KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A festival celebrating all things Canada is returning to Kalamazoo for its second year.
Canadiana Fest brings music, food, art, beer and culture to Arcadia Creek Festival Place on September 21, 2024.
Organizers say its for Canada lovers and the Canadian curious Attendees can immerse themselves in Canadian culture and hospitality right in the heart of the Midwest.
Funds raised from ticket sales and purchases at the festival will go towards supporting local food banks and scholarships.
Originating as a response to pandemic losses, the festival arose out of Channon Mondoux, Canadian expatriate, local chef and food writer, triumphing over the challenge of not being able to return home to Canada. “If the girl couldn’t get to Canada, Canada was going to come to the girl!," she said.
This year the festival features headliner Crystal Shawanda, a multiple Juno Award-winning artist from Wikwemikong First Nations on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Originally a country chart topper, this renowned blues musician living in Nashville, Tennessee, will showcase her latest album, "Midnight Blues". Shawanda’s blues collection highlights her distinctive raspy voice, which earned her the 2024 Maple Blues Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year.
There will be several other performances throughout the festival as well.
The opening ceremony will be shared in both English and French and will feature a parade led by a “Red Green Brigade” of the marchers dressed as the renowned title character of the “Red Green Show". The public is invited to take up the banner and join in to win a costume contest prize.
The festival also boasts custom crafted Canadian-style beer in addition to imported favorites, including the annual release of Final Gravity’s “Double Double Stout”. It's a rich, cream and coffee infused brew fashioned after the famous Tim Horton’s classic coffee. Brewery Outré is serving up their NewFound Brown Ale along with other regional breweries unique takes on Canadian beers. In the VIP tent, master mixologists will fashion mocktails exclusively created for the festival and featuring Clearly Canadian bubbles.
For food, Canadian Chefs Channon Mondoux and Austin Shynal (certified sommelier), and the team at the VFW Red Arrow Post 1527 will create the “Canuck Canteen” offering authentic Canadian cuisine like poutine (a deceptive authentic vegan recipe) tourtiere, peameal bacon, nanaimo bars and butter tarts.
There will also be a poutine contest showcasing locally-owned restaurants and food trucks and a butter tart competition open to all.
Art is a large component to the festival, and there will be many booths featuring local artists who have a Canadian connection including Kris Kaleta, renowned local chainsaw artist, who will carve a piece live at the festival that will be auctioned off upon completion. Daniel Ellis’s work includes graphic portrait designs of famous Canadians and landscapes of iconic Canadian locations in addition to his original oil paintings; and jewelry artist Melody Faith, whose ancestry includes Canadian roots, will share her Canadian inspired multi-media jewelry including semi- precious stones harvested from the Great Lakes.
New to the festival this year is a Canadian Sports Center led by former Canadian Olympic Athlete and two-time WMU Hall of Famer Heather Sawyer. This hands-on, family-friendly learning center will feature basketball (which was invented by a Canadian), hockey, lacrosse and curling with skills workshops being offered, led by WMU Athletes, local teams and clubs.
William Griffey of the Iroquois Nation will also share the historical, cultural and spiritual lessons of the origins of lacrosse, Canada’s official summer sport.
Canadiana Fest will offer fun for all ages with face painting, arts and crafts, book readings in English, French and Cree, genealogy consults of French and Scottish Canadian origins, living history reenactors portraying early French Canadians, and more. Last year, these activities resulted in local families discovering and meeting distant relatives through their joint French Canadian heritage.
The festival will also open its arms to all people, providing sign language interpreters for announcements and bands, mobility access for drop off and audience seating and QR codes created to aid those with sight impairments. The festival also is reaching out to underserved communities in Kalamazoo to offer free tickets.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. If you're interested in learning more about the festival or would like to sponsor or volunteer, head to the festival's website.
