Welcome To York Region Alive

The “Arts Alive’ festivals were established over seventeen years ago with the creation of Music Alive which was a school music festival operated by the York Region Board of Education. The intent of this festival was to celebrate the joy of sharing musical experiences, to promote reciprocal learning from peers and colleagues, and to foster the growth of students and teachers in musicality and self-esteem.  Since then well over a hundred thousand students have performed for their peers and been audited by very qualified and experienced adjudicators. It has been a highly effective experience for everyone involved.

In the millennium year Music Alive became a project of Artslink!, an initiative developed to connect schools and communities through the arts. Artslink was conceived with the intent of becoming an annual part of the arts scene in York Region. It was supported in part by the private sector, schools and other organizations. Under the aegis of Artslink, Music Alive was administered by community and school board partners, audited by community musicians and music educators, supported and attended by the community, and, perhaps most importantly, participated in by student and community musicians.

It was under Artslink that Drama Alive and Visual Arts Alive were conceived. Now administered by CAYRE (Community Alliance for York Region Education) these two younger programs have adopted similar goals and objectives to Music Alive and they have developed their own niche in the arts scene in the Region.

We are convinced that all three of these programs will continue to expand and develop as the Region grows. They are unique in terms of format, timing and objectives. They cater to a varied and diverse population and they offer an exciting and educational opportunity for arts organisations in our schools and communities.