Harbourfront Centre to Kick Off SHIELD TO SHORE Festival This Weekend

Harbourfront Centre is excited to present the inaugural Shield To Shore Festival, showcasing the cultural riches of the St. Lawrence River corridor, from Ontario to Atlantic Canada, July 22-24.

From Indigenous communities to the French voyageurs seeking modern trade routes, the St. Lawrence River has long been an important connecting force in Eastern Canada and a gateway to the rest of Canada. Shield to Shore follows St. Lawrence River from Upper Canada to the Maritimes, showcasing contemporary music, storytelling and comedy from this celebrated region. All events, with the exception of East Coast Comedy Revue, are free for everyone!

Friday, July 22, 6-11pm
Known for charismatic live performances and contagious energy, Mélanie Brulée, winner of the 2015 Folk Music Ontario Stingray Songs from the Heart Award, will kick-off the three-day festival with her unique style of franco-folk-rock on the Stage in the Round. Next up, over on the Concert Stage, Les Deuxluxes (Anna Frances Meyer and Étienne Barry) from Montréal will shake the shore with their powerful vocals, primal rhythms and two raging guitars. The Brigantine Room will host the East Coast Comedy Revue featuring the outrageously funny Nikki Payne, comedy writer Tim Steeves, and Haligonian Merv Hartlen, hosted by the proud yet self-deprecating Newfoundlander, Ryan Dillon. Indie pop darlings The Elwins close out the night with a party on the Concert Stage with their infectious tunes and nice-guy charm!

Saturday, July 23, Noon-11pm
The day starts with fun and games for the whole family including life-sizEd Checkers, chess, dominoes on the South Lawn Tent and miniPONG in the North Orchard. Join an Acadian Step Dancing demo with fiddles, and music-making with musician, teacher and banjo-maker, The Fantastic Mr. Frost!, both in the Boulevard Tent. From the Afro-Nova Scotian community, contemporary blues poet Amani, singer and actor Shelley Hamilton and musician/singer/actor Jeremiah Sparks come together for Scotian Groove, a down home kitchen party with jazz, gospel, spoken word, and rhythm and blues in the Boulevard Tent. Stirring up the Stage in the Round, Vishtèn, Prince Edward Island's fiery Acadian band, showcase the spirit and connection of music from Canada's smallest province.

The evening begins with an East-meets-West collaboration between virtuoso blues trio The Paul DesLauriers Band and internationally renowned Sitar maestro, Anwar Khurshid on the Stage in the Round. Opening the Concert Stage on Saturday night is Prince Edward Island's Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys known for their flair, fancy footwork and unpredictable stage presence! Following a set from DJ Blush (Brittney Townson), one of Canada's great folk-rock bands, Great Lake Swimmers will close the night with their dynamic sound of razor sharp violins, flourishing banjo and guitars, and surging rhythm section.

Sunday, July 24, Noon-6pm
After a game of snakes and ladders, a round of miniPONG, and making instruments with the Fantastic Mr. Frost!, Mohawk, Turtle clan singer/songwriter/storyteller Logan Staats lights up the Stage in the Round with his mellow yet soaring folk-rock tunes. Closing out the Festival on the Stage in the Round are the Wolfe Island Revellers, performing reels, jigs and songs of immigration and life along the rocky shores from the St. Lawrence River and Thousand Islands.

Throughout the entire festival, the World Café will be turning out delicious food inspired by Shield to Shore, while the Lakeview Market will be bursting at the seams with vendors from all over the city.

And everyday at Harbourfront Centre, Boxcar Social offers a curated, rotating list of coffees from the best roasters in North America, and a careful selection of some of the world's top new-world wines, craft beers, scotches and bourbons. The Slip, voted one of Toronto's best new patios, offers all-day sun, a breeze off the lake, cocktail pitchers and fresh cuisine.

In addition to Shield to Shore, Harbourfront Centre's exciting Summer Festivals include the upcoming:
Island Soul, July 29 - August 1
Beats, Breaks & Culture: The Bridge, August 5-7
Habari Africa Festival, co-produced by Batuki Music Society, August 12-14
Hot & Spicy Food Festival, August 19-21
TAIWANfest: A Cultural Tango with Hong Kong, co-produced by Asian Canadian Special Events Association, August 26-28

Harbourfront Centre is a Canadian charity operating 10 prime acres of Toronto's central waterfront as a free and open public site. It celebrates the multiplicities of cultures that comprise Canada and enlivens the city through the creative imaginations of artists from across the country and around the globe.

IF YOU GO:

Harbourfront Centre presents
SHIELD TO SHORE
Sounds of the St. Lawrence
Harbourfront Centre - 235 Queens Quay West
Friday, July 22 - Sunday, July 24, 2016
Admission to Shield to Shore is Free with the exception of East Coast Comedy Revue
Mélanie Brulée, July 22
Les Deuxluxes, July 22
East Coast Comedy Revue, July 22-Tickets $20-$30, Purchase HERE*
*This is a licensed event with mature content
The Elwins, July 22
miniPONG, July 23 & 24
Acadian Step Dancing, July 23
The Fantastic Mr. Frost!, July 23 & 24
Scotian Groove, July 23
Vishtèn, July 23
The Paul DesLauriers Band with Anwar Khurshid, July 23
Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys, July 23
Great Lake Swimmers, July 23
Logan Staats, July 24
Wolfe Island Revellers, July 24

For more information visit harbourfrontcentre.com/shieldtoshore.