Kanata festival turns Vancouver parking lot into Turtle Island
Inaugural Indigenous cultural festival will take place June 19 to July 1 at Larwill Park
Almost half a city block in downtown Vancouver is being transformed from a parking lot into Turtle Island.
Turtle Island is part of the oral history of many Indigenous nations, telling the creation story of North America, according to Adrian Duke, the producer of the inaugural Kanata Festival, which takes place later this month.
"We're setting up the site of Turtle Island. It'll be full of traditional structures, things like pit houses, long houses, teepees, wigwams, wikiups, and it will all be placed in the region of Canada where they are traditionally found," said Duke.
Crews have been painting a map of North America right on the parking lot at Larwill Park, which is between Dunsmuir Street and Beatty Street.
"The map is a representation of Canada, basically, so it will go from east to west, it will cover everything from the grasslands and the prairies, all the way up north and coast to coast," said Duke.
The festival is named after the Iroquois word for village, Kanata, which was the inspiration for the name Canada.
According to organizers, the festival aims to promote a positive and engaging experience with Indigenous history and traditions, as well as promote reconciliation with Canada's First Peoples during the nation's 150th birthday.
The cultural festival will feature contemporary and traditional music and art performances, workshops, storytellers, food, and crafts.
"We'll have all sorts of different members of the community from across Canada, so we'll have people from Métis nations, we'll have people from out east, some Inuit performers, as well as local host nations as well," said Duke.
The free festival is open to all, runs from June 19 to July 1, and will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT.