Connecting First Nations with festival-goers enriches community and builds bridges
Connecting First Nations with festival-goers enriches community and builds bridges
Festivals are welcoming spaces to set life’s challenges aside and make new connections. They’re a gateway for diverse people to revel in great company and celebrate a kindred appreciation for music, culture, tradition and entertainment.
The Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival has its own unique personality.
In addition to promoting local art and showcasing jazz from young and emerging artists and world-class entertainers, the Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival takes great pleasure in bringing together festival-goers from the community and across BC, Canada and internationally.
One of the ways we enhance these unions and enrich cultural life in the Fraser Valley is by collaborating with Indigenous nations who care for the lands we call home.
The Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival takes place on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo and Matsqui First Nations.
Looking back: Connecting over music, art and understanding
Since the festival’s first kickoff in 2018, Kwantlen First Nation has permeated its spaces with song, dance, tradition and seeds of learning. They have provided the opportunity to experience and celebrate Kwantlen culture and art, and have engaged festival-goers in meaningful relationships, impressive demonstrations and more!
Festival Kickoff
The festival has always commenced with a welcome blessing from a Kwantlen community member. The blessing includes a traditional prayer and song and has ushered in an incredible festival year after year.
Indigenous Jazz Fusion Concert
An Indigenous Jazz Fusion concert recorded by the festival in 2021 showcases the rich culture, music, tradition and stories of the Kwantlen First Nation community together with original jazz music in a new and innovative way.
During the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic, festival organizers approached the Kwantlen First Nation about collaborating on a unique musical collaboration for everyone at home to enjoy. The idea was welcomed with open arms.
Involving six First Nations drummers and singers from Stomi:x Shweli (Warrior Spirit) and the Vancouver-based jazz trio, Triology, the 60-minute recording features sacred indigenous songs blended with original jazz music.
The performance was recorded in the Kwantlen First Nation longhouse and includes behind the scenes footage and interviews with the performers on the making and importance of the recording. This project was supported by First Peoples’ Cultural Council, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, proudly representing the Port of Vancouver
Check out this innovative work here!
Art Mural Project
At the 2022 festival, the public was invited to participate in a collaborative “paint-by-number” art mural designed by brother-sister duo, Elinor and Noah Atkins from Kwantlen First Nation.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for us to practice the traditional intergenerational transfer of knowledge and was a way that us as Kwantlen youth could engage with the surrounding community and share a little bit about us as Kwantlen people,” said Elinor.
Each mural segment is symbolic to the theme of reflection, recovery, and rejuvenation. The mural marks Canada’s emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic and has a permanent home at Foundry Langley, where supports and services are provided for youth. The mural project was funded by the Government of Canada through the Canadian Heritage Commemorate Canada - Reopening Fund.
Check out this video that commemorates the mural’s creation!
Kwantlen Art & Cultural Exhibition
Coordinated and curated by a Kwantlen First Nation member and presented by Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, proudly representing the Port of Vancouver; the Government of BC, and the BC Arts Council, the Kwantlen Art & Cultural Exhibition highlighted the rich talents, culture and history of the Kwantlen peoples at the 2022 festival.
Here, traditional PowWow drummers and dancers alongside a Kwantlen Cultural Advisor explained the importance and meaning of each song and dance. Festival attendees participated in friendship dances with the PowWow performers, immersed themselves in demonstrations such as cedar and wool weaving and jewelry bead-making by Kwantlen elders and community members, while enjoying traditional BBQ salmon and bannock.
Looking forward: Amplifying our part as a community builder
We are excited to announce that the 2023 Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival will be expanding the Indigenous Art & Culture Exhibition to include other nations.
We have been grateful for the lasting connections made with Kwantlen First Nation and anticipate the festival’s involvement in even more cultural perspectives and relationships.
In addition to expanding the Indigenous Art & Cultural Exhibition, the Festival will be adding a vendor area showcasing Indigenous products made by Indigenous peoples. Vendor applications will open at the end of March.
By providing and featuring a space for intercultural interaction with local First Nations, the Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival hopes to advance the journey towards reconciliation and continue to build bridges to Indigenous ways of being, seeing and knowing.
For more information about the festival visit www.fortlangleyjazzfest.com