Musicians

We are looking for unique, up and coming artists from BC and beyond to play at ArtsWells 2009. The festival has become well known and much loved by artists who return year after year. “Artswells is unique in that it’s so artist-oriented. I’ve played every major folk festival in Canada and a bunch in Europe, and ArtsWells is really the most fun to play. The immediate sense of community and belonging is infectious. I love ArtsWells.” -Geoff Berner

Performers / Workshop leaders

As a multidisiplinary arts festival we are always seeking out new and exciting performances and workshops to offer our audience. Past non-musical performances have included dance, fire spinning, juggling, stilt walking and puppetry, but we’re laways open to new forms of expression. Workshops range from laughter yoga to classical bass technique, mini journal making to aikido, radical folk history to gospel singing. Whatever you do, come and share it.

Visual Artists

Another component of The ArtsWells Festival is our visual ArtWalk which showcases local and regional artwork around the festival site. Any type of visual art will be considered and we would love to include more large works of art such as outdoor sculpture.

The Arbitrarys
Formed in 2006, The Arbitrarys is the songwriting team of Josh Sandu and Naomi Kavka. Completed with the superb backing of Justin Arding and Robyn Miller, they are not an act to be missed.

Ari Neufeld
Ari is young and old all at once. He breathes beats and croons out multi-octave melodies over textured acoustic guitar and percussion performed by his feet, through an amplified wooden box. His charisma is infectious and his excitement in creating a truly unique and moving environment makes the energy of the experience super fun!

Blind Mule
Since their inception as a band, they toured Canada in the summer of 2007 with hunter Eves, playing festivals with the likes of Geoff Berner and Ember Swift, as well as other showcases along the way, with the likes of Wax Mannequin and Trooper to name a few.

Blue Island Trio
Foot-stomping Hawaiian-bluegrass, haunting, blues-inflected melodies and a twisted rhythmic sensibility characterize the Blue Island Trio’s music. With compelling original compositions, Tim Tweedale sees just how far he can stretch instrumental music for lap steel guitar, while remaining true to the instrument’s roots in Hawaiian, bluegrass, and blues music.

Crimson Star
Victoria BC-based Crimson Star writes and performs music that is progressive folk-rock, with a twist of new wave, and a twist of jazz & blues. The music captures the romance of a bygone era in a modern fusion of styles. If you are a lover of good music, with eclectic tastes, you will love this band.

Carolyn Mark
Born in a barn on Christmas Eve in the picturesque Okanagan Valley, Carolyn Mark has expected twice as much from every day ever since. Carolyn is excited about playing in Wells because she saw a picture where the buildings looked very saloon-y. And she gets to travel with Rad Juli! Lock up your sons!

The Colin Pearson Trio
Singer/ songwriter Colin Pearson has been very active in the Prince George music scene for several years. With a solid rhythm section, catchy melodies and wild and crazy stories, The Colin Pearson Trio fires up any audience, on any stage.

Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles
Corbin Murdoch began writing songs for this project while studying in Toronto in 2003 and dreaming of the greener pastures of his native Vancouver. The Nautical Miles were recruited during his visits home. During one such visit Jesse Gander recorded their debut EP ‘You and Your Landscapes’, which they released independently in May 2004.

Corwin Fox
With his distinctive knack for ironic juxtaposition and a playful sense of humour, Fox takes another deep cut at Big Business, Government practices and environmental politics, all while warming us with his deeply concerned and heart-felt words of compassion and wisdom. Live, Fox’s performances can range from extremely intimate acoustic shows to full band onslaught.

CR Avery Band
C.R. Avery began playing music professionally at the age of 17, and the train just never stopped. In the past four years C.R. Avery has played every major Canadian folk festival with spoken word trio Tons of Fun University, also touring extensively throughout North America and Europe as a beat-box poet or with his band the Boomchasers.

D. Rangers
Described as “mutant bluegrass,” “un-country”, and “arm-swinging hillbilly-stomp,” their live shows are an engaging mix of originals, traditional classics, and off-the-wall covers. With a stage show featuring a “muckbucket” bass, a musical saw, and a rambunctiousness that would set Bob Wills spinning in his grave, D. Rangers have built an increasingly loyal and devoted fan base throughout Canada.

Dana Wylie Band
The Dana Wylie Band are a dynamic three-piece who’ve been turning heads on three continents for the past four years. Formed in Taipei, Taiwan in early 2004, the band have toured extensively in the UK and Canada; steadily building a loyal following.

David Newberry
David Newberry is a student of politics and touring musician variously associated with Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Wells. David uses his world weary sound to tell the stories of everyday life, work and love. His songs are both straightforward and laden with complexities of the contemporary social world.

David Roy Parsons
David Roy Parsons’ song writing is unique and brilliant; he is highly regarded amongst the many well-established musicians who count as his friends. David’s 2007 release ‘Matters Of Survival’ features many of the musicians David has been seen with on stage these past few years, David’s newest songs reflect a tremendous growth in himself and his writing abilities.

Don Alder
Canada’s own Don Alder is one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world, and one of Canada’s premier harp guitarists. His unique style and energetic performances have been called intense, passionate and awe-inspiring - as is his life long friendship with Canada’s Man in Motion, Rick Hansen.

Drum & Bell Tower
Currently from Williams Lake, Drum & Bell Tower is a one-man computer-based live-drum-pounding, knob-tweaking, psychedelic-guitar-soaked experiment with rhythm and harmony. It is music for spacing out and/ or dancing off the proverbial buttocks.

Erin Arding and the 60Hz Hum
Erin Arding and the 60 Hz Hum is a musical fireball of country folk pop that will make you want to move and emote at the same time. Headed by songstress Erin Arding, the 60 Hz Hum unravel her songs with their varying arrangements of cello, harmonica, keys, electric guitar, bass and percussion.

Exes and Allies
Harmonica, slide guitar, accordion and percussion arranged to provide some of the best acoustic-fried rock the valley has to offer.

Fish & Bird
While spelunking in the darkest caves of various folk traditions and the caverns of human experience for inspiration, these Victoria-based tunesmiths produce a sound that is both recklessly eclectic and sublimely cohesive. This is an old-timey elixir seasoned with sprinklings of eastern spices, a pinch of pop, and a dash of other ingredients laying around the sinister Fish & Bird lair.

Ghosts of the Highway
In the spring of 2008, Jeff Andrew and shayne avec i grec hitchhiked across Canada, playing everywhere they could along the way. Now they’re back in the West with a rambling mix of folk, spoken word, traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and enough road stories to last ’til the end of the world.

Ghost Town Minstrels
Lock up your daughters and grease up your goats, because a couple o’ ol’ timey gypsy bandits are staggering yr way! Wanted posters and dime-store novellas tell of two handsome fellers by the names o’ D. Trevlon and Po Kadot (he, of Square Root of Margaret infamy). But, when these peach eatin’, spaghetti western watchin’, dustbowl architects get together; they’re called the Ghost-Town Minstrels.

Glenna Garramone
Drawing inspiration from the wet West Coast to the streets of Montreal, Glenna Garramone’s unmistakable voice pilots listeners through worldscapes populated by octopi, bull kelp, Saints, and a French seductress. The songs from Glenna’s studio debut, ‘Seasky-Starsong’, offer listeners everything they have come to expect from this Victoria, BC-based artist: poetic lyrics, sophisticated arrangements, and a fearless musical vision.

Green TaRA
Armed with a rare voice, a red guitar and a penchant for social awareness, GreenTaRA brings a taste of reality to modern soul music. This Vancouver-born Canadian of African-American, Cherokee and Scottish descent delivers jazz-laced lyrics over funk and reggae riffs as diverse as her heritage.

The Gruff
From old-time to country; from bluegrass to good old rock n roll; The Gruff’s extensive experience shines through in songs of love, heartache, travel, and hard work, interspersed with traditional tunes picked up over their various journeys. With their easy, comfortable stage presence and their delight in performance, The Gruff bring a smile to every audience.

Headwater
Headwater started plowing new ground in roots and country music in the fall of 2005 when emerging songwriters and vocalists Jonas Shandel and Matt Bryant recruited some of Vancouver’s hottest ounge jazz musicians to work on their debut album “My Old Friend”

Jarimba
Jarimba was formed in the fall of 2006 after a meeting between Kocassale Diobate, master drummer and griot from Guinea, West Africa, and Robin Layne, marimbist and world percussionist. Their music is a multi-cultural fusion of West African sounds with Cuban rumba and modern jazz.

Jeremy Stewart and the Rest
Jeremy Stewart and the Rest is a musical collective from Prince George that transforms Stewart’s sings into sound-drenched carnivals of dreams. With harmony, singing, electric guitar and bass, fiddle, drums and accordion, the rest blend experimental jazz, folk and rock n roll to create a joyful noise.

Joey Only Outlaw Band
Joey Only Outlaw Band has become a fast growing phenomenon, with a sound unlike any other out there. The stories are rooted in Canadiana with a critical eye in all the writing. Coming in the summer of 2008 is a new album ‘Fire on Anarchist Mountain’.

John Spearn
One of Canada’s most “asked-to-come-back” talents… a feast of timeless, telling tribute and profound lyric…from one songwriter and multiple award nominee who has performed at festivals on all three shores of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, and countless places in between.

KarmetiK Collective
The KarmetiK Collective is an international group of musicians, composers, scientists, engineers, and artists who have come together to combine traditional Indian Classical music with modern technology. KarmetiK presents the DBHelix project, run by Jesse Brown and Manj Benning, a dynamic duo that will rock the dance floors.

Kevin Kane
As singer/guitarist for The Grapes Of Wrath, Kevin got to make several records for EMI back when records (and major labels!) still existed. Gigging in support his 3rd solo album - “How To Build A Lighthouse” - he is thrilled and honoured to be making his 3rd ArtsWells appearance, and will be accompanied by the lovely and talented Christina Zaenker.

Kia Kadiri
In the last decade hip hop has emerged as a mode of artistic expression that knows no bounds. Kia has the artistic depth, vocal skills, and universal message to become a shining new beacon for that movement and the release of ‘Feel This’ marks a bold step for an artist who’s time has come.

Kirby
The hooks are barbed. The lyrics bite hard enough to break the skin. And the soul of a resigned heart booms out in a powerful voice - far bigger than the stature of the man from which it comes. This is Kirby - and his emotionally and spiritually captivating new EP ‘The Good Fight’.

Kris Demeanor
Kris Demeanor has been a featured performer at the Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Vancouver Island music festivals, and Hillside Festival in Guelph to name a few in Canada, sharing bills with David Byrne, Elvis Costello, and Cake. He and his Crack Band have also played at the Woodford and Port Fairy music festivals in Australia

Linda McRae
From Dear John to John Deere. Carve It to the Heart’s not just a CD title, it’s a job description. McRae’s keen, cutting voice is a surgical instrument. Her songs are deeply evocative successors to the revivalist country-folk of the 1970s Outlaw period in Texas and Northern California.

Meg O’Mally Iredale
To her second year at ArtsWells, O’Mally brings jazzy folk tunes to induce wandering and wine drinking.

Melisa Devost
Melisa Devost writes introspective and observant songs about life patterns and choices, love or lack of, and the refinements of what it means to be human on this planet. Her music varies from blues-tinged heaviness to heartfelt non-denominational gospel to quirky folk-pop.

Miss Emily Brown
Miss Emily Brown invites you to disappear into the hush of her autoharp, guitar, pianet and music boxes. Her haunting, minimalist compositions draw inspiration from junk stores & dusty diaries. A distinct new voice in folk, Miss Brown will make you forget that you have heard it all before.

Moon Union Distillery
Paired in action under different aliases, Moon Union Distillery is a new musical incarnation from Tom Reimer and Nyla Raney. Invited friends play live with the band. Based in the Okanagan, Moon union Distillery stared in the Down Town East Side of Vancouver as a name and idea.

Navaz
Neda Jalali is from Iran and sang for many years in clubs and restaurants in Europe. Eric Tompkins has played all kinds of guitar styles - country, blues, jazz, Latin and classical. Their music is both soothing and rhythmically intense. Navaz will make you want to dance or take you on an exotic journey to faraway places.

the ory no’man too
Like a television held on freeze-frame for far too long, the ory no’man too leave an impression. Anyone who catches these two playing a show is sure to have an imprint left within them, and bound to keep coming back for more.

The Pucks
Rooted in the B.C. North, based out of Vancouver The Pucks fresh energetic musical style captivates and engages their enthusiastic audience wherever they play. Powerful, witty, heartfelt tunes wrapped in strong vocals/ harmonies, unique instrumentation delivered by a cool rhythmic groove that can only be described as The Pucks is what sets this trio apart.

