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Chalk art by kids during Aboriginal Music Week 2015 | Photo by Phil Starr

Aboriginal Music Week 2016 set for August 9 - 13

By Alan Greyeyes | November 10, 2015

Tags: Aboriginal Music Week 2016 | Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre | North Point Douglas Women’s Centre | the Picnic in the Park organizing committee | the Spence Neighbourhood Association

Aboriginal Music Manitoba (AMM) is excited to announce that it's moving the Aboriginal Music Week festival up a week in 2016 and the dates will be August 9 - 13. The move will give the festival the ability to book more of the touring artists who make their way east from BC on the festival circuit each summer.

"The third week in August served us well for the past couple years," explains AMM chairperson Alan Greyeyes. "But there's always been a week in between our festival and a number of others in western Canada, which has made it challenging for touring artists to fit Aboriginal Music Week into their plans. I think the move will give us more opportunities to collaborate with other presenters along with the ability to introduce Aboriginal families to even more artists from Canada and overseas."

Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, the Spence Neighbourhood Association, the Picnic in the Park organizing committee, and the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre have confirmed their commitments to the new Aboriginal Music Week dates, which means that the festival will definitely include the Turtle Island Block Part, the Spence Neighbourhood Block Party, the AMW Stage at Austin Street Festival, and the AMW Stage at Picnic in the Park. The organization has also confirmed a fifth partner and the details for this new community celebration will be announced in the new year.

Along with the five community celebrations, AMM plans to produce a free lunch hour concert series, two networking events for Aboriginal artists and industry, an open mic, and a closing night party for Aboriginal Music Week 2016. 

Aboriginal Music Week was launched in 2009 to develop Aboriginal youth as an audience for live music. The festival presents between 25 and 35 First Nation, Métis, Inuit, Native American, and Indigenous music acts each year. It is held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and is produced by AMM.

AMM is currently accepting submissions from First Nation, Inuit, Métis, Native American, and Indigenous recording artists for performance spots at Aboriginal Music Week 2016. The submission deadline is December 10, 2015 and all details are available on the aboriginalmusicweek.ca website.

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