Elementary school students celebrate 20 years of PAF at Palais Montcalm
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
The Central Québec School Board (CQSB) is celebrating an impressive milestone this year: the 20th anniversary of the Performing Arts Festival, better known as PAF. Over the years, the festival has grown from drama festivals in different schools to a major annual event for 18 schools, featuring an array of workshops and student performances, with separate divisions for elementary and high schools.
On April 9, about 250 elementary school students from across the province assembled at the Palais Montcalm for a day of artistic workshops and a climactic PAF show. “We are very proud of our school board. We have staff, students, parents and supporters here. The message I want to share with the students is that I hope they are having fun and that they are making friends with students from our schools in different cities,” said the recently named chairperson of the CQSB council of commissioners, Jean Robert. “It is something special for me to be standing here today, because when I was a student at St. Stephen’s Elementary School, I once performed on this very stage. We had a concert at the Palais Montcalm. Mind you, it was not as nice as we see it today. It is a funny full circle.” That concert was decades before the first PAF, highlighting the importance of art in education in the English-speaking community.
Robert was not the only nostalgic person at the 20th edition. Over the years, past participants have returned as teachers, workshop leaders and parents of current participants. The shared stories and the strong desire of the students to participate each year have helped the festival grow in popularity. Certain workshops like photography were fully booked. Other workshops included dance, animation, manga, wax art, DJ skills, singing and improvisation.
“The students really do love PAF. Once it is over and when the new school year starts, they ask their teachers if they are going to PAF this year. They start thinking about their acts and preparing them,” said CQSB arts education consultant Bronwen Hughes. “It really is varied. Students put on musical shows, plays, dances, singing …”
Once again, the students’ hard work, creativity and talent amazed the audience. The show opened with Holland Elementary School students giving a rocking performance of 1970s hits: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver, “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, “YMCA” by The Village People, and “We Will Rock You” by Queen. The drums were amazing for the last song.
From that point on, it was just one great performance after another. Portneuf Elementary School gave “The Greatest Show” with their interpretation of the hit song from the musical The Greatest Showman. A few acts later, Ste-Foy Elementary School thought outside the box by presenting a cinematic production they made at their school. Everest Elementary School gave an outstanding première performance with a cheerleading act. Ste-Foy Elementary School closed the show with incredible dance moves to millennial hits. They danced to “Step By Step” by New Kids On The Block, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” by the Backstreet Boys, “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction, “Dynamite” by BTS, and “Bye Bye Bye” by N’Sync, made popular again by the 2018 movie Deadpool 2 nearly 20 years after its original release.
This year, for the first time, the PAF high school division is going on the road — to Jonquière. On April 16, workshops for high school participants will be held at Riverside Regional High School. The next day, students will perform at the Palace Theatre in Arvida.
Students, parents and community members can follow the 20th PAF by listening to the podcast Voices of PAF! online at cqsbperformingartsfestival.com.