The Ramonalisas
Chelsea Johnson and Christie Rose are amazing singer songwriters and poets and have become well recognised in the east Van scene as sought after vocalists, working with many Vancouver based acts. RadaR is a member of the 2008 VanSlam team, and the 2008 Vancouver WOW representative and used to perform with Punk Rock poet/songwriter Pest in the the band Odditory Presence. Also out of the Beat-Boxing poetry scene is LadyBug who kicks hard beats and beautiful Jazz vocal stylings.

Raghu Lokanathan
A letter from a stoned farmer. What one old guy said to the other old guy at the library. A rusty old long-handled ash scoop strung with a shoelace. These kinds of things make Raghu want to write songs. Some of them are on his new EP- Petal Press.

Ray Boulay
In December of 2007 BOULAY left it all in Toronto, ON; a loyal band, friends, family a good job AND he’d just released his debut album �INTAKE� that July only to move back to BC where after 23 years in Ontario, he chose to pursue Music and Love on the West Coast. Some called him crazy. He said he was crazy not too.

Ross Douglas
Reviews have called Ross Douglas “a great songwriter”, “an immensely entertaining performer” and “a gifted multi-instrumentalist”. He has 3 albums of original songs, praised for their unique perspectives, heartfelt performances and generous doses of humour. He is eclectic - which is a very good thing indeed!

Shane Koyczan and the Short Story Long
Multi award winning spoken word performer Shane Koyczan breathes life into the new genre of talk rock with his band the Short Story Long, a musical trio (Olivia Mennell, Maiya Robbie, and Stefan Bienz) whose musical range stretches from folk to funk, showcasing all of the beautiful in between.

Shane Philip
Swelling in primordial pulses and wholloping whoops, the tacit tones of Shane Philip’s didgeridoo hold the power to still listeners into silence or encourage audiences to rise up in a tribal swell of intoxicating spirit — with sometimes but a heartbeat in between.

Shawn Stephenson
Kootenay mountain musician…multi-instrumental looper freakshow. He likes meat, veggies, booze, wigs, tofu and bacon stirfry and other genderless stuff. He is overly friendly when he needs to be…usually to get some of the above items. Shawn is an independent recording artist with two discs under the proverbial belt

Sssnap
Sssnap is the feel and sound of the Djembe’s African goat-hide/skin that barks and sings the essence of the rhythmic melody ringing beneath fingertip and palm. The better the snap: the sweeter the sound. Sssnap also describes the drum-play of Granville Johnson and Martyn Piper, two drummers that have lived for and in the rhythmic groove, for much of their lives.

The Tenbrooks Two
The Tenbrooks Two are an acoustic duo on a musical expedition of reggae, Cuban, gypsy swing and bluegrass mountain sounds. Self-written original compositions feature Joel Klingler’s extraterrestrial flatpicking on guitar, Elsie Wiebe’s decadent accordion jazz waves and their warm vocal harmonies.

Third Eye Tribe
Jacob Cino, aka Third Eye Tribe has been turning out heavy bass tunes on the Canadian west coast for more than 15 years now. Whether it is reggae, dancehall or hybrids, his musik has a strong dub influence. Coming from a Hip Hop background, Ndidi brings melodic conscious ideas to the microphone. Humble but uplifting her words take the hip gyrating beats to a new level.

Ursula
Inspiring you to abandon your securities, pack light and hit the open road in search of the land of sepia, this Accordion-Banjo/Banjolin duo brings you songs about piracy, freight trains, burning cities, sea witches and ghosts. A benevolent soundtrack for a history that never was.

Wax Mannequin
He wears his guts on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to “meow” his way through a harmony or two while his obedient drum machine kicks along to the beat. He built his songs up with both his kung-fu grip guitar playing and dynamic facial expressions that laid the foundation for the words. Lyrically, he touched on Ween-worthy topics like royalty, doctors and the art of rocking.

wingdamramblers
This contemporary folk duo is no stranger to ArtsWells or the Cariboo. An organic farmer/carpenter and a music teacher/chef, with common ground and a desire to create contemporary folk based music. Murray and Bob have been playing music collectively and otherwise for decades now, and their candid songwriting still wins them fans and friends wherever they go.

Woodland Telegraph
Woodland Telegraph would like to invite you up the side of the mountain to hear songs thick in northern folklore and steeped in a love for our wilderness. Matthew Lovegrove’s warm melodies map out this landscape while Tyler Thompson drumming punctuates each song like a passing freight train. Expect soulful mountain hymns, down and dirty city bluegrass and anthemic Canadian folk.

