Show of spirit

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This article was published 31/10/2009 (6180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No lie, Tracy Bone has one of the busiest weeks of her life coming up.

It’s time for the fourth annual Manito Ahbee Festival, and with about 25,000 people expected to take part in the five-day event the Winnipeg singer-songwriter is performing nightly Tuesday through Saturday.

"When you’re independent, you’re depending on yourself," says Bone, 33, who is up for entertainer and songwriter of the year at Friday’s Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. "It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun."

That her 2008 Juno-nominated release No Lies is also a finalist for pop album of the year is a surprise, since Bone’s CD is rooted in country with pop and rock edges. It highlights her diverse musical style, which will be on display throughout Aboriginal Music Week, Nov. 3-7.

Think aboriginal music is all about drumming? Think again. There is traditional music on tap, but the lineup of musical acts ranges from hip-hop to blues and everything in between.

"People ask me if aboriginal music is a genre," Bone says. "Festival people can see it for themselves and come up with their own idea of what it is."

She is performing at three official events and is hosting her own music showcase called All My Relations with several APCMA nominees at the Regal Beagle Pub Thursday and Friday at 9 p.m.

"Everyone we meet, aboriginal or not, they become our cousins," she says. "It’s a big family."

The number of Bone’s extended relatives is about to grow by leaps and bounds over the next week during Manito Ahbee Festival, the annual celebration of aboriginal culture running Nov. 4-8.

The festival experimented with a 10-day program for the last two years but went back to a five-day run this year because it was too hard for people to attend everything over the course of two weekends, says Manito Ahbee general manager Gloria Spence.

"We wanted to have more going on in less days," she said. "That way our visitors from out of town could hit every event."

Last year the festival — named for a site in the Whiteshell where petroforms depict the teaching of aboriginal elders — attracted 25,000 visitors and participants to its various events, an increase from 20,000 in 2007 when an ice storm kept away 200 powwow competitors.

Barring any weather disasters, organizers hope the number of dancers, drummers and singers from across North America will top 800.

Spence doesn’t believe the H1N1 scare will affect the turnout. In case people are worried, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is on board to ensure hand sanitizers are at the MTS Centre, the Winnipeg Convention Centre and McPhillips Street Station Casino, alongside information about preventative measures people can take to avoid contracting the virus.

"There will be a real message out about it, and our education conference this year is going to have a herbalist present who is going to be talking about the traditional vaccine for H1N1," Spence said.

The education conference for junior high and high school students is one of the major components of Manito Ahbee, along with the APCMAs, the music festival and an international powwow competition and trade show with artisans selling traditional crafts.

Manito Ahbee is shorter, but the musical festival has expanded from three to five days and become Aboriginal Music Week, which kicks off Tuesday.

The growth of the music festival corresponds to an increase in voting for the APCMAs, whose winners are selected during two rounds of public online voting. This year 34,978 ballots were cast from around the world for artists in 27 different categories.

The awards will be handed out over three nights, but the big show is Friday, when actor Lorne Cardinal hosts the nationally televised awards show at the MTS Centre, with performances by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Digging Roots, George Canyon and Charlie Major, among others.

Bone will perform twice on the show: once with her band and once with Crystal Shawanda, singing Darling Don’t Cry in a tribute to Sainte-Maire.

Organizers hope the array of talent will encourage more non-aboriginal people to take in some of Manito Ahbee, subtitled A Festival for All Nations.

"We want people to come out and participate and learn about our culture through music, song and dance," said Derek McCorrister, APCMA manager of operations. "It’s one type of education. It’s a learning tool. This festival is a showcase of art and culture and we hope through that, people walk away learning something about our culture."

Manito Ahbee officially kicks off Wednesday with a fundraising gala at the Fairmont Hotel and runs through Sunday. Aboriginal Music Week starts Tuesday.

 

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

 

Ohshkii: Gala Evening

Wednesday, Fairmont Hotel, 6:30 p.m.

The Manito Ahbee kickoff fundraising gala includes a multi-course dinner, a silent auction, live entertainment by Vancouver rock band Bitterly Divine and the handing out of four Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards.

 

Education Conference

Wednesday to Friday, Winnipeg Convention Centre

Hundreds of grades 7-12 students will learn about aboriginal culture and heritage at various interactive sessions focused on traditional teachings, music, dance and storytelling, all united by the theme Saving Our Mother Earth.

 

Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards First Night

Thursday, McPhillips Street Station, 6:30 p.m.

An invitation-only event featuring the presentation of 11 APCMAs.

 

Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards

Friday, MTS Centre, 7 p.m.

Former Corner Gas star Lorne Cardinal returns to host the fourth annual awards show, which is broadcast live on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). Buffy Sainte-Marie, Charlie Major, George Canyon, Joey Stylez, Digging Roots, Tracy Bone, Inez, Sierra Noble and Wayne Lavallee are scheduled to perform. The event is preceded by a red carpet.

 

 

International Competition Pow Wow and Indigenous Marketplace & Tradeshow

Saturday and Sunday, MTS Centre, beginning at noon

Dance groups from across North America compete at the MTS Centre, showcasing traditional and contemporary dancing, drumming and singing. The grand entries take place at noon and 7 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday. The marketplace and tradeshow features aboriginal art, crafts, clothing, jewelry and more.

 

Métis Soirée

Saturday, St. Boniface College, 7:30 p.m.

The Métis culture is celebrated with a fiddling competition, dance, food and silent auction.

 

Tuesday

West End Cultural Centre, 7 p.m. Opening night concert. With Tracy Bone and Don Amero.

 

Wednesday

West End Cultural Centre, 6 p.m. Urban music showcase and aboriginal film screenings. Music: Wab Kinew, Sadie and isKwe. Films: Aboriginality, Ikew and Nikamowin.

 

Thursday

Portage Place, noon. Lunch hour concert by Joey Stylez.

Manitoba Music, 2 p.m. Entertainment law workshop.

Pantages Playhouse Theatre, 7 p.m. Rising Stars Concert with the Bastard Fairies, Cris Derksen, Sonia Eidse, Ghostkeeper, DJ Madeskimo and more. Hosted by Crystal Shawanda.

 

Thursday and Friday

Regal Beagle Pub, 9 p.m. All My Relations. With Tracy Bone, JC Campbell, Inez, Angus Jourdain, Don Amero, Murray Porter, Gabriel Ayala and more.

 

Friday

Portage Place, noon. Lunch hour concert by isKwe.

Manitoba Music, 2 p.m. digital music marketing workshop.

Blush Ultraclub, 9 p.m. Friday Night 49er. With Joey Stylez and Bitterly Divine.

 

Saturday

Portage Place, noon. Lunch hour concert by Quetzal Guerrero.

Manitoba Music, 2 p.m. Placing music in film and television workshop.

Martial Caron Theatre, St. Boniface College, 7 p.m. Concert with Digging Roots and Bastard Fairies.

 

For more information go to aboriginalmusicweek.ca