After a successful inaugural event in June, Salsa at Kinsmen Park returned for a second outing on Saturday afternoon.
The event, which is presented by the Margo Fournier Arts Centre, teaches attendees how to salsa dance.
Shania Cabilao, the arts and cultural programmer for the Margo Fournier Arts Centre, said that the event was popular because it appeals to a diverse group.
“People can all just come together, doesn’t matter your background, your age, ” Cabilao said. “I think it’s always just events where people can just come together and enjoy each other’s company, and also this beautiful park that we’re in, I think that’s always going to be a hit and I’m quite fortunate to be able to host this event again.”
Cabilao was initially inspired by instructors Keith Hitchings and Gil Campbell, who held similar event being held at the riverbank in Saskatoon. Cabilao thought it would be a good fit for Prince Albert and said she was lucky Hitchings said yes to hosting the event a second time.
“He’s such a trooper,” Cabilao explained. “We’re really lucky to have people like him in our community. I think when it comes to music, dancing, and community, that’s always going to be a hit.”
Cabilao said that they had great uptake on pre-registration. The afternoon started off slowly but more than a dozen people came out to participate with some joining in after Salsa in Kinsmen Park already began.
“We’ve had quite a bit of people sign up in advance this time and we’ve done a lot of marketing, and also just word of mouth too,” she explained. “There were just a lot of people that were asking, ‘when’s the next one?’ I’m just really happy that we could do it again.”
The format was similar to the first Salsa at Kinsmen Park where Hitchings gave a guided lesson of dances and dance steps beginning with the bachata. The Bachata is a social couple dance and musical genre that originated in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s.
“Then it’s just social dancing for the rest of the night until 7 p.m,” Cabilao said.
She explained that with the days getting shorter they decided to start at 4 p.m.
“We really just wanted to catch more sun time. Then by seven it’ll be a beautiful little like sunset. It really is the perfect setting and this amphitheatre is just so gorgeous. We’re so lucky to have something like this here in Prince Albert.”
Cabilao said that she was happy they could host a second event.
“I’m so grateful for Keith for coming here from Saskatoon. I’m grateful for all the people that are wanting to be a part of this again,” Cabilao said.
With summer drawing to a close and school starting on Wednesday, Cabilao said she would also use the event to talk about fall programming at the Margo Fournier Arts Centre.
“We’ve got pottery, painting, drawing. We’ve got some performing arts classes,” Cabilao said.
Cabilao said that Sept. 18 until Oct. 4 will be Culture Days in Prince Albert.
“We are offering a bunch of free classes for Culture Days too so that’s really exciting,” Cabilao said.
She added that some popular classes include pottery, which takes place in the pottery room in the basement of the centre. She said Play with Clay on the Potter’s Wheel with instructor Adrian Vermette always fills up quickly.
Another popular option is the Youth Open Studio, which runs on Thursdays from Sept. 17 until Dec. 10. The classes are divided into three sections with two sections from 5 p.m. until 5:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. until 6:30 for ages 7 to 12 and then 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. for ages 13 to 18. This program features various artists.
“We have so many great programs happening,” Cabilao said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.c