Yael Wand
From her home in the ’suburbs’ of Wells, Yael crafts modern folk with fluid borders. With a little help from friends Christina Zaenker and Juli Steemson, her trio fuses roots, jazz and world for a varitable musical feast. Lately, Yael’s been garnering such praise as: “a songwriter of uncommon skill”, and “one of the freshest new voices in Canadian folk music”.

Amazing Space Gallery - Proprietors Claire Kujundzic and Bill Horne

Proprietors Claire Kujundzic and Bill Horne: Bill Horne and Claire Kujundzic have converted this 1930’s Catholic Church into a studio, gallery and home. Bill uses new technology as well as traditional printmaking to create imagery of the Wells area. Claire is a painter and printmaker known across Canada for her art and graphic design work. Her new work, provoked by the pine beetle epidemic, explores abstraction and prehistoric imagery. Open 2 - 6 pm daily in the summer, or by appointment. (For personal bios and photos of work please see their website.)

Caroline Anders

Caroline hails from Ontario and ventured to the Bowron Lake four years ago, now calling Wells home. She has been painting with oil colours for several years and takes inspiration from people, colours and Wells, with the goal of invoking emotions in her viewers. pageanders@hotmail.com

Art Rush Gallery - Proprietors Ting Yuen and Paul Morel

This enticing new gallery brightens up the small mountain village of Wells, British Columbia. Ting Yuen and her husband Paul Morel have created a chic and colorful gallery filled with whimsical figurative paintings by Ting. A collection of ‘Exprime- Toi’ modern jewelry created by the couple, complemented by local designer handbags and a conglomerate of art gifts.
Hours of operation: mid May to mid October Thursday - Tuesday 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. July and August 10:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Daily www.artrushgallery.com

Beck’s Pottery - Proprietor Joan Beck

Joan Beck began taking pottery courses in 1964 and later attended Pottery School in Vancouver and eventually made her way to Williams Lake. Following years found her attending many workshops and doing extensive work with the medium, both hand-built and wheel-thrown. Joan operates her summer gallery in Wells. www.beckspottery.com

Marguerite Bromley

Marguerite Bromley is a Montreal textile artist, working on large-scale sculptural installations. She holds a BFA from Concordia University. Marguerite has work at XS Labs for the past four years creating textile and electronic art. She has exhibited throughout North America and cast a bit of textiles art into everyday life.

Sonia Cornwall (1919 - 2006)

For the majority of her life Sonia lived and worked on the historic Onward Ranch at 150 Mile House. A prolific painter and rancher, she and her husband were inducted into the cowboy hall of fame in 2005. A selection of her paintings will be displayed at the IMA Gallery.

Corey Hardeman

My paintings explore my ideas about population, regeneration and speciation. By experimenting with elements of shape and texture, I attempt to convey an idea of the nature of my subjects, as they relate to one another and to our own ideas of other species. I am interested in the interaction of animals as ideas, and in what they can tell us about our own relationships with one another and with our planet.
I endeavour to combine traditional painting techniques with personal ideas about biology, human nature, and our attitudes toward the earth. I am inspired by my background in the sciences, and by my own relationships with the animals and people with whom I share my life and home. I try to give each of my subjects an individual identity, even as they combine to create larger and more complex forms.

Chris Harris

Chris Harris is a freelance and adventure photographer whose stock photography has been enjoyed in books, calendars and magazines, including National Geographic and Canadian Geographic. His work, which shows a deep passion for the natural life of the Cariboo-Chilcotin can be seen online and at his straw-bale gallery at 105 Mile Ranch.

Beth Holden

After graduating with a BFA from Concordia University, Beth left Montreal for Wells. The artistic community and surrounding mountains keep her interest in the location and inspire her work. Her current work focuses on glass and its ability to mimic nature�s relationship with sunlight. Beth was Artistic Director of IMA for 3 years, and co-founded several events, including ArtMatters at Concordia and ArtsWells

Rev. Mary Fourchalk

In addition to serving as Reverend at the Wells Community Church, Mary is a self taught artist who paints mainly from inspiration. She works in several mediums including pastel, watercolour and acrylic.

