ELORA – The Elora Festival’s artistic director Mark Vuorinen has announced the inaugural Elora Festival Online.
It is billed by officials as “a reimagined and abridged version” of the annual festival, which was originally scheduled for July 10 to 26 and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The online festival will take place Aug. 6 to 8 with three evenings of pre-recorded concerts.
“This has certainly been a difficult time for the cultural community around the world,” stated Vuorinen.
“Concert halls are dark, and artists have lost many performance opportunities since the middle of March.
“The absence of live performance during this pandemic has been deeply felt by all of us and we are looking forward to presenting some of the artists who had been engaged for this summer’s festival, but at a distance, in pre-recorded performances from their homes and studios.”
Guest artists of the Elora Festival Online include tenor Lawrence Wiliford and lutenist Lucas Harris; jazz pianist and singer-songwriter Laila Biali; opera superstar Measha Brueggergosman; Tom Allen and company in his new chamber musical The Missing Pages; Confluence Concerts and a stellar cast of artists with a new program; and the heart of the Elora Festival: The Elora Singers, one of Canada’s top professional chamber choirs.
The festival is also aiming to bring the charm of Elora to online guests and will include cooking demos with chefs from The Evelyn and The Friendly Society, two of Elora’s many restaurants.
Tickets for the Elora Festival are on sale now: $20 for a day pass or $50 for the festival pass. Passes may be purchased online at www.elorafestival.ca, or by calling the box office at 519-846-0331.
Due to COVID-19 safety regulations, the Elora Festival office remains closed to the public for in person box office purchases.
The Elora Festival expressed gratitude to the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council and Celebrate Ontario for their continued support of the organization.
“In addition, we are grateful to the Temerty Foundation and our many sponsors and donors for their ongoing support. We could not present this festival without you,” organizers stated in a July 28 press release.
