A four-day long arts festival on Gabriola Island that celebrates the many facets of the artistic world will once again be held in full force this year.
Gabriola Arts Council’s Cultivate arts festival includes theatre performances and musicians from Gabriola, Vancouver Island and the mainland. It starts Thursday, June 30, at 11:30 a.m. and will run until 7 p.m. Sunday, July 3, at its usual location at the Gabriola Commons, 675 North Rd.
As opposed to last year’s individual show passes, the GAC’s fourth edition of the arts celebration will offer full-festival passes once again.
“The 2021 [festival] was a completely different animal from the festival previous and this year’s in that it was really more a series of shows because we had to regulate how many people went in and how many people came out,” said Carol Fergusson, the executive director of GAC and the executive producer of the festival. “So it was a very successful festival but it was not a festival in the traditional sense.”
The festival’s eight food vendors will offer vegan food, ice cream, pancakes, chocolate and more. The ‘libation station’ beer garden will also make come back.
The first two days, Thursday and Friday, will be dedicated to theatre performances, where Saturday and Sunday will see more musical performances.
The gears have been in motion for this year’s celebration since August last summer, Fergusson said, with regular meetings since January.
“Instead of having an artistic director, I changed the model. And I’m working with nine individuals who are experts in their own area … and we worked together as a team,” she said, adding that organizers aimed to create an eclectic festival and stay “true to the spirit of the island.”
“We were calling it ‘eclectic avenue’ amongst us when we were choosing performers and different acts for the festival. Because we’re not a blues festival, we’re not a jazz festival, we’re not a folk festival, and Gabriola is a pretty eclectic place…” Fergusson said. “So we wanted to provide an eclectic festival that would attract all sorts of different types of fans.”
In the four days, the festival will see more than 70 performers, more than 15 artists with their varied artworks on show in the yurt, and 15 art vendors in the artist village.
The workshops, held from start to finish of the festival, will showcase different artists as they provide their expertise on such skills as singing, songwriting, puppet making and juggling. Those looking to attend a workshop will need to pre-register online to secure their place.
Opening ceremonies for Cultivate will be held on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and will include land acknowledgement, led by elders Geraldine Manson and David Bodaly. Footprints of the Wolf, led by Deborah Good, will also perform during the opening ceremonies.
As always, the festival will be a bring-your-own-chair-or-blanket event. Tickets can be purchased online through www.cultivate.artsgabriola.ca.
READ MORE: Gabriola Arts Council awarded $95K in grants for performing arts
mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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