Epic Choral Concert & Community Events Galore |
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The Re-Connect Festival, presented by Creatively United and Climate and the Arts, continues with these special upcoming events: June 3: The Dream of Gerontius. A massive choral work of epic proportions, featuring the Victoria Philharmonic Choir and world class soloists: UK-based tenor Joshua Ellicott, baritone Nathaniel Watson and mezzo-soprano Sarah Fryer, accompanied by a large orchestra and Christ Church Cathedral's powerful organ. One night only! June 24+25: Walking Within the Bounds of Nature. See description below. |
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The Dream of Gerontius, composed in 1900 by Edward Elgar from a poem by John Henry Newman, relates the final journey of a devout man’s soul through encounters with angels and demons, to his judgement before God. |
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UK-based tenor, Joshua Ellicott, sings the title role with baritone Nathaniel Watson as the Priest/Angel of the Agony, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Fryer as the Angel. Victoria Philharmonic Choir music director, Peter Butterfield, conducts the performance, which features large choral and orchestral forces. Humanity, like Gerontius, also faces an uncertain future. It can either continue to pursue a carbon economy together with biodiversity loss or it can learn to live within nature's limits and vigorously pursue a net zero carbon future. This future can best be achieved through a combination of enlightened policies by governments and the private sector supported by individuals adapting their lifestyle choices. These programs are part of the Re-Connect Festival, presented by Climate and the Arts and Creatively United, with support from the Gail O’Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund and the Victoria Foundation. Established in 2019, the Gail O’Riordan Legacy Fund combines the emotional power of music and the performing arts with the need to change consciousness about the climate emergency and biodiversity loss. She believed that as the climate emergency deepens over the coming decade, individual self-interest will shift to supporting the overall health of the planet. As a music teacher and former Victoria Symphony cellist, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, was one of Gail O'Riordan's favorite pieces of music. Her nephew-in-law, Joshua Ellicott, sings the title role at this special one-night only event. See soloist bios here. |
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Walking Within the Bounds of Nature Saturday, June 24 & Sunday, June 25, 2-4 pm (free drop-in)
Irving Park, James Bay, 250 Menzies St. |
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Join sopranos Caleigh Aalders and Jennifer Turner and poet Eli Mushumanski for a free, drop-in, interactive music and poetry event. Participants will be invited to walk the Irving Park Labyrinth as a contemplative exercise while encountering song and spoken poetry in order to work through experiences of personal and collective ecological grief. The acoustic environment will involve a selection of traditional folk songs and art songs with cello, harp, and two voices, as well as poems written and read by Victoria’s 2022 youth poet laureate, Eli Mushumanski. This project uses art to respond to the complex impacts of climate change on our natural world and societies. With many community members already conscious of the challenges we face in a climate-changed world, this event creates a contemplative space for participants to visualize a climate-changed future. Such visualization involves reflecting on transformation in our personal and societal relationships with nature, while also working through feelings that arise from the rapid changing of our natural world. Irvine Park is located at 250 Menzies Street at the corner of Michigan Street in James Bay. |
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These community events can also be found on Creatively United's free Event Calendar, your source for finding a wide variety of both online and in-person events of interest to the Creatively United community. |
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Featuring more than 30 OCEAN-themed events with a focus on fun, learning, and action over 10 days. Ocean Week is a celebration of community partnerships and local events around World Ocean Day (June 8th) that explore and interact with our big blue backyard, the Salish Sea. Check out OceanWeekVictoria.ca in-person and virtual events, from June 2-11, with festivals at Royal Roads, Sidney, and Fisherman's Wharf. Activities include art, water sports, science, technology, trivia contests, and conservation for all ages. |
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Mutual Aid and Community Organizing Fair Saturday, June 3, noon PST
Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Avenue |
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Join in an afternoon of mutual aid and community care, including food, learning, fun and stuff. All ages. Free. Learn more here |
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Learn from Indigenous elders, hereditary chiefs and matriarchs, as we walk together prayerfully and with reverence. Learn more here |
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Tall Tree Speaker Series: The Nature of Now
An Evening With John Astin Friday, June 9, 6:30 pm PST
Denford Hall, Glenlyon Norfolk School, 781 Richmond Avenue |
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Through guided meditative inquiry, discussion, and reflection, undergo a journey of self-discovery. Delve into the nature of experience itself and learn simple, elegant practices for welcoming and embracing each moment. By peeling away misperceptions of thinking, discover well-being in the midst of daily circumstances. Learn more and registration here |
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LifeCycles Annual Solstice Fundraising Event Tuesday, June 20, 5:30 pm PST
Junction Cidery, 273 Prospect Lake Road |
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A gathering and fundraiser to support LifeCycles ongoing work. Enjoy a catered dinner with live music and a silent auction to raise funds and celebrate community. Please consider donating products or services to the Silent Auction. Learn more here |
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Creatively United for the Planet is a registered non-profit society. Since 2012, we have been leading, convening and amplifying ways to share how collectively we can reduce our ecological footprint and implement long-term sustainability solutions. Our mandate is to foster conversations, connections and create collaborative opportunities that bring individuals and organizations together in support of achieving common sustainability goals and accelerating climate action. Creatively United is a member of the Westcoast Climate Action Network and works collaboratively with numerous community organizations and in partnership with the Gail O'Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund, supported by The Victoria Foundation. The Gail O'Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund is dedicated to changing human consciousness towards global environmental change by combining science with the creativity of the performing arts. |
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Healthy, happy communities begin from the ground up. Help us inspire generations to protect and preserve the natural world and confront climate change, so families, communities and nature can prosper together. |
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