Signs of success abound at first New Hamburg Live! Festival

Media release: May 22, 2009

Half-way through the first annual New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts, it is clear that this ambitious venture will be a marked success. Attendance at the first several events have exceeded expectations, with the opening Lights of Broadway Gala drawing 150, and both the ongoing Art Show and the concert by multiple Juno-winner David Francey attracting three-figure audiences.

The Festival continues through Sunday afternoon. Saturday evening brings a comic concert by Mary Lou Fallis, Peter Tiefenbach and well-known actor and raconteur Barry MacGregor (Zion United Church, New Hamburg, 8 p.m.). On Sunday, Grammy-nominee Ken Whiteley and his band are in concert with Vicki St. Marie, Charlene Nafziger, David Sapelak and the New Hamburg Live! Mass Choir at Steinmann Mennonite Church (2 p.m.).

New Hamburg Live! executive director Paul Knowles said, "We're really happy with the attendance figures, and we¹re over the moon with the quality of the performances and the art we've seen so far. Our Lights of Broadway performers were spectacular, and David Francey made himself a whole room full of new fans. We¹re confident this will be successful this year, and we've already starting booking facilities for the second annual New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts, June 2-6, 2010."

For all information about New Hamburg Live!, visit www.newhamburglive.ca.