Stories of the Estuary

September 21, 2024 | Micro Festival Celebration, 6pm – 9pm | Free, Open to All

 The Sechelt Arts Festival invites you to a celebration of the Salish Sea - its other-than-human inhabitants, its waterways and estuaries, its stories of travel and exchange, and its vitalness to Sechelt and its communities. Sechelt, as the land between two waters, has been shaped by the Salish Sea 

We will gather at 6pm on the Davis Bay pier for a procession guided by musicians, drummers, dancers and puppets – all celebrating the creatures of the sea. Weaving shíshálh drumming, song and storytelling, with the power of taiko and the beauty of the shakuhachi flute, the procession unfolds a story of the raven, the estuary, and the equinox.

Cast for Equinox Raven include: Andy Johnson, cultural ambassador shishalh nation; Cora Lee Joe-Louise, dancer; Maggie Guzzi, raven; Connor Dixon, dancer; Gerardo Avila,  equinox character mask; Noriko Kobayashi, taiko and shamisen (Japanese banjo); Kage, taiko; Bushido: Alcvin Ryūzen Ramos, shakuhachi, shinobue player, and  Nori Akagi, taiko; Flags: Hazel Bell-Koski

Following the procession, we will gather at Mission Point House for music, storytelling and hands on activities. We gather to celebrate the shifting cycles of light, the return of the salmon to Chapman Creek, and the rich connections that the Salish Sea has brought to our communities.

In collaboration with the Coast Rogue Arts Society, music includes The Walrus (Deano and Kachy – loop beats with live bass and singing) and Mivule (Reggae, Afrobeat and Dub performed in English as well as Luganda)

Digital Storytelling with Kamala Todd | Art making led by Jessica Silvey | Learning with the land activities with Ali and Bella Casey | And more…

This event is a glimpse into a larger festival planned for 2025. Beginning in 2024, under the guidance of the Sunshine Coast Arts Council, the Sechelt Arts Festival connects art, ecology and climate change. We envision art as a means of calling attention to relationships –to our local ecologies, to our companion communities, and to the land, air and waters that make this part of the world so remarkable and unique. Art has the ability to help us think through difficult ideas through play, joy, community and belonging.