Olympic Plaza hosts free musical spectacle ‘Squonk: Hand to Hand’
A travelling troupe of musical performers has been putting on quite the show for Calgarians.
Presented by Arts Commons, the Pittsburgh-based group Squonk has already hosted multiple shows at Olympic Plaza on Monday and Tuesday, and have their final set of performances on Wednesday at 12 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The show, called Hand to Hand, features two gigantic air-filled hands that are remarkably life-like.
There is no spoken word, but the artistic hands are accompanied by music.
Squonk co-artistic director Jackie Dempsey, who also co-founded the group, says the show was developed about five years ago during a time of turmoil in the United States.
"The giant hands make you feel like you can really do something," she said. "It's fun to play with the scale of the giant hands and the small person, and so how do you make a difference in a world of so many people? I think you can. Each person can make a difference."
The group has been performing for 30 years all over North America, Europe and Asia. It started out as Squonk Opera because Dempsey says the members were looking for a fun word to go with opera. Now they're just Squonk.
"It's large scale, music, spectacle, all original," she said. "I tell people to always come with an open mind, don't worry about what it means, just come have your own interpretation and just be ready to have a good time."
Steve O'Hearn is the other co-artistic director and co-founder of Squonk. He says he enjoys performing in front of a crowd at an outdoor venue because he says you see all kinds of people, of all ages.
"We get older people, we get young families, we get kids, we get teens," said O'Hearn. "It's really mixed, and that's part of the joy of it – it doesn't fit in any kind of generational archetype of the arts, it's very open and we love that."
The group strives to have their performances offered for free everywhere they go, because O'Hearn says a wide variety of people are able to enjoy the show from all demographics.
"It's really important for people to come and see things together," he said. "That starts to break boundaries that eventually discourse and logical argument aren't breaking, so people recognize that we're all humans here."
Joshua Dalledonne is the associate director of social impact at Arts Commons and says Squonk was in Calgary 15 years ago as part of the Children's Festival. He says he is glad to have the performers back.
"Calgarians deserve world-class work and we're here to serve that," said Dalledonne. "The fact that it's free is meant to make sure that it's accessible to as many people as possible, this is undecorated so it's come as you are, there are three shows a day at 12, four and seven so we hope Calgarians will will come join us, it's a special thing."
Dempsey says there is an interactive component to the show where the audience gets to operate the giant hands and it always makes her smile to see the wonder in the eyes of the participants.
"People don't have to buy a ticket to come, they don't have to know who Squonk is, they don't have to know what we do, they just kind of see it from afar," she said. "Hopefully it draws them in just to have a good time and to have all the different generations together, no matter what your background is politics, religion, whatever."
Learn more about Squonk here: www.artscommons.ca/whats-on/squonk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.