Thank you Summerland for another wonderful festival!
Words. Music. Performing Arts. Community.
Our 2025 festival presented a dynamic variety of performers, creators, and experiences inspired by the spirit of George Ryga, whose works drew public attention to social injustice and marginalization.We presented events that matched our themes of Words, Theatre, and Music. These were all genres in which George Ryga created, and our Festival again features artists and performers whose works support these themes. Please browse our previous events for our tenth anniversary.
You can view the individual artists below!
Feature event: Deafy!
ABOUT THE SHOW: Deaf public speaker, Nathan Jesper, has arrived at his venue desperately late. As he launches into his speech, he soon realizes that things are not what they seem. A new play by Deaf artist Chris Dodd, Deafy skillfully combines ASL, surtitles and the spoken word to weave together a tragicomedy that takes the audience on an unexpected journey of discovering what it really means to belong.
Friday, September 12
Please join us for our second annual Harvest Harmony Swing Dance, in partnership with the Summerland Fall Fair and the Summerland Community Centre. This event will start (if chosen) with a beginner lesson at 5:30pm, followed by the dance and the South Okanagan Big Band.
Please join us for our annual favourite, Outspoken! This evening of spoken word by local and regional artists and writers will take place at Summergate Winery, with dinner served at 5pm before the show starts at 6pm. Mike will be serving up his delicious food truck food, the service will be available from 5:00 PM and is not included in the ticket price. Please bring your own lawn chair if you do not want to sit at the picnic tables.
Festival Launch & Opening Night Reception — A pay-what-you-can opening celebration featuring a variety show inspired by the festival’s core themes of Words, Theatre, and Music in honour of George Ryga.
Thursday, September 18
Claire Coupland’s Songwriting Sharing Circle is an intimate and supportive workshop where participants can share songs in progress, receive feedback, and explore songwriting techniques in a collaborative group setting. Through performance, discussion, and creative exchange, attendees will gain fresh perspectives on lyrics, melody, and song structure while connecting with fellow songwriters. Participants are welcome to actively share their work or simply attend to listen and learn.
Ryga Arts Festival and Bouche Theatre Collective present a workshop reading of FACELIFT by award-winning Quebec playwright Nathalie Boisvert, translated by Johanna Nutter and featuring Dawn Basset. Through the intimate ritual of daily makeup application, the play explores themes of beauty, ageing, seduction, and women’s freedom within societal expectations. Audiences are invited to stay after the reading for a Q&A with the playwright and translator.
Author reading with Joanna Cockerline and Kevin Heslop - Joanna is a CBC Literary Awards prizewinner, Pushcart Prize nominee, and author of Still (Porcupine’s Quill, 2025), a novel set in Kelowna’s street community that explores sex work, the opioid crisis, friendship, and the search for home. Kevin is a multidisciplinary artist and writer whose latest book, The Writing on the Wind’s Wall, presents a series of in-depth dialogues on Medical Assistance in Dying, offering a collective portrait of how a community thinks and feels about death, dying, and what it means to live together now.
Free Your Voice! Why does it feel so vulnerable to sing? Have you been silenced by someone else’s judgement? Do you secretly love to sing? Do you wish you loved to sing? Would you like a safe space to sing that’s judgement free? Check your judgement at the door and sing freely in community. Let’s raise our vibrations together! Join Yanti for this special two hour event! Please bring water, comfortable shoes and trust.
Friday, September 19
Inclusivity in the Arts - a Community Conversation with this year's featured Festival artists Chris Dodd, CE Gatchalian and Claire Coupland.
Join celebrated Syilx author Brian Thomas Isaac for a reading from his latest novel, Bones of a Giant, followed by a Q&A. Brian is the award-winning author of All the Quiet Places and currently resides in West Kelowna. Pay What You Can.
Reading and Workshop by C. E. Gatchalian - Double Melancholy: Art, Beauty, and the Making of a Brown Queer Man—a lyrical exploration of race, desire, and artistic identity shaped by literature, film, and family history. At 4pm, Gatchalian will lead Writing the Unraveling Self, a workshop that invites participants to embrace emotional rawness and creative disruption through guided prompts and reflection.
Claire Coupland and Ollie Rankin- Claire Coupland, soulful musician, and Ollie Rankin, spoken word artist, explore themes of healing, justice, and hope. Enjoy their intimate, thought-provoking performances that speak to hearts and minds.
Saturday, September 20
Isobel Rondeau's Wings of an Angel - A workshopped reading of selected scenes. Funded with gratitude by the Canada Council for the Arts. Tickets by donation!
Theatre Trail returns for another unforgettable afternoon of original short plays performed in unexpected locations throughout Summerland. Audiences are guided in small groups on a theatrical journey from venue to venue, discovering bold new stories, surprise performances, and immersive experiences along the way. Participants begin at the park in front of the museum before setting off with their designated group guide for a one-of-a-kind roaming theatre adventure lasting approximately 1–2 hours. Please note: your ticket may say 12pm-2pm. Please arrive at the park before 12:30 to be prepared to move to your starting venue at 12:30. The show does not start until 1pm and will likely last for 1-2 hours.
Deafy by acclaimed Edmonton playwright and performer Chris Dodd was a featured highlight of the 2025 Festival. Combining spoken word, ASL, and captions, this powerful tragicomedy explores identity, connection, and belonging through the story of Nathan Jesper, a Deaf public speaker whose presentation takes an unexpected turn.
Sunday, September 21
Explore the world of technical theatre in this hands-on workshop with Ryan Grenier, focused on lighting, projections, and QLab for live performance. Designed for youth and young adults ages 17–29, this free TELUS-funded workshop introduces participants to the tools and techniques behind visual storytelling in theatre.
Discover the playful art of clowning and physical comedy in this interactive workshop focused on character development, spontaneity, and audience connection. Through movement, humour, and creative risk-taking, participants will explore the joy of performing “in the moment” in a fun and supportive environment. Ages 19+.
Soundtrack: A Poetry Karaoke Night with Michael V. Smith blends storytelling, poetry, and karaoke in a lively celebration of music and memory. Inspired by the albums that shaped his youth growing up queer in a small town, Smith shares personal stories while inviting audiences to join in singing songs from his book’s featured soundtracks. Pay What You Can starting at $5.
2025 Artists
The Ryga Arts Festival is bursting with bold voices, fresh talent, and unforgettable performances. The 2025 season’s artists are storytellers, musicians, performers, and creators who inspire, challenge, and connect us.
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