It promises to be an entertaining and informative evening when the Columbia River Watershed Storytelling Tour launches in Osoyoos Thursday night.
Event co-ordinator Theresa Marshall has organized an evening of music, film, spoken word and storytelling at the Watermark Beach Resort.
“Whether we live upriver or downwind, in sharing local stories we can develop sustainable cultural and environmental responses to the challenges that surround us,” said Marshall, who grew up on the old Fairview town site near Oliver.
The event will take place in the Conference Room at the Watermark.
The event will be co-hosted by Pauline Terbasket of the Okanagan Nation Alliance, which is sponsoring the event.
Featured guests include songs and storytelling by Csetkwe Fortier, original music by Algoma, the Syilx water declaration as presented by Tessa Terbasket, short films about sockeye salmon returning to the Okanagan Valley, another film about the pocket desert biodiversity and poetry by Marshall.
Members of the audience will also be allowed to participate by sharing a short story, said Marshall.
The Osoyoos event marks the first in a series of storytelling events that will be co-organized with community partners as part of a cross-boundary tour over the next several years throughout the Okanagan, Similkameen, Kootenays and along the Columbia River across Washington, Idaho and Oregon.
This Columbia River Watershed Storytelling event is a cultural initiative in partnership with the Okanagan Nation Alliance, IndigenEYEZ, UBC Okanagan–Eco Art Incubator, Okanagan Regional Library and Destination Osoyoos.
Marshall said she expects the tour will return to Osoyoos sometime in 2016 and will feature a different lineup of musicians, artists and storytellers.
Admission is $5 or pay what you can. For more, contact Marshall at 250-899-7488 or [email protected].
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
