Festival Procession: Equinox Raven 

September 20, 2025 | 530pm

Free, Open to All | Snickett Park   | Ocean Ave

In collaboration with Rogue Arts Society, the Sechelt Arts Festival invites you to a celebration of Sinku, the deep waters of the Salish Sea, its ocean inhabitants, its underwater currents, its stories of travel and exchange, and its vitalness to our communities. Sechelt, as the land between two waters, has been shaped by the Salish Sea.  

To honour of this magical moment, we will gather at 5:30pm on Ocean Ave for a procession along the waterfront guided by musicians, drummers, dancers and puppets – all celebrating the creatures of the sea. Weaving shíshálh drumming, song and storytelling, with the power of taiko and the beauty of the shakuhachi flute, the procession unfolds stories of the sea on the Fall Equinox. 

Raven is a trickster. Raven is often associated with winter and the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. Raven teaches us how to go into the dark to bring forth the light. Following the procession, micro-performances by musicians, storyteller, artists and performers will take over the waterfront, celebrating the shifting cycles of light, and the time of the year when we enter into an equal part of day and night – a new phase of the year. We will end as the sun sets. 

Micro-Performers: Play Sechelt, Driftwood Players,  

Cast for Equinox Raven include: Andy Johnson, cultural ambassador shishalh nation; Cora Lee Joe-Louise, dancer; Maggie Guzzi, raven; Connor Dixon, dancer; Gerardo Avila, equinox character mask; Noriko Kobayashi, taiko and shamisen (Japanese banjo); Kage, taiko; Bushido: Alcvin Ryūzen Ramos, shakuhachi, shinobue player, and  Nori Akagi, taiko; Flags: Hazel Bell-Koski; Costumes: Conchita