Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals – Speech Arts — A Speech Arts Division in Six Classes: Drama, Shakespeare, Poetry, Prose, Public Speaking and Storytelling

Speech & Drama · Canada

A brand-new 2026 division at one of Canada’s largest music festivals (6,000+ participants): all 6 real Solo class families (Drama, Shakespeare, Poetry, Prose, Public Speaking, Storytelling) across 5 real age bands, every one sharing the identical real CAD 55 fee and 5-minute time limit, built from VKMF’s own official 2026 syllabus.

A ready-made solo speech programme with six classes across five age bands, from 10 and under to Open, every class on the same five-minute limit.

This template models the Speech Arts division of a large music festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The division is new for 2026: the festival announced it as an addition as a new division, and the source describes the festival as drawing more than 6,000 participants the year before. Every entrant performs alone in front of an adjudicator. Dates, fees and class numbers change every year, so check the current syllabus before reusing any of them.

Six classes are modelled, all solo and all open to boys and girls in English: Drama, Shakespeare, Poetry, Prose, Public Speaking and Storytelling. Drama and Shakespeare are acted pieces, Poetry and Prose are spoken interpretations of written text, Public Speaking is an original talk, and Storytelling is a told tale. Each class is offered at every age band, which gives 30 real classes in total.

Entrants are grouped into five bands: 10 and under, 11 to 13 (Junior), Intermediate (14 to 17), Senior (18 to 22) and Open. The festival writes its ceilings cumulatively, as “17 years and under” for example, while eTalenter needs each person to fall into exactly one band, so the bands here use each ceiling as the upper edge and start where the previous band ends. The real Open class is for diploma-level competitors, anyone over 18 and previous division winners; here it is modelled as 23 and over so it does not overlap the Senior band, and you can widen it to match your own rule.

The festival publishes one flat entry fee and one five-minute limit for every class, and its adjudicators place entrants and give spoken or written feedback rather than awarding a fixed points table. Each class is therefore scored on a nominal 10, entry fees are installed as zero for each organiser to set, and no ranks are installed. Two source rules are not modelled: a separate Excellence Recital showcase, and a cap on how many solo classes one person may enter. If you run a similar festival, tell entrants in advance what your adjudicator will weigh, such as diction, expression, memory and stage presence, and set your own entry cap in your registration rules.

Where this event comes from

Competitive festivals that pair music with speech and drama belong to the competitive festival tradition that spread from the British Isles across the Commonwealth. This Speech Arts division is a 2026 addition to a Canadian music festival.

Where this event is run

Solo speech and drama classes judged by a single adjudicator, with age bands and a strict time limit, are a standard part of festivals across Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Local arts councils, drama teachers and schools run smaller versions of the same shape: a ladder of age bands, one time limit per class, and a mix of acted, recited and original-speech classes so that every speaker has a place to enter.

• Canada (British Columbia)

Key facts

• Six solo classes: Drama, Shakespeare, Poetry, Prose, Public Speaking and Storytelling
• Five age bands: 10 and under, 11 to 13 (Junior), Intermediate 14 to 17, Senior 18 to 22 and Open, giving 30 real classes
• Every class runs to the same five-minute limit, counted per performer
• All classes are individual, in English and open to boys and girls
• Adjudicated with placings and feedback; scored here on a nominal 10, with fees installed as zero and no ranks
• The source also publishes an Excellence Recital and a cap on solo classes per person; neither is modelled

Age groups

5

Competition items

6

Competitions

30

Grade bands

0

Rank awards

0

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

10 and under

4From

–

10To

Candidates aged 4 to 10 compete in this group

11-13 (Junior)

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Intermediate

14From

–

17To

Candidates aged 14 to 17 compete in this group

Senior

18From

–

22To

Candidates aged 18 to 22 compete in this group

Open

23From

–

120To

Candidates aged 23 to 120 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Drama

ActionMarks

Shakespeare

ActionMarks

Poetry

LiteraryMarks

Prose

LiteraryMarks

Public Speaking

LiteraryMarks

Storytelling

LiteraryMarks

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.

Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?

No. Installing a template does the setup work for you; you only need to review the details (dates, unit or house names) and open registration.

Want the fuller picture first? See our guide to speech competition judging criteria guide.