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‘Play Surrey’ contest returns to give bands a chance to perform at city’s two big summer events

Last year’s content winners were The Faceplants and Sleepy Gonzales
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Musicians perform at Surrey’s Canada Day event. (submitted photo)

The City of Surrey has revived its Play Surrey contest for local musicians to perform at Canada Day and Fusion Festival events this summer.

The 20-day call for entries was launched Friday (May 10) and closes May 30.

Contest winners will receive a performance time slot at their event of choice – on the Maple Leaf Stage at Surrey Canada Day on July 1 or at Surrey Fusion Festival on July 20 – along with a $300 honorarium. Also, the top six finalists will each receive a Tim Hortons gift card loaded with $100.

The Play Surrey contest, first launched in 2018, has returned for a second year.

• RELATED STORY: Sleepy Gonzales sounds off as ‘Play Surrey’ contest winners, from July 2018.

Here’s how the contest works:

The City of Surrey Special Events Committee will select six finalist videos, which will be posted to the Surrey Canada Day and Fusion Festival Facebook pages. The public will then be asked to vote by “liking” their favourite entries. Two bands – one for each event – with the most votes by June 12 will be deemed contest winners.

Emailed entries must include a performance video. Complete details are posted on websites for both the Surrey Canada Day event (surrey.ca/canadaday/playsurrey) and Surrey Fusion Festival (surreyfusionfestival.ca/playsurrey).

Mary Rukavina, Manager of Special Events and Filming in Surrey, calls the Play Surrey contest “an exciting part of both Surrey Canada Day and Fusion Festival, where we encourage local talent to participate.

“Each year, we receive hundreds of applications from performers to play at our events,” Rukavina said in a release. “We have discovered so many gifted musicians and want to continue to provide a platform to connect event attendees to local performers that deserve recognition.”

Last year’s contest winners were The Faceplants (for Canada Day) and Sleepy Gonzales (Fusion Festival).

READ MORE:

Rock band Our Lady Peace to headline Surrey’s 2019 Canada Day celebration.

2Baba, Sharry Mann to headline Surrey’s summer Fusion Festival.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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