As the season shifts to summer, there is much to celebrate.
On the first day of summer, June 21, we will celebrate Indigenous People with the Indigenous Day Pow Wow at the Shatford Centre. This year marks the 3rd celebration at the Shatford Centre however it was formerly called Aboriginal Day.
There is a team of organizations bringing this community celebration together: En’owkin Centre, Indigenous Education-School District 67, Ooknakane Friendship Centre, Okanagan College, Penticton Historical Society, South Okanagan Restorative Justice and the Shatford Centre. All are contributing their time and resources for this event. Collectively we are pleased with the planning for this celebration.
The event is for all ages and will run from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. School groups are already making plans to be on the front lawn of the Shatford Centre and Penticton Secondary School. There will be dancers, drumming, an official opening, face painting, art activities and food trucks. If you are planning to attend, please bring your own lawn chairs and work out your parking arrangements early as Shatford parking will be for the elders. There are also plans to have a tent for elders and a tent for the dancers.
A wonderful project that has been unfolding around Indigenous Day is the gathering of photographs to remember this historic community event. Museum officials tell us that photos without names and context can be beautiful, however aren’t generally used for archives.
Karen Collins, who is an historian with indigenous roots, is overseeing the gathering of names of participants which will be captured on film, this year by Alison Reigh. Last year, great efforts were made to photograph the event and the participants with beautiful regalia by professional photographer, Joe LeBeau of Hashmark Photography. With his photographs, a lovely powerpoint presentation was created by summer student, Larae Wycotte with the assistance of Karen Collins, who carefully posted the names of the participants. There was also a wonderful video produced by Wayne McDougall showcasing the event. These are valued community treasures for the Penticton Museum and Archives, the En’owkin Centre, School District 67 and the Shatford Centre.
After this kick off to the season, there are summer camps, starting with Strings the Thing, Rock Skool and Jazz Cool. For children, there are also five Creativity Camps and one Robotics Camp. Strings the Thing, Senior and Junior, is a program structured around orchestra and chamber music, but also includes choir, private lessons, and masterclasses. One of the highlights of the camp is the annual barbecue with a fiddling jamboree at the end. New this year, the registration fee also includes lunch each day for participants. If you play strings you will want to check this out.
These camps remind us of OSA’s beginnings with the Okanagan Summer School of the Arts (OSSA), running for three intense weeks in the summertime. Currently the Okanagan School of the Arts operates year-round in its bricks and mortar home and continues to work on enhancing programming wherever possible. The historic Shatford Centre provides great opportunities to awaken creativity for residents and guests in all the seasons.
For information on Okanagan School of the Arts, Shatford Centre, go to www.shatfordcentre.com or call 250-770-7668.