Boat building, raven's tail weaving: 7th annual Adäka festival begins in Whitehorse
4 traditional watercraft are being built, to be launched at the close of the 7-day festival
Yukon's Adäka Cultural Festival gets underway on Friday evening, with dozens of visual artists, artisans, and performers scheduled to take part in the seven-day event.
"Everything from birch bark baskets, to stained glass, carving, raven's tail weaving," said the festival's executive director Charlene Alexander.
More than 60 visual artists will be on site at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse, giving demonstrations and workshops through the week. A big draw this year will be the boat-building demonstrations, already underway for days.
As part of Canada 150 celebrations, four Yukon artists were commissioned to build some traditional watercraft — a dugout canoe, a skin kayak, a moose skin boat and a birch bark canoe. The boats will be launched in the Yukon River on Thursday, the closing day of the festival.
"They will be a big part of the festival. So, we'll get a chance to listen to the boat builders talk about the boats, you'll get to see the boats and touch the boats," Alexander said.
She says lots of tourists from all over the world have already been checking out the boat builders in action.
"Everyday we saw an increase in attendance," she said. "They were just blown away that they got to watch."
Most events at the festival are free, though there are some ticketed events, including concerts by Jay Gilday, Celeigh Cardinal, and the Northern Cree Singers.
With files from Sandi Coleman