GlobalFest

GlobalFest
Several colourful bursts at the 2003 GlobalFest fireworks competition.
Genre	Cultural festival, fireworks
Dates	August
Location(s)	Calgary
Founded	2003
Website
GlobalFest

GlobalFest is an annual cultural celebration in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The festival has been held every August since 2003, and is organized by The Calgary Fireworks Festival Society.

GlobalFest consists of different components: the OneWorld Festival (with up to 24 Cultural Pavilions, 14 ethnic food kiosks, and a 12 vendor Night Market) and the International Fireworks Festival (with up to 5 fireworks presentations from 5 international teams).

The GlobalFest Human Rights Forum presented by TD Bank Financial Group is a Calgary-based, week-long event that invites various speakers, guests, and experts to discuss pertinent issues relating to human rights and diversity. The Human Rights Forum seeks to build community dialogue by addressing various topics of racism and discrimination.

Informed by the aims of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its International Coalition of Cities Against Racism Initiative, the Human Rights Forum aims to highlight the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination’s (CCMARD) ten common commitments.

The 2010 Human Rights Forum took place from May 3 to 7 at the John Dutton Theatre within the Calgary Central Public Library.

The theme topic for the 2010 Human Rights Forum focused on Youth addressing the following commitments:

The Human Rights Forum extended its programming in 2010 to include the GlobalFest Youth Forum, an additional program that includes youth directly. The 2010 GlobalFest Youth Forum featured UNITY Charity Presenting their “Hip Hop Away From Violence” program to five high schools in Calgary from April 26 to 30.

UNITY Charity is a youth led and artist driven anti-violence group from Toronto that specializes in urban performance assemblies and artistic workshops. UNITY seeks to provide positive artistic outlets for youth to express themselves instead of expressing themselves through violence, drug use, stereotyping, bullying and other negative forms of self-expression.

The International Fireworks Festival is held at Elliston Park in Southeast Calgary and is presented by Trico Homes. Each night of the festival showcases a different nation. Participants attend by invitation of the organizers. Pyrotechnic displays take place over Elliston Park and are synchronized to music. Thus, these choreographed pyrotechnical arrangements are referred to as 'pyro-musicals'.

In 2009 the organizers introduced a variety of artistic requirements that all fireworks designers must incorporate into their designs. In past years the fireworks were presented in the style of a competition with a competitor being limited to winning two years in a row before a mandatory year-long break would be implemented. As of 2009, the pyro-musical presentations have been presented in a festival process rather than as a competition. This new process has been introduced to better meet artistic and funding criteria set forward by various backing partners as well as to help better fulfill GlobalFest's mandate of promoting cultural diversity.