Huron Waves Music Festival launches in Exeter

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EXETER – With the official opening of the Huron Waves Music Festival, visitors to Exeter’s Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church will now be greeted by a large revolving balloon depicting the Earth hanging from the interior of the church.

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Called GAIA, the impressive artwork by United Kingdom artist Luke Jerram is the centrepiece of the month-long festival that embraces a theme of “Our Earth/My Responsibility.” The festival, which kicked off Thursday, June 1, continues until Monday, July 3, with concerts, an environmental-themed film, tours for students and more.

GAIA, six metres in diameter, is lit internally and consists of NASA photos of the Earth’s surface. As it revolves, it is accompanied by a soundtrack from British composer Dan Jones that includes a soundscape and voices of astronauts.

Huron Waves artistic director John Miller and board chair Paul Ciufo provided the media a sneak preview of GAIA on May 29. Ciufo noted that GAIA has toured internationally and has been in Ottawa and in Canada’s west, and the festival is proud to bring it to a small community. Ciufo said GAIA will be seen by thousands of visitors over the next month, including more than 1,500 students from the region who will be touring the exhibit with their schools.

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He said looking at the Earth as it is depicted in GAIA shows how interconnected we all are, and those who see it notice the beauty of the Earth.

“We think it has a chance to be really inspiring,” Ciufo said of the exhibit.

Miller described it as “moving” for him to view GAIA. He has previous experience with Jerram’s work when a similar project representing the Earth’s moon was shown on Tom Patterson Island in Stratford in 2018.

Those who see GAIA will also have the chance to see the environmental-based film Curb Your Carbon.

As well, there will be activities on Baldwin Street for students.

On the Saturdays – June 3, June 10 and June 24 – from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., an outdoor information village on Baldwin Street called What’s Now will consist of displays by environmental organizations.

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The music being presented at Huron Waves fits in with the environmental theme, starting with Water: An Environmental Oratorio on Sunday, June 4, a piece co-written by Ciufo and Toronto-based composer Stephanie Martin.

Additional concerts at Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church include Jazz of the Great Lakes from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 8; Considering Matthew Shepard on Wednesday, June 14, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; and Endless Dusk: An Arctic Sound Experience on Wednesday, June 28, and Thursday, June 29, from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Additionally, there will be An Evening with Tomson Highway, recognizing Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day with actor Graham Greene on Wednesday, June 21, at Dark Horse Estate Winery from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Eddington’s of Exeter will host A June Strawberry Social on Saturday, June 24, from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Ticket information is available at huronwaves.ca/GAIA. Admission to GAIA for students is free, thanks to the Rotary Club of Grand Bend, Miller said. As well, the Rotary Club of Goderich is helping the schools with transportation costs.