Neighbourhood Dance Works (NDW) assumes an essential leadership role in the advancement of the professional milieu in our country’s most easterly province. We are the front-runner for board-based artistic programming in dance in this province, which informs our connections to artistic allies within Atlantic Canada and peers across the country. We represent the professional sector, alongside the dance service organization (DanceNL), by liaising with regional and national artists, stakeholders and presenters who contribute to NDW’s growth and resilience.

Co-Founded in 1981 by Cathy Ferri and Agnes Walsh as a performance collective, Neighbourhood Dance Works began by creating innovative dance works for stage. It later shifted its focus to presentation, introducing the first Festival of New Dance in 1990, curated by Ann Anderson. Under her direction, and subsequently that of Lois Brown, Anne Troake, Sarah Joy Stoker and now a community-based committee, the festival continues to grow each year.

Neighbourhood Dance Works’ ongoing support and development of Newfoundland choreographers and dancers has advanced the careers of many Newfoundland dance artists and has made the Festival of New Dance a major cultural highlight of the St. John’s performance season.

For more information, about NDW programs please visit: www.neighbourhooddanceworks.com

Photo Credit (Louise Moyes)

The Town of Irishtown-Summerside held its first annual So Long to Summer Festival in 2022. There were live bands over a period of three days. There was a mixture of games, BBQ and events throughout the labour day long weekend. Festivities opened with Big Talk Same followed by Fine Lads on Friday night, Peter Jacobs and Jesse Hackett band on Saturday night, and Diva Dolls and The Mixed Tapes to close out the festival on Sunday evening. This was the start of our Labour Day Weekend annual festival. Our team is excited to see what the coming years will bring to our community.

The Stephenville Theatre Festival has become a cornerstone among professional theatre companies in Newfoundland and Labrador providing employment for artists, technicians, designers, along with training and hands-on experience for numerous individuals, many of whom are now counted among Canada’s top professional artists. Stephenville Theatre Festival has enriched the economic and cultural fabric of the Town of Stephenville and has become a major draw for tourism.

Writers at Woody Point literary festival in Woody Point, Bonne Bay, Newfoundland had its inaugural season in 2004. The festival is organized and presented by Friends of Writers at Woody Point and, each year, has played to sold-out audiences. This August, as in the past, the event will be hosted by CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers, host of “The Next Chapter” a show about Canadian writing and writers.

The lovely and historic western Newfoundland village of Woody Point, on the south shore of Bonne Bay, is surrounded by the breathtaking landscape of Gros Morne National Park. Writers, artists and scientists are drawn here from around the world. Home-grown talent runs deep, too – in art, craft, music and award-winning architectural restoration. In the heart of the community stands the Woody Point Heritage Theatre, built in 1908. Owners Charlie and Joan Payne have carefully restored and renewed this cherished village feature, which has been the lively home of community dances, suppers, meetings, plays and concerts over the years.

Now this unique part of the cultural heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador also provides the stage and setting for the annual Writers at Woody Point events. Firmly rooted in Newfoundland literature, which is itself wildly acclaimed across Canada and internationally, the festival attracts both writers from abroad and those nurtured here at home. They come to Woody Point to read their work to hospitable audiences of villagers and visitors – sell-out crowds, in fact. Here the authors can also connect with other writers over dinner and drinks or on a hike into the pristine hills. And they can soak up the area’s own creative talent at exhibits of art and crafts, musical performances and impromptu after-hours celebrations that combine jam sessions, dancing and lots of laughter.