“In conversation with Mississauga’s Rob Aguiar, founder of the inspirational Glimpsepalooza and Mississauga Music Award Winner.
1. What’s different about the 2023 version of Glimpsepalooza?
Being forced to run Glimpsepalooza virtually over the last 3 years was a blessing in disguise. Our list of musical collaborators grew from 7 original LIVE guests in year one to more than 30 who contributed virtual content. This year, Glimpsepalooza 5 will be a series of LIVE Intimate & Interactive recording sessions with individual invited artists. Each session will include a fun Q&A and a few song performances. Some of our guests this year have been with us since the beginning and others are new to the family. Starting in March, a small group of 30 Glimpse Kids from past and present will host more than 12 invited guests for separate two hour visits during which we will record approximately 20 minutes of content. Rather than releasing the segments all at once in June as we’ve done with our previous pre-recorded festivals, we have decided to release each session as they happen. This allows each session to breathe and live on its own while still being part of the greater celebration. No matter the format, Glimpsepalooza 5 continues to be a celebration of positivity. Our hope will always be to change the world one song at a time.
2. Why did you decide to change formats over previous years?
The first Glimpsepalooza event was a LIVE concert for the entire school population and community. With only 7 guests, it was a lot of work but manageable. We had dreams of doing this again this year now that pandemic restrictions are no longer in our way. But, we’ve grown to the point that in order to continue to do a LIVE concert, we would have had to produce and promote 4 or 5 separate concerts. One simply wouldn’t be enough to include all the artists we wanted to invite. Even though the Glimpse Team would have been up to the challenge, our idea was seen as too BIG and we were asked to come up with a smaller scale alternative. So, that’s what we did. Intimate & Interactive LIVE was born.
3. What keeps you motivated to keep going as you’re culminating year five?
Easy! The kids have always been my motivation. Each year in June, the current team selects the new theme for the next batch of kids that will make up my class in September. There has been Project Smile, Project Gratitude, Project Action, Project Brave and Project Us. So everyday I get to hang out with young hearts filled with light! I don’t have the words to describe how rewarding it is to witness their growth throughout the school year. They become empowered little voices that can and should be heard. I enjoy providing them with authentic collaborative experiences with authors and musicians. Together, we hope to inspire children to believe that they can make a difference. It’s a beautiful thing!
4. You’ve developed quite the following; what do you attribute that to?
Isn’t it amazing! I’m still in awe at how far we’ve come. As heard in the lyrics to our jingle, there is joy and wonder everywhere when you see the world from the eyes of a child. So I think the kids are the stars of the show. Our content is inspiring. It’s full of love and positivity. But, even better is the fact that it’s the kids that deliver the message. They have inspired hundreds of collaborators who have generously donated their time in support of all the joy and wonder that the Glimpse Team delivers. I am forever grateful to everyone who has worked with us, liked our posts, promoted our ideas and cheered us on! We feel your love.
Follow the journey here.“
