Organizers expand scope of Aboriginal festival

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Whether you like Aboriginal music, powwow dancing, film or sports, this year's Canadian Aboriginal Festival should have something to pique your interest.

The annual festival will be held Nov. 23 to 25 in Toronto.

All your favorite events and activities from past years are back, with a handful of features being added to the mix.

One of the major differences festival goers will notice is a change of venue for the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, which will be held Nov. 23 at the new Casino Rama entertainment centre, rather than at SkyDome, where the event has been held since its inception two years ago.

The awards show will feature performances by some of the awards finalists. Awards will be handed out in 29 categories this year, including two new categories-best women's traditional album, and best pop album. The list of finalists for the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards is expected to be released by mid-October.

In addition to having a new home and a couple of new categories, another change to the awards should make a noticeable difference. Sadie Buck has joined the awards show as artistic director.

"I think Sadie will do a real bang-up job," said festival co-ordinator Ron Robert. "Sadie's very well known within the Aboriginal community, and her past speaks for itself. She's been involved in music and in theatre for most of her life. I think she's going to be a real plus this year."

Another new feature of this year's festival will be the Imagine NATIVE Media Arts Festival, which will run Nov. 21 to 24 at various venues around Toronto. The Imagine NATIVE festival will provide an international showcase for works by Aboriginal artists working in film, video, radio, television and multimedia. The festival will also feature industry workshops, and a gala awards dinner.

Also new to this year's event will be the addition of the smoke dance to powwow competition during the Toronto International Powwow. "Smoke dance is a traditional Iroquois dance." said Robert. "It's very exciting to watch. It's quite a fast moving dance. It's now becoming a part of a lot of the powwows. We had it last year as a demonstration dance, and the people just loved it, so we decided to make it one of the categories."

The powwow, considered by organizers to be the centrepiece of the festival, will be held at SkyDome Nov. 24 and 25, with up to 1,000 dancers and drum groups expected to take part.

The 2001 festival will also feature an economic development conference, a visual arts exhibit, fashion shows, a lacrosse skills competition, an education day aimed at teaching students about Canada's Aboriginal people, and booths featuring Aboriginal arts, crafts and traditional foods.

Festival goers will also have a chance to listen to Elders and healers talk about the traditional ways, and take in performances by some of Canada's leading Aboriginal musicians. A children's activity centre will also be set up during the festival, giving younger attendees a place to sing, play games, make crafts, and listen to traditional storytelling.

Robert said anyone attending this year's festival "can expect full entertainment. Entertainment, education, the whole business, everything's wrapped into one.

"It's really become the sort of wrap up of the season for powwows. People are using it as a place to gather. Families are meeting there; we see that all the time, now more and more. Unfortunately families today get scattered all over. And they all come to the festival and they all meet there, and make it almost like a family reunion, which I think is just tremendous," he said.

Although the festival is a time of celebration, the event will also be a time to remember the losses recently suffered in the United States.

"The Canadian Aboriginal Festival is going to be dedicated to the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy in the United States," Robert said. "And we'll honor the victims and the rescue workers in the grand entry.

"We're inviting rescue workers up toparticipate in the grand entry, and we're also inviting other countries that lost people to come in and carry their flags during the grand entry so we can honor them all and remember them," he said.

"As you know, a lot of Aboriginal people were involved in the building of the World Trade Center. So we honor them too, of course. And we've got some of our people down there working as rescuers, so that's quite something."

For more information about the Canadian Aboriginal Festival 2001, visit the festival Web site at www.canab.com, e-mail festival offices at canabfestival@home.com, or call them at 519-751-0040.