OPENING CEREMONY
WEDNESDAY, AUG 7 | JERICHO BEACH PARK  (3941 Point Grey Road)
Iy̓ál̓mexw (Squamish) | ʔəy̓ál̓məxʷ (Henqiminem)

with ASL Interpretation

SENAQWILA WYSS, CHRISTIE LEE CHARLES & OCEAN HYLAND – Opening Ceremony
6:30 PM

The opening ceremonies of Vines Art Festival will have welcoming and knowledge sharing by 3 local Indigenous women. Senaqwila Wyss of the Squamish Nation will perform a song, speak about her role in Vines, and share plant knowledge in the area of Jericho Beach and forest zones. We will be joined by Ocean Hyland of Tsleil-Waututh who will share an artist talk on her creation of this year’s and previous years’ festival art, as well as Christie Lee Charles of Musqueam, who will delight us with her knowledge and her music with poetry in her Hən̓q̓əmin̓əm language.

SENAQWILA WYSS – Plant Walk

As we move between events, Senaqwila Wyss will guide participants on a walk, describing medicinal and traditional uses of plants we encounter along the way.

JEANETTE KOTOWICH – Community Pow Wow
7 PM

The amazing Jeanette Kotowich will be joining us and performing Steppin!

RAVEN SPIRIT DANCE – The Gift
7:15 PM

The Gift is a reflection on and response to the choreography Yukio Waguri gifted Raven Spirit Dance over 15 years ago. Delving back into the images and movement of this work, the performers are a manifestation of the gifts given to us by our ancestors. Through moving in connection to the natural world, we live in the liminal space between this world and the spirit world. In this space we gather our power and dance our gratitude.

Performers: Yvonne Chartrand, Kimi Clark, Tasha Faye Evans, Sarah Formosa, Maura Garcia, Kristy Janvier, Jessica McMann, Hailey McCloskey, Starr Muranko, Kelly McInnes, Michelle Olson, Emily Solstice, Mariko Kage

Choreography: Yukio Waguri
Rehearsal Direction: Salome Nieto
Produced by: Raven Spirit Dance/Michelle Olson

DALANNAH GAIL BOWEN
7:30 PM

Born of African-Canadian/Cherokee heritage, Bowen has been music-making for forty years in the Canadian blues, rock, and soul scene. Bowen started her musical career with the all-female group The Feminine Touch who toured Canada and the USA opening for acts such as The Monkees and The Guess Who.

As an in-demand vocalist, she has performed with or opened for other major artists including Led Zeppelin, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, and many more. Her 2007 CD recording, Mamma’s Got The Blues, was released to wide acclaim and rave reviews from across the globe. Then in 2015, her Been Around A While CD was selected by Downbeat Magazine as one of the Best Albums of 2015.

WELCOMING FEAST
7:30 PM

Join us for refreshments and help us ring in the festival.