Community

Slocan Harmony Festival shows true community spirit

Volunteers and artists in the Slocan are gearing up for Harmony Festival this weekend. The 3-day festival takes place on picturesque Slocan Beach, and kicks off today at 1 p.m. with a youth songwriting workshop. The festival, now in its 4th year, draws on local talent, effort, and passion to create an accessible event for all ages. Entrance is by donation.

“I would describe it as Slocan Valley vibes, family friendly, lots of fun, lots of art, lots of freedom of expression.

The donation model that I'm trying to expand is a pay what you can or pay it forward. For some people that have a little bit more money, they can put a little extra to cover the people who don't have so much money so that we can all enjoy a community gathering, on one of the most beautiful places in the world, Slocan Beach.”

Organizer and host Lisa Parente, who hails from Montreal, said she created the festival as a sort of sequel to the Unity Music Festival that ran in the Slocan for roughly 6 years.

“I approached the founders of Unity and said, ‘hey, I've been asked to bring this back. How do you feel, I would love your blessing’. And they said, ‘yeah, bring back a music event, that's great. But don't call it Unity, make it something else.’ And so I came up with the name Harmony, which is both a musical term and synonym for Unity.”

Before the Unity Festival there was LittleFest, another grassroots-style Slocan Valley festival that also ran for 6 years. 

Many festivals of its kind, and many larger festivals in the Interior and beyond, have faced challenges continuing in recent years. But there's something in the spirit of these community festivals that isn't so easily cancelled.

The 2nd year of the Harmony Festival was scheduled during devastating fires in the area. Some questioned whether the festival should go ahead. Parente decided to have the event anyway.

“There was friends of mine who had their property burned just a few days earlier, and they were there at the event, singing and dancing, and being with their friends. Because what else could they do? I was standing there, watching the fire creep closer to my home at Harmony… Artists showed up, and they gave their show, and people showed up. And we danced and we laughed…”

The festival comes together through the creativity and support of local artists, volunteers and organizations.

Festival goers can look forward to music, creative workshops, and water games. Everything from felting to kayak races.

“Friday evening, there's going to be some live art happening during the hip-hop show. Free crafts, tons of workshops, lots of games. We're gonna have the Slocan firefighter games on Sunday, and we're having Endless Adventure from Crescent Valley facilitate some water games on Saturday. Getting lots of support from local businesses and organizations and groups.

I just really love the fact that I can help showcase local art through music, dance, and art exhibits.”

Parente runs the Treehugger Events Society — a non-profit that aims to support local artists and culture, and create accessible community events. She says she's proud to provide the space to gather and enjoy cultural and artistic expression.

The event is also produced by Live Harmonics Sound Science — a small event production company based in the Slocan Valley. You might know them from their work at Bloom Nightclub in Nelson. Mark Parsons of Live Harmonics is looking forward to producing the sound for Harmony.

“We have been working with Lisa for the past few years and she runs these events by donation and she brings the community together. It's absolutely adorable, and such a wonderful event. We're really proud to be a part of it. So, yeah, we couldn't be happier to be a part of it again this year.”

Harmony Festival runs through Sunday at Slocan Beach. Admission is by donation, and the full lineup of activities can be found on Harmony's Facebook page.

by Heather Austin