Spirit Festival is an appropriate name for the upcoming cultural event to be held on February 26 at the Riverside Centre. From start to finish everything about it screams spirit - spirit of the organizers, spirit of the artists, spirit of the First Nation heritage and most of all the spirit of the union of the three. Like a plant that is nourished the concept for the festival started off as a seed and grew at an amazing rate into a real live event for the whole community to enjoy.
This coming weekend Princeton will be experiencing something new. It will be the beginning of what Spirit Festival organizers, Robin Lowe and the Princeton Arts Council see as an annual event and like the rest of the weekend more pieces just keep falling into place. Lowe recently secured a film festival for the morning running from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
"The development of this festival has been a series of serendipitous moments that have paved the way for an amazing series of events," said festival coordinator Lowe. "The partnership with Reel Roots came out of a cold call I made to Tracey Kim Bonneau at the En'owkin Centre looking for documentaries to show as part of our event day. Almost immediately, she mentioned Reel Roots as an option for theater showings, and it all came together in a matter of a few hours. It is just another lucky strike that serves as a clear indicator for me that this festival is important, worthwhile and that we are absolutely moving in the right direction"
"I'm extremely proud of the work we have done in creating this festival from the ground up - in less than three months we have built an amazing line up of events, interactive elements, and with the library mural, a true legacy to this event, and this exciting time here in Princeton; We absolutely have a lot to celebrate here"
"Film is such a great medium for storytelling, educating, and sharing ideas, while entertaining viewers at the same time. Our partnership with Reel Roots is helping us to fulfill our goals in creating a festival that celebrates the diversity and rich culture of the of the Okanagan First Nations. Short independent films offer a glimpse into the present day perspective and experience of aboriginal people, and I am thrilled to be able to add this to our event day programming"
The Upper Similkameen Spirit Festival announced its partnership with the Reel Roots Film Festival after a phone call looking for film clips turned Lowe to the festival going on throughout the Okanagan featuring artist Levi Bent. The 2011 Reel Roots Film Festival features works from the En'owkin Centre in Penticton and highlights real stories about real indigenous people through documentaries presentations. The Reel Roots Festival is celebrating its tenth anniversary. The event will take place at Riverside Theatre this Saturday. More information can be obtained by contacting Festival Coordinator Robin Lowe at 250-295-0880 or by email at similkameenspotlight@gmail.com or Community Recreation Coordinator Nadine McEwen at recreation@princeton.ca or 250-295-6067.