Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto
The Kiwanis Club of Toronto is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children and the youth, and trying to assist communities in building a future for their children. Many talented young people are cheated of the opportunity to pursue their creative abilities and musical fortes because of a lack of funds and support. The Kiwanis Club of Toronto consists of professionals, educational representatives and entrepreneurs who work together to find and develop opportunities and projects to enhance the future of the community and their children. And one of the noteworthy projects that has stemmed from this mission is the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto.
A Kiwanis Club member, Colonel George W. Peacock, founded the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto in the year 1944. The festival has grown into such a huge success that it is sponsored by fourteen Kiwanis Clubs and needs a minimum of twenty halls to accommodate all the participants. Over five hundred genres and different forms of performing arts are exhibited during the festival, including solo instrumental acts, bands, vocal groups, choirs, drama performances, piano performances and orchestras. Every entry performs a piece that has been chosen by the festival committee, and due to the diversity of the entrants, the approximately three thousand entries that are received each year, amounts to almost thirty thousand people who participate.
Of course, this spectacular event is a celebration of music and the performing arts, but it is also a competition for a scholarship of more than $40 000. Adjudicators evaluate every one of the approximately four thousand performances and the competition is open to everyone, but the average age group is between five to twenty-five years. Only amateur musicians or performers are allowed to enter. Amateur musicians refer to anyone who does not receive payment or any form of remuneration for their performances as part of their income. Some of the winners of the different categories are usually requested to perform in a final festival concert, without payment.
The next Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto will be held from the 16th of February 2008 to the 1st of March 2008. It is anticipated that the upcoming festival will be a bigger event than last year, as each year the interest and excitement surround the festival grows.
