VANCOUVER - Honey-voiced singer Feist and jazz legend Ornette Coleman are lending their talents and star power to help draw the world's attention to British Columbia, two years in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
They, along with 300 musical, theatrical and dance performances and 10 exhibitions, will be part of the inaugural Cultural Olympiad. The event will focus on showcasing the country's artistic talents, leading up to the Games.
Vancouver Olympics organizing committee chief executive officer John Furlong said the 2008 event will allow organizers to chart their course for future events.
"It's a builder but obviously the talent lineup is very strong,'' he said. "But it's the first one and it will grow in 2009 and 2010 it will be quite enormous. It's big but it's the first year.''
The showcase will run from Feb. 1 to March 21 across the Lower Mainland and Whistler, some in unexpected places. Surrey, which usually takes a backseat to Vancouver when it comes to culture, will be hosting an exhibit of international art darling Janet Cardiff at its art gallery.
Dance and percussion performance Scrap Arts Music 2, which uses instruments from scrap metal and materials, will perform at the B.C. Mining Museum off the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
The One Icy Urban Spire performers will dance, with ropes and harnesses, on the Vancouver Public Library.
The 2008 lineup features artists and performers from a wide spectrum. Wheelchair DanceSport is made up of disabled and able-bodied dancers. Asian, Indian, Balkan and First Nations dance troops and musicians are also scheduled to perform.
Burke Taylor, vice president for culture and celebrations for VANOC, said the core budget is $750,000 for the 2008 season but there is also funding from other provinces who have artists participating, such as Ontario and Alberta.
He downplayed the lack of B.C.-based talent in the headlining event -- a concert featuring five Canadian singer songwriters. The concert's draw, Leslie Feist, is originally from Calgary and is now based in Toronto. The evening's other headliner, Ron Sexsmith, is also based in Toronto.
"We do have lots of participation in a lot of different concerts, some of them are Vancouver-based, some of them aren't,'' he said. "It's Canada's Games and we're looking for a balanced program right across the country as well.''
David Pay, artistic director of the concert series Music on Main, said the Cultural Olympiad will help boost the profile for Vancouver's arts scene. He said his emerging organization, which is two years old, is excited to partner with such a high profile organization as VANOC.
"It allows us to pay (our musicians) proper fees,'' he said. "By working together, we're going to be able to support the artists in a better way. They'll be able to rehearse more, they're going to be able to have a better performance for the public.''
