The Highwood Lions Music Festival is back again for another year with local youth musicians looking to showcase their talents.

Highwood Lions Music Festival is back.

It's a wonderful opportunity for youth to perform in front of not just a live audience but also to be judged and graded by professionals.

The festival is a non-profit annual event for student musicians as well as non-musical performers in poetry and speech categories.

It runs for two weeks from March 11-22 this year with the final adjudicator's performance on Sunday, March 24 at 2 p.m. 

All performances will be held at the High River United Church. 

This year's festival also welcomes back guitar and in-person band classes for the first time since the pandemic.

New Festival Director Chelsea Bustin shares her excitement on the Highwood Music Festival website:

"We are thrilled to welcome over 450 participants this year in a variety of disciplines. Guitar and in-person band classes returned for the first time since 2019, and we’ve seen increased registrations in other areas too. The reason these numbers are so exciting for us is that they represent people– young artists whose skills and passion for the arts will be encouraged and honed in these next few weeks."

"The Highwood Lions Music Festival continues its commitment to being a teaching and mentoring festival. Our purpose is to provide a positive performance experience for each participant and alongside that, to offer a supportive learning opportunity that meets each performer where they are at and advances their already developing musical skills. We are so grateful for our expert adjudicators who make this learning environment possible. I must also express my gratitude to our volunteers. It’s so delightful to see them greet and encourage our young performers, advocate for sponsorship for our festival and support our adjudicators. Our Festival wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our many sponsors and donors. Their financial and community support is tremendous. They help us cover the cost of operations as well as provide the resources for scholarships and awards. Special thanks to the Highwood Lions Club who have been our patron sponsor for the last many years. Finally, I would like to offer appreciation to all those who support our young musicians. I think of the parents who encourage and make space for music to be a part of their students’ lives and the teachers who spend time and energy helping the next generation of musicians in the Foothills. Thank you for choosing to support the young artist in your life. To all our young artists, congratulations! We know you have worked hard at your craft. We believe that music brings us together, and we wish each of you every success."

You can find a schedule of performances on their website.

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