One Wave is Back in September … with many Online and In-Person Events!
By Jaimie Sumner, PPP Operations Coordinator & One Wave Program Coordinator
It’s September, and our 13th annual One Wave Gathering is once again brightening the streets of Victoria, BC in beautiful Lekwungen territories! One Wave is a free, family-friendly celebration of Pacific Island and Indigenous cultures organized by Pacific Peoples’ Partnership each year. This year’s gathering is focused on the themes of resilience and allyship and will feature arts and culture events including Indigenous opera, digital media, theatre, film, workshops, and more.
Pearls of the South Pacific Dancers at One Wave 2018. Credit: Heather Tuft
In these challenging times, we feel it is more important than ever to make space for cultural connection and learning. While we need to take precautions to keep each other safe, it is vital that we find ways to share special moments, listen to each other, and engage with the issues facing the Pacific. From Samoa to T’Sou-ke, from Viti Levu to Lekwungen territory, Pacific communities are working to preserve and revitalize culture, pass on knowledge, and ensure a healthy future for all. At One Wave, we invite people from all backgrounds into the circle to hear these stories, be inspired, and find ways to move forward together.
Our team has worked extra hard this year to create safe ways to come together. This year, we are offering a robust online program as well as a few in-person events within the safe protocols of social distancing.
Read on for some highlights you can expect at One Wave this month. Some of our events will not be announced in advance, so join us on Facebook and check out our website to avoid missing out!
A colorful theatrical performance accompanies Indigenous author, Roy Henry Vickers, as he reads from his children’s book Peace Dancer. Credit: Tony Sprackett
Together / As One – Sept. 3-18 at FLUX Gallery 821 Fort St.
Visit the gallery and witness powerful Indigenous and Pacific stories woven together in Together / As One, an exciting digital media and art exhibit. Watch carvings and masi cloths take shape and collective stories come alive in this display of cultural objects and films by local and international artists. Featured works include Roy Henry Vickers’ Peace Dancer (Theatre Inconnu, Story Theatre, Puppets for Peace) and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ Flight of the Hummingbird (Pacific Opera/Opera Vancouver). You are welcome to visit Tuesday – Friday between 12-5pm and walk through the exhibit in groups of 6 or less. We will provide visitors with masks and social distancing instructions to ensure a safe space for all.
Flight of the Hummingbird performers with Pacific Opera Victoria and Opera Vancouver
KAIROS Blanket Exercise – 9:30am, Sat, Sept. 26 at Royal Athletic Park *Sign up on EventBrite to reserve your spot.
Deepen your understanding of allyship, reconciliation, and Indigenous history in Canada through an interactive history lesson called the Blanket Exercise. During the exercise, participants will accompany facilitators on a journey through Indigenous history in Canada, spanning pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization, and resistance. Blankets laid out on the ground will provide a visual guide to the history lesson as participants walk through a set of interactive exercises that bring history to life. Attendance is limited, so reserve your space now on EventBrite and visit the KAIROS website to learn more.
During the Blanket Exercise, blankets laid out on the ground symbolize Indigenous territories
Rising Tides
Tune in online for a new film on Indigenous food sovereignty and climate justice by the Centre for Indigenous Research and Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE). Rising Tides is locally produced and features knowledge-sharing and ideas for action shared by Erynne Gilpin, Jeff Corntassel, Peruzzo Andrade, Cheryl Bryce, Beangka Elliot, and April Ingham.
Pacific Peace House Post
A momentous event this year will be the installation of the Pacific Peace Post, a symbolic house post carved by local Lekwungen and Solomon Islands carvers Bradley Dick and Ake Lianga. The Pacific Peace Post will overlook the waters at Macaulay Point and stand as a symbol of peace and connection between Pacific peoples. Watch for the unveiling in late September!
Carvers Bradley Dick and Ake Lianga working on the Pacific Peace House Post
Films, Pop-ups, Workshops & More!
Join our Facebook or visit our website for a full listing of events. We have lots more exciting programming in the works this month, including online feature films, pop-up music and dance, workshops on topics from slam poetry to weaving, and maybe even a drive-in theatre.
We hope to see old friends and new as we gather once more – in person and online – for a powerful program of Pacific stories, songs, and speakers.
If you are interested in volunteering, there may still be an opportunity! For more information, get in touch with us at: operations@archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org.
One Wave Gathering is held on Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ territory and made possible with the consent and consultations by hereditary and elected leaders, elders, youths, artists and community members.
Our amazing partners for One Wave 2020 include Songhees Nation, Esquimalt Nation, MediaNet FLUX Gallery, CIRCLE (Centre for Indigenous Research and Community Led Engagement at UVIC), Theatre Inconnu, Puppets for Peace, Story Theatre, Pacific Opera Victoria, Vancouver Opera, City of Victoria, Township of Esquimalt, the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, Canadian Heritage, British Columbia Art Council, Capital Regional District, CTV / CFAX, and Rika Design.