Julie Drew

Julie Drew uses art as a form of communication. Her art is a medium by which she can portray how the wonderous beauty of the world speaks to her. Her distinct expression uses watercolour, acrylic, and mixed media to capture the essence of a moment. She creates paintings that elicit a sense of peace, mystery, and even wonder with her expert knowledge in creating depth and illustrating the nuances of color, light, and shadow.

Her passion for art led to a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, USA in 1987. Julie has been painting for over 40 years. In 1997, Julie moved with her family to Edmonton, Alberta.

Instagram: @shedrewit_artandfaith
Facebook: Julie Drew, artist
Website: juliedrew-artandfaith.com

Jared Quinney

My name is Jared Quinney, I am an artist of many talents. My family is from a reserve in Alberta, and it took some time to build my passion for art. I've been attending Nina for the last 8-9 years.

Facebook: Jared Quinney

Locarno

Friday • 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Locarno, the Latin project of JUNO-award-winning musician Tom Landa, is a unique blend of Mexican and Canadian musical influences. Born and raised in Mexico City, Landa immigrated to Canada as a teenager. In the mid-90s, he formed the folk-roots band The Paperboys, which has toured internationally for over two decades. Landa's passion for Latin music led him to immerse himself in the genre in 2005. A Canada Council grant enabled him to study traditional Mexican music in Veracruz, Mexico where he mastered the 8-string guitar jarana with the Son Jarocho repertoire. Upon returning to Canada, he founded Locarno. Over the years, Locarno has evolved, incorporating diverse musical styles such as Colombian, African, and Brazilian influences. The band's current lineup features Tom Landa on vocals, jarana, guitar, leona, and guiro; Kalissa Landa on vocals and violin; Robin Layne on marimba, congas, and timbales; Pedro Mota on guitar and vocals; JeanSe Le Doujet on bass; Liam MacDonald on drums, congas, and pandero; Jocelyn Waugh on trumpet; and Nick La Riviere on trombone.

Facebook: Locarnomusic
Instagram: @locarnomusic
Youtube: Locarno Concert Trailer

The Pluckin' Holler Boys

Saturday • 10:00 am – 11:45 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

The Pluckin' Holler Boys are a bunch of fun lovin', good timin', harmony singin' guys. With a love for bluegrass and traditional country music they enjoy entertaining audiences young and old alike. The band has been together for over fifteen years and is made up of: Matt Grier (guitar/vocals), Keith Rempel (bass/vocals), Elliot Thomas (banjo/fiddle/vocals), and Brennan Cameron (mandolin/vocals).

Facebook: pluckinhollerboys
Instagram: @thepluckinhollerboys

Dim Sum Dance Society

Saturday • 12:00 pm – 12:20 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Dim Sum is a traditional Chinese meal centering around sharing and a joyful social experience. The values that make this sharing of a meal a staple in Chinese culture, is also embodied by the Dim Sum Dance Society team. As a group they aim to share their experience and love for the art of dance, specifically Chinese cultural dancing with both each other and the community. The Dim Sum Dance Society is currently recruiting new dancers for the 2026/2027 performance season. They are looking for any level of dancer and anyone interested in choreographing their own dances in high school or older.

Instagram: @silk_dumplings and @dimsumdancesociety

Viva Dance Company

Saturday • 12:50 pm – 1:00 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Viva Dance Company will showcase a collection of energetic and vibrant contemporary dances. Our style of dance art is accessible to those who are not dance connoisseurs. It is athletic and entertaining while also showcasing strong technique, beautiful partnering, and highly emotive storytelling.

Through the language of contemporary dance, we will present excerpts from our award winning fringe show: It's Just You & Me. The show explores reinvention of self and how our identities can simultaneously be authentic and ever-changing.

Instagram: viva_dance_company
Website: vivadancecompany.com

ETOWN SALSA

Saturday • 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Alejandro was born in Santiago, Chile, and was raised in Canada as a first generation Chilean-Canadian. His parents instilled in him much of their latin roots which included music, language, traditional culture and DANCE! So as young as 8 yrs of age, he started performing folkloric dances traditional to Chile. As soon as Alex entered adulthood, he frequented the one latin nightclub to go dancing to his favorite latin music. He soon fell in love with SALSA and since 2003, he has made his presence known through this website and to world audiences. He has performed at the largest congresses in the world including Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, San Francisco as well as other international congresses such as Vancouver and Calgary. As a dance team director, he has managed a different team each of the past 3 years and successfully travelled abroad with these groups to escalate their knowledge of salsa. Teaching primarily Salsa for the past 10 years, he is one of only a hand full of EDMONTON instructors teaching salsa with his skill and experience. He also speaks fluent English and Spanish and is married to his beautiful Colombian wife Ana who now assists in teaching classes at their new dance studio.

Website: etownsalsa.com
Facebook: Etown Salsero
Instagran: @etown.salsa.studio

Edmonton School of Ballet

Saturday • 1:30 pm – 1:45 pm | Main Stage (93 St & 118 Ave)

Edmonton School of Ballet...where performance becomes an art! The Edmonton School of Ballet has been providing excellence in Dance Training for 60 years. Our highly qualified and experienced instructors teach classes in ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, acro, hip hop, and flamenco. We have seen seen many of its students graduate to successful professional careers and become highly qualified teachers. We are dance educators and care about the safe and meaning training our dancers receive.

YouTube: Edmonton School of Ballet/Vimy Dance
Facebook: Edmonton School of Ballet
Instagram: @esbdance