Full Weekend Schedule Announced for Celebration of Nations
ST. CATHARINES, ON, Aug. 24, 2017 /CNW/ - The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and Kakekalanicks Indigenous Arts & Consultancy present Celebration of Nations, a gathering of Indigenous arts, culture and tradition in St. Catharines, Ontario from 8?10 September 2017.
Full weekend schedule now available: celebrationofnations.ca
"We're thrilled to partner with the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre," said Kakekalanicks president and Artistic Director Michele-Elise Burnett (Métis). "The great Métis leader Louis Riel once said, 'My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.' Through the Celebrations of Nations programming delivered at this state-of-the-art venue, we're doing our best to make that vision come true."
Celebration of Nations will showcase a variety of Indigenous arts and artists, ranging from traditional and contemporary music, dance and visual arts to film screenings, creative workshops, teaching, and hands-on activities for both children and adults. Highlights include:
- Headlining performances from Buffy Sainte-Marie, DJ Shub Pow Wow Step Dance Party, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre's Re-Quickening and a special RUMBLE Unity Jam Session (with Kenny Lee Lewis, Derek Miller and more).
- The Backyard - a free outdoor space behind the PAC that will feature a Métis Encampment, workshops, Indigenous food and music all weekend long.
- FREE Workshop Series that includes opportunities to learn about and create Métis dot art on rocks, a hand-held drum, Unity bracelets and tiny moccasins to be donated locally.
- The Film Series ? includes Niagara premiere of the Sundance award-winning RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2016), Moose River Crossing (2013) by Shirley Cheechoo, FREE screenings of imagineNATIVE Shorts and Gord Downie's The Secret Path, and more.
- Awakening her Spirit: Select Works from the Suzanne Rochon-Burnett Collection - Never before exhibited original works including: Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Carl Beam, Roy Thomas, Vince Bomberry, Simon Brascoupe, Bruce King, and more. Presented in collaboration with Brock University.
Artistic Director Michele-Elise Burnett (Métis) and Artistic Producer Tim Johnson (Mohawk) have shaped programming for Celebration of Nations, with support of an Advisory Council and PAC programming staff.
"Canada's sesquicentenary and the findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission serve as context for our programming," said Tim Johnson (former Associate Director at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian). "We endeavour to pull back the curtain to reveal and commemorate Indigenous contributions to Canada's defence and formation as well as to display the continuity and scope of Indigenous influence upon Canadian society today."
Celebration of Nations is an opportunity for Niagara residents and visitors to actively participate in an inclusive and engaging community gathering, built on the Two Row Wampum ideology that promotes walking together, in parallel, with respect, compassion and understanding to cultivate an inclusive community.
SOURCE FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
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