BY
The Host Society

2023 Canada Games Announces Full Festival Lineup and Schedule

BY
The Host Society

2023 Canada Games Announces Full Festival Lineup and Schedule

Charlottetown, PE (January 30, 2023) — With less than a month to go until the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games, the Host Society is thrilled to reveal the full IllumiNATION Festival lineup and programming schedule from February 19 - March 4 at Port Charlottetown and various partner venues across the province.

Featuring over 100 artists, over 40 shows and more than 20 different stages for 14 days of unforgettable fun and creative discoveries, IllumiNATION has something for everyone. For two weeks, the province will be aglow with music, culinary, visual art, and interactive exhibits, shining a light on the diverse and thriving arts scene and cultures in Prince Edward Island and Canada. Celebrations will take place across the Island with every event open to the public and free to attend.  

Festival-goers can review the full Festival lineup and site map here.

IllumiNATION Festival at a Glance

Main Festival Grounds at Port Charlottetown

Join the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games on the waterfront and get cozy with some action-packed winter fun. There will be something for everyone with family-friendly winter activities, including an outdoor skating rink and food pavilion at Founders’ Food Hall & Market, art installations, light displays, and partner activations complete with sugar shacks, food demos, and ice sculptures.

Mainstage Concert Series

Get ready to rock the night away with some of Canada’s most talented artists. Featuring artists from across the country, this exciting line-up includes Juno, CCMA and ECMA award winners:

  • Ashley MacIsaac – February 19
  • Tom Jackson – February 20
  • The Beaches – February 23
  • Serena Ryder – February 24
  • The Road Hammers - February 26
  • Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire - February 27
  • Matt Andersen & The Big Bottle of Joy – March 2
  • Classified – March 3
  • And many more!

Share in the excitement of the Games with two festival evenings at Credit Union Place in Summerside presented by Spring Valley Building Centre:

  • The Trews, Kellie Loder, Sechile Sedare, Andrew Waite, Michel Lalonde, Soul Filter, Lawrence Maxwell, Les Fireflies, and more!  – February 25
  • DeeDee Austin, Trinity Bradshaw, Nathan Wiley, Cory Gallant & The Red Dirt Posse, Logan Richard, Peggy Clinton & Johnny Ross, Louise Arsenault & Johnny Ray Arsenault and more! – March 4

Dairy Farmers of PEI Community Stage – Founders’ Food Hall & Market

A showcase of local homegrown talent, experience PEI’s finest musicians and entertainers through daily programming. Artists include Émilie Landry, Scott MacKay, The Irish Scots!, Mat Hannah, DJ Bones, Inn Echo and more.

Confederation Centre of the Arts presents IllumiNATION

The PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games is pleased to partner with the Confederation Centre of the Arts to produce a series of free live shows as part of the IllumiNATION Festival.

Live at the Sobey Family Theatre

  • Searching for Abegweit - The Island Songs And Stories of Lennie Gallant - February 21
  • Alicia Toner and Music PEI present Northern Lights: Reimagining the Canadian Songbook, with supporting act Singing Strings - February 22
  • Joel Plaskett Emergency present Ashtray Rock - February 28
  • Samqwan with supporting act 24 Strong - March 1

Live at The Mack

  • Scott Parsons presents: The Story of PEI's Black Athletes through Stories and Song - February 23
  • Janet McGarry & Friends - February 24
  • Jack Pine Folk Club - February 25
  • Free tickets can be reserved online or at the Centre’s Box Office.

Partnered Community Cultural Events

In partnership with Music PEI, this town is small, and multiple cultural venues, we’re bringing IllumiNATION to you. Mark your calendars and experience an intimate concert and event series showcasing local and provincial talent in rural theatres and venues across PEI, including Kensington, Elmsdale, Borden-Carleton, Evangeline Region, Cornwall, Stratford, Hunter River, Morell, Three Rivers, Georgetown, Souris, and St. Peters.

Quotes

“Next February, Prince Edward Island will be the place to be! We will all be cheering on our young athletes competing at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. Visitors will also get a chance to learn more about PEI’s arts and culture through exhibits all over the island. We look forward to the upcoming 2023 Canada Winter Games, which are not only a venue where our athletes can compete and fraternize, but also an event that brings us all together to celebrate their performance and our common heritage as Canadians.”

  • The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec

"The IllumiNATION festival is an incredible way to celebrate one month to go until the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games. With quintessential Canadian winter activities like outdoor family skates, sights and sounds from award-winning musical performers like the Trews, and other family-friendly events held across our province, people of all ages will have the opportunity to discover what makes Prince Edward Island such an incredible vibrant province."

  • Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island

“The Canada Games are a national celebration of Canadian sport and spirit. While the next generation of athletes are sparking greatness on the field of play, the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games will warm the hearts of Canadians from far and wide through its powerful and inclusive festival program, celebrating Canada’s diverse arts and culture scene with that renowned Islander hospitality. We cannot wait to feel the heartbeat of the nation on Prince Edward Island in just 23days and invite you to join us on the journey to the Games.”

  • Evan Johnston, Chair, Canada Games Council

“The 2023 Canada Winter Games are not only a great opportunity to cheer on our amazing athletes, but to share PEI and Canadian arts and culture with every corner of the country. Join us at IllumiNATION Festival as we light up PEI and welcome the nation to our amazing Island for what will be an extraordinary 14-days of live music, dance, art exhibits, and elements of PEI, Canada’s Food Island!”

  • Jill O’Halloran, Volunteer Lead, Festivals & Ceremonies

“Culture and Sport have so much in common – we share the magic of bringing people together to celebrate human potential, outstanding talent, and the strength of the human spirit. All of us at Confederation Centre of the Arts are grateful to the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games athletes and organizers for bringing the magic to Prince Edward Island, where sport and culture are so strong. We’re honoured to be a partner in the Games and looking forward to the celebration!”

  • Steve Bellamy, CEO, Confederation Centre of the Arts

"Music PEI is grateful for the Canada Winter Games partnership to create these opportunities for PEI artists. We are excited to present an amazing lineup of all women and gender-diverse musicians directed by Alicia Toner. These will be shows you won’t want to miss."  

  • Rob Oakie, Executive Director, Music PEI
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