The Aboriginal Cultural Festival: A fresh perspective for its third year

As the Aboriginal Cultural Festival entered its third year, I was able to reflect back on the successes that we had, which helped me face the challenges that were on the horizon. 

As with any annual event, the ‘new’ feeling begins to fade, making it hard to capture and hold the attention of the public. Three of the biggest challenges we faced were met and overcome through collaboration, experience, and persistence. 

“So, what’s new this year?”

The biggest challenge that we faced this year was the shift from the Aboriginal Cultural Festival being new to the city and towards it being a standard annual event. The most common question we received through media inquiries was as simple as, “yes, I have heard of it, but what is new this year or is it the same as last year?”

The short answer could be that much of the festival operations and logistics remained the same. The long answer is that the Aboriginal Cultural Festival was in no way going to be the same as the previous year. Some performance groups were asked to return, such as Alex Wells and the Le La La Dancers, because they are truly spectacular and know how to draw a crowd. Other groups were new for 2016, allowing the organizing committee to change the feel of the event for those in attendance. For 2016 we also added the Songhees Seafood + Steam food truck, a visually stunning canoe paddle that also included a Parade of Nations from the Inner Harbour to the Royal BC Museum, and expanded the Totem Pole tours with Andy Everson.

“Isn’t it a busy weekend already?”

It sure was. It was last year as well. Not only is the Aboriginal Cultural Festival happening, but Car Free Day took place on Sunday, which was also Father’s Day. How do you compete with that? The short answer is that you don’t. Instead, you collaborate with the organizers of other events, sharing information between the parties, and cross-promoting the opportunity to explore both events on the same day. The benefit of Car Free Day in Victoria is that it brings thousands of people downtown, within a few blocks of the Aboriginal Cultural Festival. The decision for residents and visitors to explore both events in one day was the difference of three blocks – hardly a barrier for people that are enjoying the early summer weather. What’s more fun than a vibrant and busy city on a sunny day?

“I’d love to come, but I’m travelling to another destination.”

We have the opportunity to collaborate with our partners to host a select group of writers to cover the Aboriginal Cultural Festival for promotion both during the event and then for the following year. It is also a great time to share Aboriginal stories from around southern Vancouver Island with those media who are attending the event.

This year, we battled against competing requests for visits to other destinations at the same time, weddings for family members of some writers (that’s right – plural!), and personal commitments that would keep writers closer to home. We worked through a curated list of writers who we knew would understand and appreciate the complex nature of Aboriginal culture, especially how it is very much thriving today. We had the absolute pleasure of welcoming two world-class writers to the Aboriginal Cultural Festival this year. Our team made the decision to maintain a high standard for what we were looking for when it came to visiting writers, rather than just open an invite far and wide and accept a large group. Working with the two writers who attended, I am confident that we made the right decision. I can’t wait to see and read their stories.

I’m incredibly proud of our hard work, the collaboration between multiple partners, and the support of our local community. I can’t wait to see you at the Aboriginal Cultural Festival in 2017!