists are coming together for Voices in Nature, an Aug. 24-26 park tour and performance series designed to highlight the impact and importance of art, and how it relates to the environment. Conceived by Rebecca Hass, the director of community engagement for 91原创 Opera Victoria, the first-time event fits well within the limitations of a pandemic performance. The lay of the land at Outerbridge Park, on Royal Oak Drive, makes one-way traffic ideal and keeps guests at a safe distance from each other.
Staged over three days, with two one-hour programs each day, Voices in Nature will insert a variety of artistic disciplines into the stunning natural surroundings, Hass said. 鈥淓verybody is already out in nature, so I thought it would be incredible to be able to walk along a path and come across a poet or a singer, and understand what the creator was thinking when they made the art. It鈥檚 a great facilitator for that.鈥�
The 3.8-hectare park, once known as Shangri-La Bird and Nature Sanctuary was donated by area resident JoAnn Outerbridge to the municipality, which later renamed it in her honour. When Hass approached the District of Saanich with a proposal for Voices in Nature, community arts programmer Brenda Weatherston thought the Royal Oak gem would be an ideal fit. 鈥淚 knew its intimate scale is exactly how Rebecca was describing the performances and opportunities she wanted to create,鈥� Weatherston said.
Visual artist Brianna Bear, poet Michelle Poirier Brown, musician Nicole Mandryk, and operatic singers Louis Dillon and Kieran Foss are among the participants who will be placed in strategic locations through the park, highlighting the trails, ponds and bridges within the sanctuary. 鈥淭he pond, a secret path, the plum tree 鈥� it has these lovely little placemarkers that are going to be really neat places to encounter and artists or a poem or a singer in nature,鈥� Weatherston said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to feel like you鈥檙e part of the art, in a way, as well as nature. It鈥檚 going to be very two-way. We know the health benefits people are going to get from being in nature, either experiencing art or participating in it.鈥�
Entrance times staggered at five-minute intervals, to allow for safe distancing and reduce over-crowding. 鈥淏y pacing it for two hours over three days, we鈥檙e hoping to create enough space and distance for multiple people to enjoy it in smaller groups at their own pace rather than a big horde,鈥� Weatherston said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e creating is a little bit different. It鈥檚 not a sit-down concert at one time and one time only.鈥�
