Local Entertainment

Royals perform at Centrium

The gold-medal-winning Red Deer Royals will be among six Western Canadian marching showbands performing on Saturday, May 5, in Red Deer. The 18th annual Marching Showband Classic (formerly Festival of Champions) will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Centrium. READ

About 170 bands to perform at festival

About 170 bands from across Alberta — as well as a few from British Columbia and Saskatchewan — will perform at a Provincial Festival of Bands in Red Deer this month. The festival sponsored by the Alberta Bands Association runs May 13 to 16 and 21 to 24 at the Red Deer College Arts Centre. READ

Prairie songwriter on stage here

Country music will be performed in the tradition of Merle Travis, Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie in downtown Red Deer on Friday. Prairie songwriter Stephen Palmer returns to play acoustic roots music at a coffeehouse concert at The Hub on Ross. Palmer has been performing a unique mix of original and traditional tunes, including ragtime, gospel, blues and folk since the 1960s. READ

Distinguished artists at Red Deer gala

Past recipients John Murrell and Denise Clarke will co-host the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards Gala in Red Deer on June 15. The provincial awards, presented by the Honourable Donald S. Ethell, Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor, will honour two artists who have made impressive contributions to Alberta’s arts and culture scene. The winners will be named in the coming weeks. READ

Pianist gets thumbs-up for performance

Even with just nine fully functional fingers, pianist Mayron Tsong was a marvel to watch and listen to at Saturday’s Eroica concert with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra. READ

Rock and Roll Reunion

Oh, to be a long-haired rocker touring Alberta in the early 1970s — for Red Deer musician Lorne Hallet it meant “living a little bit of the dream.” READ

Bremnes to perform inspirational songs at Living Stones Church

Christian singer David Bremnes will perform inspirational songs and also plug the children’s charity Compassion Canada when he stops this month in Red Deer. READ

Elvis impersonator bringing show to Red Deer

An Elvis Presley impersonator who’s been called “the reincarnation of Elvis” is bringing his Las Vegas-styled stage show to Red Deer on Friday. READ

From the zoo to The Hideout

When it comes to the singing partnership of Emma-Lee and Peter Katz, the otters at the Toronto Zoo just might be onto something. In a music video that was surreptitiously filmed in front of the otter tank, the frolicking mammals are seemingly grooving underwater to Katz and Emma-Lee’s cover of Tina Turner’s What’s Love Got to Do With It. READ

Tickets available for awards gala

Tickets are available for the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards Gala. READ

Bull Skit performs Friday, Saturday

Bull Skit returns to the stage for performances on Friday and Saturday. The improvisation and sketch comedy troupe shows take place in the Scott Block located downtown at 4816-50 Ave. The performers have 11 new sketches lined up including new installments of audience favourites Hutterite Mafia, Bar Story, Manhood Diaries and Angry Newsmen. READ

Three plays debut on Saturday

Works by three new local playwrights will be performed at Red Deer College on Saturday. Brave New Plays features readings in the Arts Centre’s Studio C starting at 7:30 p.m. The plays come from Scripts At Work, a decade-old playwriting series where dramaturgs and directors mentor playwrights following a juried competition, playwright circles and workshops. The program is funded by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Theatre Society and Red Deer College. READ