Homespun Gallery - Proprietors Gail and Ron Dunn

Gail moved to Wells one year ago with her husband Ron to open the Homespun Gallery on Pooley Street. She works in clay to create sculptural stylized forms as well as burnished smoked pottery, Raku, and Tree Spirits but still has time to explore all mediums in painting and drawing.
Ron is an internationally recognized wood turner who is represented by galleries in BC and Alberta. Ron has won awards in every competition he entered. His creations are mainly from local wood which he enjoys collecting. After logging for many years he says that creating beautiful objects from wood is payback.

Marie Nagel Gallery - Proprietor Gary Feigehen and Sara Whitney

Gary Feigehen

Gary Fiegehen is one British Columbia’s foremost photographers. Fiegehen studied photography at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. He has worked in China and the Soviet Union, and his photographs have appeared in Equinox, Harrowsmith, Borealis and Beautiful British Columbia magazines. He contributed the photographs for the coffee table book Nisga’a which received a B.C. Book Prize in 1994.

Sara Whitney

Sara is an emerging artist creating oil paintings of remote landscapes. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the University of Victoria. Sara supports herself as a freelance graphic designer and assists with teaching art to children from preschool age to teens at Arts Umbrella on Granville Island.

Marie Nagel

Marie hails from the Prairies. She attended the Alberta College of Art in Calgary in the sixties for a couple of years, but is otherwise self-taught. She takes inspiration from the shapes, colours and textures of her surroundings, and her work is characterized by strong brush strokes and vivid use of colour.

Lindsay Read

Lindsay lives in Wells, BC with her husband and two dogs. She is currently working on a series of paintings of the Bowron Lakes which will be exhibited in the summer of 2009, some of which are included in the ArtWalk.

Paula Scott

Paula is mainly self taught and credits the BC Festival of the Arts and Island Mountain Art workshops for much of her development as an artist. Her work is mainly autobiographical; memories, feelings and muses of the world from her perspective meant to provoke thought.

Laura Tosh

Laura Tosh lives in Victoria, BC where she attends Victoria College of Art. In her paintings she juxtaposes objects together to create works with an altered meaning and express and explore the fascinating framework of the way things fit together, using images to form emotional landscapes.

Catherine Wetmore

Painting mainly landscapes, Catherine continually discovers ways to express the mystical beauty of the natural world. She supports ecological concepts that educate for a cleaner world. Catherine has had exhibits at BC Art Exhibitions such as the Richmond Art Gallery, Artists Gallery in Vancouver, Vernon Art Gallery, Kaslo and more.

Full Body Vocal Warm Up Workshop With Glenna Garramone

If you can speak, you can sing! You will be lead through a full body warm up, while you attune yourself to your own voice. Employing a combination of techniques ranging from classical vocal study to modern dance, Glenna Garramone will be guiding you through a series of exercises designed to help release tension in the body, warm up your voice, and focus your breath. Please wear clothing that will allow you to move.

Poetry Workshop With Laisha Rosnau

Laisha Rosnau is a poet and novelist living in Prince George. Her book, Notes on Leaving (Nightwood 2004), won the Acorn-Plantos Poetry Award in 2005. At UBC Rosnau was the Executive Editor of PRISM international. When not caring for her one-year-old, she is working - very slowly! - on another novel and a new collection of poems.

Jaya Jaya Shankra: Indian dance performance With Ishwarya Chaitanya

due to scheduleing conflicts, Ishwarya Chaitanya will not be performing at ArtsWells this year. Sorry.

Journal Making Workshop With Pamela Cinnamon

Pamela lives in the Robson Valley (over the mountains and east of Wells). Her mixed-media visual arts practice is informed by a scientific background and love of nature. Active in the local arts community, the Jasper Artists Guild, Pamela is also a popular workshop facilitator. Her goal is always to challenge participants to reach their artistic soul within.

Salsa Dance Workshop With Robin Layne

Robin Layne splits his time between leading Jarimba and performing with a wide range of ensembles from salsa to jazz to traditional West and South African music. He is an active music educator and and is a graduate of the L.A. Music Academy. Robin’s studies have also taken him to Cuba where he has studied with the Folclorico National Ballet Cutumba.

Writing in Nature Workshop With Brianna Brash-Nyberg

Brianna Brash-Nyberg will graduate in November with her MFA in Creative Writing. She writes poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, and her poems have appeared in major literary journals, including Room, the Malahat Review, and The Antigonish Review. Her website is jouissance.ca.

