RightsFest to mark opening of human rights museum

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This article was published 23/07/2014 (3576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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A free, two-hour outdoor concert tops the list of activities when the Canadian Museum for Human Rights open its doors in September.

The national museum, which is scheduled to open to the public on Sept. 20, announced its plans for the long-awaited grand opening at a press conference this morning.

A two-day event dubbed RightsFest will mark the occasion and will see a two-hour concert at The Forks outdoor stage Saturday evening.

Performers booked for the Canadian Concert for Human Rights include Canadian folk legend Bruce Cockburn, renowned First Nations electronic group A Tribe Called Red, award-winning artists Marie-Pierre Arthur and Shad, along with East Coast fiddler Ashley MacIsaac and internationally recognized singer-songwriter/social activist Buffy Sainte-Marie.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival, an organization that is no stranger to putting on events of similar magnitude, booked the performers for the CMHR show.

The concert will be broadcast live on Rogers stations (OMNI and CITY) and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). The networks will also broadcast the 90-minute CMHR opening ceremony on Sept. 19 at 10:30 a.m.

Twenty-five performances and activities around The Forks and museum will also take place during Sept. 20 and 21. The museum will offer free “sneak peek” guided tours of the CMHR during the weekend, as well.

“RightsFest will have something for everyone,” CMHR president and CEO Stuart Murray said Thursday. “From skateboarding to dance, from daytime children’s programming to an open-air evening concert, RightsFest will appeal to people of every background and every age.”

More announcements on RightsFest programming are expected later this summer.