George Ryga may be most famous for his play, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, but his talents ranged far: poetry, lyrics, novels and more.
Likewise, the Ryga Festival, getting underway in Summerland on Aug. 30, offers a range of experiences with five days of concerts, workshops, performances and readings, drawing on both local talents and from as far away as Syria.
Syria would be Adrenaline, a play for our time, written and performed by Ahmad Miree, a Syrian theatre artist who moved to Canada last year as a refugee.
“This is the first play he has written since arriving,” said artistic director Heather Davies, explaining that she feels it’s a testament to the Summerland community, which has welcomed two Syrian families to the Okanagan.
“We wanted to program something that went with that spirit that is already here,” said Davies. “It is a very moving piece about someone who has arrived in a new country and they are surviving and what is that like, which is not always a story we get here.”
Another highlight for Davies is the Theatre Trail, a pop-up event celebrating local creativity and in partnership with the Summerland Arts Centre, True Grain Bakery and Bead Trails.
“We will have little short 15-minute performances in each of the three venues and then storyteller guides will accompany people on the walk from location to location. That is all under the theme of inspired by Summerland,” said Davies.
This is the second year for the festival, which, though it was still inspired by Ryga, went by the name Marginal Arts Festival last year.
“The Ryga family have very kindly given us permission to have George Ryga’s name as the title for the festival,” said Davies.
Hosting the Ryga Festival puts Summerland in a select group, according to Davies. There are only a few other festivals inspired by a Canadian writer.
“We don’t always recognize our great cultural contributors,” said Davies, listing festivals inspired by Stephen Leacock, Norm Foster and Alice Munro.
“We don’t have a lot of festivals that are inspired by our major cultural contributors. George Ryga had two things, he was an incredible, well-respected writer. Also, he was a very community-minded fellow. So by having George as the inspiration for the festival, we celebrate local creativity and also celebrate extraordinary artistry at the same time.
“It is really wonderful that the desire for the festival came from the community as a way of acknowledging George’s presence in the community for over 25 years.”
A complete list of Ryga Festival events is available online at rygafest.ca.
Be warned, it’s a long list. Davies said she used herself as a barometer for scheduling events.
“I gave myself the task of making sure I could be at every event that we planned,” said Davies. “If I can be there then anyone who wants to attend every event can also be there.”