Unison Festival in Halifax postponed to 2023

November 12, 2021

In light of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on choirs across the country, Unison Choruses Canada has decided to postpone the 2022 Unison Festival to 2023.

This was a difficult but necessary decision, based on feedback from our member choruses. We surveyed member choruses last month about the 2022 festival. The survey revealed that fewer than one third of the choruses who would normally attend the festival could commit to attending in 2022. With such low participation numbers, the festival is simply not financially viable.

After considering a number of factors, we have chosen the May long weekend in 2023 as the new date for the next festival. The festival will be in Halifax still and will run from Friday, May 19 to Monday, May 22, 2023. The Women Next Door and the Halifax Gay Men’s Chorus are as keen as ever to show everyone the special warmth of Maritime hospitality. We are also pleased to share that our Halifax team was able to secure the Halifax Convention Centre for the new 2023 dates.

Postponing the festival by a year will give our member choruses time to rebuild artistically and financially, to be ready for a fantastic festival in 2023. In the meantime, Unison is reviewing options for an alternate event in 2022, to help build morale and momentum. We will have news about that event in the new year.

Waiting another year for the festival will make it all the sweeter. After the many hardships endured through the pandemic, the Unison Festival in 2023 will be a grand celebration of the power of song to lift us up and bring us together.

See you in Halifax in 2023!

Festival Fact Sheet

Message from Halifax Festival Co-Chairs (July 2020)