Competitive or non-competitive: how to choose your festival entry
When you register for the Vernon Performing Arts Festival, you choose how each entry is judged. It can be competitive or non-competitive. You make the choice on the registration form.
Both kinds of entry perform for an expert adjudicator. Both get comments. One of our core values is celebrating growth over competition, and the comments are where that growth starts.
What every entry gets
Every performer receives feedback from the adjudicator. The comments focus on what worked, what could improve, and what the adjudicator noticed.
What a competitive entry adds
A competitive entry can also earn a mark, a placement, an award, or a scholarship. It can also be considered for the BC Provincial Festival. The exact results depend on the discipline and class.
What a non-competitive entry means
A non-competitive entry gets the comments without a mark. It is not eligible for awards, scholarships, or Provincials.
How it works in each discipline
Music
Competitive performers may be eligible for marks, awards, scholarships, and Provincial recommendations. Competitive comment sheets do not show a number mark, but teachers may ask for their students’ marks after the festival. To qualify for a scholarship, a performer must enter at least two competitive classes.
Some Music entries are always non-competitive:
- Own Composition classes
- A piece entered at the wrong level or in the wrong class
- A performance using an unauthorized photocopy of the music.
Dance
Competitive dancers receive comments and a mark. They may qualify for certificates, cups, and scholarships. Non-competitive dancers receive comments only.
Dancers who live outside the Dance residency area may perform for comments only. That area is Interior or Northern BC east of Chilliwack, plus the Okanogan District of Washington State. They are not eligible for awards or Provincials.
Speech and Drama
Non-competitive performers receive spoken and written comments and a participation certificate. Competitive performers receive spoken and written comments and a placement certificate. The two kinds of entry are scheduled at different times.
Speech and Drama adds two more options. Online entries are recorded, uploaded to YouTube, and receive written comments later. Provincial classes are the route to the BC Provincial Festival. Regular competitive classes do not lead there.
Questions to help you choose
- Does the performer want a mark or a placement?
- Is the performer aiming for a scholarship or award?
- Does the performer hope to go to the BC Provincial Festival?
If the answer to any of these is yes, choose competitive. If the performer wants feedback without a mark, choose non-competitive. A teacher can help you decide.
Adults
Adults are welcome in every discipline. In Music and in Speech and Drama, performers aged 23 and older are not eligible for scholarships or awards. They can still enter for the adjudicator’s comments.
Read the syllabus
Each class has its own rules. Read the Music, Dance, or Speech and Drama syllabus before you register. Registration runs November 15, 2026 to January 15, 2027 on our registration page.
Questions go to [email protected].