WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2017
| A25
north shore news nsnews.com
September 10
Coho
AMBLESIDE PARK
FESTIVAL 2017
www.cohofestival.com
Coho ‘Discovery Day’ Workshops Mural and Banner Project 2017 Understanding that an important keystone to the future protection of the North Shore’s wild salmon populations is education, in 2014 The Coho Society of the North Shore Initiated the Coho ‘Discovery Day’ Workshop Program that offers free one day innovative art and science based salmon conservation programming to local elementary schools across the North Shore through Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Artist for Kids. Initially producing banners that are installed along the Main Street / Marine Drive corridor through the three Municipalities of the North Shore in August and September announcing the Coho Festival every year, the program has expanded with increased student involvement to include the development of two new permanently installed murals along the Spirit Trail beside Mosquito Creek and Mackay Creek Estuary in the City of North Vancouver in 2016 and 2017. This years mural installed beside Mackay Creek Estuary, references the Squamish Nations ‘Blessing of the Salmon’ ceremony that is part of every years Coho Festival. The mural also includes the themes of biodiversity and multiculturalism. The street banners announcing Coho Festival 2017 and the murals aim to remind community that wildlife also travels through these areas. Since 2014 many hundreds of school children have participated in Coho ‘Discovery Day’ workshops developed though the Coho Society of the North Shore by Artist Ron den Daas in collaboration with many community partners, in 2017, including Bodwell International High School, City of North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Artists For Kids, Seymour Salmonids Society and North Shore Streamkeepers. Coho ‘Discovery Day’ workshop participants not only learn about all the different kinds of wildlife - like salmon, like eagles, like all the different birds and plants that also are living in our communities - but they also explore protecting and enhancing this wonderful natural heritage.
“If you look at the banner and mural designs, you can see the excitement and some of the ideas that the kids got out of these workshops,” says den Daas. “Many different drawings are integrated into these landscapes that are exploring the idea of protecting wild life communities within an urban context.” In addition to images of mountains, fish, storm drains and high-rises, the banners also identify local salmonbearing rivers and creeks with both their Coast Salish and English names. This year’s mural references the Squamish Nation’s ‘Blessing of the Salmon’ ceremony performed at the Coho Festival each year, underlining the importance of the ancient relationship that exists between the Coast Salish Community and the North Shore’s Salmon and related habitat, in terms of protecting the iconic salmon species found on the North Shore going forward. !
Odds will be performing live! Come out to enjoy one of Canada’s favourite, power-pop legend bands. Odds Craig Northey, Doug Elliott, Pat Steward and Murray Atkinson have a handful of hits including “Truth Untold”, “Eat My Brain”, “Heterosexual Man”, “It Falls Apart” and “Someone Who’s Cool”. They’ve opened for The Tragically Hip and Barenaked Ladies and the band could be seen on hockey coverage when they acted as “house band” for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics as well as for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks during the 2010 and 2011 playoffs.
Come listen, sway away or sing along… we know you will have a great time!
Coho Festival Bike & Skill Rodeo The Bike Safety and Skills course (aka “bike rodeo”) is a miniature roadway marked out with traffic signs to reinforce responsible riding well before kids are ready to ride on the road! The controlled setting increases skill and confidence, motivating kids to ride their own bikes more often and to more places (school, the park, a friend’s). Riders on runner bikes, even scooters, can learn or improve their bike handling skills, including turning in both directions, object avoidance, and yielding to oncoming traffic. Understanding helmet fit is much-needed information for both kids and parents. Provided by North Shore Safety Council
Giant painted mural at Bodwell High School
YOUR
BLUE BUS Is a
Proud Supporter of the Coho Festival West Vancouver Transit 604-985-7777
RALPH SULTAN,MLA WEST VANCOUVER-CAPILANO
Enjoy the Coho Festival! 409-545 Clyde Avenue, West Vancouver, BC V7T 1C5 ralph.sultan.mla@leg.bc.ca • 604-981-0050