Stir Cheat Sheet: 6 highlights of the 2022 Harrison Festival of the Arts

All-day live music at the concert hall and beach, theatre and literary events, visual-art exhibitions, and more make up the lakeside fest 

By Gail Johnson

Lorraine Klaasen.

Joseph Dandurand.

Harrison Festival Society presents the 43rd annual Harrison Festival of the Arts in Harrison Hot Springs from July 8 to 17

THE VILLAGE of Harrison Hot Springs takes on a whole new vibe every summer (barring a global pandemic) when the Harrison Festival of the Arts is on, the lakeside resort transforming into a hub of cultural activity. 

The 43rd annual event, which happens on Sts’ailes Xa’xa Temexw territory, kicks off on July 8 with a traditional Sts’ailes welcome featuring the Sts'ailes Dancers. That evening, A Concert for Phyllis honours the memory of Phyllis Stenson, former Harrison Festival executive and artistic director, who died during the pandemic. The lineup features Juno-winning roots-music guitarist-singer-songwriter Lester Quitzau; multi-award winning composer, musician, and singer Sandy Scofield, Métis from the Saulteaux and Cree Nations; and virtuoso Brazilian guitarist, percussionist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Celso Machado.

Throughout the fest’s 10 days, there’s yoga on the beach each morning, an outdoor juried artisan market, kids’ activities, and workshops on everything from Indigenous drum making to Cajun dance. Here are a few other highlights to catch.

#1

Five Alarm Funk
July 9 at 8:30 pm at Harrison Memorial Hall 

This eight-man, horn-driven, percussion-fuelled Vancouver-based band has five albums to its name, and their show should be a good indication why the 2017 release was called Sweat. (Drummer and lead vocalist Tayo Branston gets such an intense workout that he usually performs shirtless.) Among the party-powered ensemble’s influences are James Brown, Tito Puente, Antibalas, and Frank Zappa. 

Kongero.

#2

Literary Café with Kongero
July 11 at Harrison Corner Café

The lineup for this year’s edition of the fest tradition comprises Kwantlen First Nation poet Joseph Dandurand, recipient of the 2021 BC Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence; journalist Marsha Lederman, author of the recently released bestselling memoir Kiss the Red Stairs: The Holocaust, Once Removed; visual artist Colleen Brown, whose first book, A Story of Doris, will be published in 2023; and Nicola Campbell, Nłeʔkepmx, Syílx, and Métis author of Shi-shi-etko, Shin-chi’s Canoe, Grandpa’s Girls, and A Day with Yayah.

Each writer will share excerpts of works that draw on personal family experiences. Interspersed among their readings will be songs by Swedish folk’appella group Kongero. Made up of Lotta Andersson, Emma Björling, Sofia Hultqvist Kott, and Anna Wikénius, Kongero is also offering a workshop on July 12 at 11 am at Ranger Station Art Gallery, the vocal instructors teaching tunes in two- to five-part harmony.

#3

Saltwater Hank
July 12 at 7 pm at Harrison Plaza (Beach Stage)

Saltwater Hank was surrounded by the singing and guitar-playing of his father (who was also known as Hank), grandfather, and many uncles growing up as a member of the Gitga’at community in Kxeen (Prince Rupert). The Ts’msyen/Cree Metis bluegrass-folk artist born Jeremy Pahl is a natural storyteller with comic timing who plays guitar, banjo, and fiddle and who sings of land, loss, and his heritage. Saltwater Hank’s discography includes Tree Planting, Stories from the Northwest, and Tape Sessions, while COVID lockdowns led to the release of four EPs, all titled “That’s Not How Tommy Played It (Volumes 1 to 4)”. 

Among the numerous other acts playing the fest’s Beach Stage are Sinnoi, a modern Korean folk ensemble with jazz and electronic influences; fiddle and cello duo Jocelyn Pettit and Ellen Gira; and six-piece Toronto-based world music ensemble Tamar Ilana & Ventanas.

The Candy Bones Show.

#4

An Evening of Theatre

July 12 at 8:30 pm at Harrison Memorial Hall 

It’s a double shot this year: An Evening of Theatre features an emerging directors’ showcase of three short plays in partnership with University of the Fraser Valley, followed by The Candy Bones Show. Described as an “autobiographical sketch comedy into the psyche of an awkward introvert”, the solo performance by Candice Roberts weaves together storytelling, dance, shadow puppetry, and stand-up.

#5

Lorraine Klaasen

July 15 at 8:30 pm at Harrison Memorial Hall 

Born and raised in Soweto, SOCAN- and Juno-winning world-music singer-songwriter Lorraine Klaasen is the daughter of renowned South African jazz singer Thandie Klaasen, one of Nelson Mandela’s favourite singers. Klaasen, whose influences include musical giants of 1950s and 1960s South Africa, such as Miriam Makeba and Dolly Rathebe, is one of the few South African artists keeping the classic sound of township music alive. Kicking off the festival’s second weekend, she’ll be performing with her multi-piece band, which consists of guitar, congas, bass, and drums.

Among the festival’s other evening hall performers are John Boutté, aka “The Voice of New Orleans”; Juno-winning roots-oriented band Blackie & the Rodeo Kings; and East Coast, internationally touring songwriter Lennie Gallant.

Alex Turner.

#6

Alex Turner Transformations: A Retrospective Exhibition
July 8 to 24 at Ranger Station Art Gallery; opening July 7 at 7 pm

This retrospective exhibition brings Alex Turner’s body of work home to Harrison Hot Springs for the first time. After studying at Emily Carr University and leaving his hometown in his late teens, the late visual artist returned to his family home near the Harrison beachfront every summer for almost 60 years to be with friends, hike and swim, work in the garden his mother began in the early ’50s, and gather material and inspirations for his art. The show spans street Turner’s photography and hand-cut collages from the 1970s, video manipulations of the ’80s, and digital collages post-1990.

Also in the fest's visual-arts realm is Spirit Trail: Ernie Eaves. The one-kilometre rainforest walk features ceramic masks and faces that the local artist has placed among the trees. 

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