This band’s anything but lazy
By Amy Kenny Lazy Syrup Orchestra is a side project for its members, but you wouldn’t know it from how busy they are. When the Vancouver-based band comes to the Yukon Arts Centre on June 26, they don’t even have…
The Yukon Arts Centre and Adäka Cultural Festival are co-presenting the Canadian DJ collective A Tribe Called Red as the headliner act at the festival’s Electric Pow Wow on July 3.
According to the official bio on their website, the Ottawa-based group, currently made up of Bear Witness and 2oolman, is a modern gateway into urban and contemporary indigenous culture and experience, celebrating all its layers and complexity.
They straddle a broad range of musical influences based in modern hip-hop, traditional pow wow drums and vocals, blended with edgy electronic music production styles.
Local youth hip-hop artist, Jeremy Parkin and the Dakhká Khwaán Dancers & DJ Dash will also be featured.
Please note this will be standing room only. Seats will be available for Elders upon request.
Tickets for the performance are available at www.yukontickets.com.
The Yukon First Nations Culture and Tourism Association (YFNCT) has also announced the full lineup and highlights of the 2019 Adäka Cultural Festival.
This year’s theme is exploring the cultural riches From the Land through art, song, and storytelling. From The Land will focus on the creation and dissemination of traditional arts and crafts such as beading, fish scale art, hunting tools, fur sewing, home-tanned moose hide, and so much more. “Everything is from the land. Our stories are shaped by it, we learn from it, and our art is inspired by it,” says Katie Johnson, Director of Arts and Producer of the Adäka Cultural Festival.
Additionally, in tribute to the United Nations declaration of 2019 as the Year of Indigenous Language, Adäka is celebrating and incorporating Yukon First Nation languages into all aspects of the Festival’s programming and marketing. “We are excited to work with all Yukon First Nations to share and celebrate our languages with one another through a showcase of Indigenous arts, music, and culture.”
The seven-day festival will present exciting collaborations between Yukon First Nation visual and presenting artists and their guest counterparts. Programming highlights include The Strength of Our Women, a special community gathering to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
We Are The Stories We Tell will be an evening co-hosted by Ryan McMahon and traditional storyteller Louise Profeit-LeBlanc and will feature local Indigenous Youth using animated stories for digital media and storytelling.
Lastly, the Festival will close with a celebratory evening of Indigenous language and song with Nyën Nzhän – Sing Your Song, featuring Indigenous performers from across the Yukon.
Visitors to the 2019 festival will also take in Adäka’s rich program including over 50 hands-on workshops, artist demonstrations, cultural presentations part of the Traditional Knowledge Series, and an impressive array of handmade works of art, available for purchase in the Adäka Gallery.
Preparations are underway to finalize the workshop schedule and complete schedule of events to be released early June. Applications for Nyēn Nzhän – Sing Your Song and We Are The Stories We Tell are now open.
The 2019 Adäka Cultural Festival will take place Friday, June 28 to Thursday, July 4 at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.
Media Inquiries:
Alexis Hougen
Marketing and Project Coordinator
info@yfnct.ca
(867) 667-7698