Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival aims to connect communities June 21-24 at Vincent Massey Park
Not only is June 21 the day summer begins, it’s also the start of the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, a fun and colourful four-day event where all citizens of Ottawa are invited to learn about the contributions First Nations, Inuit and Métis people make to this land.
From June 21 to 24, Vincent Massey Park will be the centre of celebrations with Education Day presented by BMO Financial Group for 5,000 pre-registered elementary students and a free screening of Clint Eastwood’s Indian Horse kicking things off. The weekend Pow Wow presented by CN is perhaps the most highly-anticipated festival event. The festival, now in its 21st year, will also feature all sorts of entertainment programming and free family-fun activities all weekend long.
Many of the events are designed to bring people together from all communities. New this year are two long-table meals that will feature a menu of dishes inspired by food gathered from the land. The meals will be catered by top chefs, including Indigenous celebrity chef David Wolfman, and feature exciting performances by Indigenous artists like Silla + Rise, an Ottawa trio that blends traditional Inuit throat singing with electronic dance music.
“We thought the long table was a really great idea because it has everyone sitting down together, sharing a meal, breaking bread, and that’s really a great way to connect Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities,” said Trina Mather-Simard, executive director of Aboriginal Experiences and producer of the festival.
The long-table events are the only ones that are ticketed, $25 for the lunch and $55 for the dinner. All other activities are free.
“We tried to keep the ticket prices reasonable because it is more about bringing people together,” said Mather-Simard, adding that only 400 tickets are available. “We wanted the rest of our visitors to get a taste as well, so over the weekend we have a culinary pavilion with $10 sampler tickets where people will get four samples of elegant Indigenous foods from the chefs and get a chance to meet them.” The culinary program is presented by TD Bank.
Along with the many ongoing fun family activities: crafting pavilions, Algonquin games, trampolines and a rock climbing wall, there will be several stages with live performances. This year, programming on the main stage will be part of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s annual Indigenous Day broadcast. This event shines the spotlight on the best of the best of Canada’s Indigenous performers, like Hamilton’s Tom Wilson and Brooke Simpson, who rose to fame with her appearance on The Voice. On the Celebration Stage presented by OLG, there are non-stop music, dance and theatrical cultural performances, and on Sunday, a Shark Tank style Indigenous entrepreneurship competition, Pow Wow Pitch presented by RBC and Shopify.
“I think the festival offers many key opportunities to open dialogue and to have a really nice shared experience together,” said Mather-Simard. “We have things that go beyond just attending a festival and watching some shows. We offer real opportunities to connect.”
For more information, visit www.ottawasummersolstice.ca and www.indigenousdaylive.ca/ottawa/