Radical Folk History 101 With Joey Only

The working class has used folk music for centuries to represent their struggle against the system. Joey Only will take you on a musical journey through the slave rebellions, the strikes of 1877, the death of Joe Hill, the Industrial Workers of the World (1905-1930) and the songs of Woody Guthrie, Utah Philips and more.

Fire Poi Demonstation and Workshop With Donnalee Davidson

Donnalee Davidson is an accomplished performer and instructor of Middle Eastern Belly Dance and Maori Fire poi spinning. Born in the South Okanagan, she has travelled across the world bringing her experiences to her dance. Donnalee has been performing and teaching in several countries including Turkey, New Zealand and Ireland.

Object Writing: Ideas That Are Uniquely Your Own With Linda McRae

Learn a wonderful writing technique that Linda found extremely helpful in her own writing. No one has the same point of view as you and this writing technique will help generate descriptive ideas that are uniquely your own. Your listener will be better able to get inside your song saying, “Hey, that song’s about me!”

African Dance Workshop With Kocassale Dioubate

Kocassale Dioubate has recorded and performed with ballet Bourarabou in Senegal and Ballet Kaloum Lole in Guinea. Since arriving in Canada in 2005, he has had the opportunity to play festivals all over Canada and released his first CD of traditional African music in July.

Contact Dance Workshop With Amber Wood

Amber has been dancing her whole life. For the past decade her study has been informed by internal martial arts, hakomi and neurosomatics. Currently she lives in Victoria where she teaches movement retreats. Amber is also a facilitator and educator of experiential learning programs around the province.

Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Hand Drumming Workshops With Sssnap

Sssnap is the feel and sound of the Djembe’s African goat-hide/skin that barks and sings the essence of the rhythmic melody ringing beneath fingertip and palm. The better the snap: the sweeter the sound.

Belly Dance With Brenda Bye

Bellydance has been both sacred and scorned over the years and was once a gift; danced by women, for women. It is still a gift, one that we give to ourselves as well as share with each other. Unveil the dancer within you.

Ashtanga Yoga With Jacob Cino

So you just sat 10 hours in a car, partied your face off last night dancing and indulging in the worldly delights and now you feel a little ouchy. Well come be nice to your body and do some yoga. No fancy outfits required although something stretchy would be more accommodating. Beginner and seasoned practitioners welcome. Stretch, Breathe, Watch your thoughts and feel the benefits of this 4000-year-old practise.

Artist Trading Card Workshop With Rhonda Simmons

Come and create small works of art…”No Art Experience is Necessary” All creative supplies will be available for participants. ARTIST TRADING CARDS are miniature works of art created on 2  X 3  inch or 64 X 89 mm card stock. They are originals, small editions and, most importantly, self-produced. Anybody can produce them. Learn the of history of ATCs, then make and trade them throughout the weekend.

Stilt Walking with Ruthie Sumiko Tabata

Ruthie is an artist who specializes in stiltwalking and other performance, costume, props and lantern making, d’cor, mosaics, murals, and Japanese tea ceremonies. Ruthie also has a passion for producing multi-disciplinary art events, festivals, and celebrations to showcase and recognize artists of various disciplines, providing opportunities to bring artists and communities together.

Aikido: The Art Of Peace with Floyd Blades

The workshop will provide a brief introduction to the history and philosophy of Aikido. Through the introduction of basic physical principles such as stance, footwork and movement and various holds the workshop will progress to the basics of weapons forms. Participants will need to wear loose but sturdy clothing and bring water and an open mind. The weapons practice will require a straight, wooden staff between 50 and 55 inches long. A smooth wooden broom handle will suffice for the purposes of the workshop.

Juggling Workshop with Tyler D.

Wells/ Prince George resident juggler and unicyclist will teach some juggling basics and advanced tricks for juggler-wannabes of any age.

Laughter Yoga With Heather Burger

An hour of laughing for the HEALTH of it! A series of exercises are used to stimulate laughter, which quickly stimulates heart, healthy real laughter. We use yogic breathing, clapping and eye contact to laugh together. No special clothing or equipment id needed, simply bring a willingness to laugh!

It takes months to set up for the ArtsWells Festival, a crazy 4 days of magical mayhem to run it and at least a few days to tear it down and store it for another year. Helping with this year’s festival is a great opportunity to meet the artists, become part of the ArtsWells community, enjoy yummy vegetarian food in our performer/volunteer kitchen have a great time!