Sophisticated songstress, Aidan Mayes reveals an earnest heart, bursting with beautiful, beaming light for everyone experiencing her soulful voice. A folk songsmith forged from nostalgic 90’s alternative pop and Lilith Fair roots, her lyrics carry bold expressions of loss, love, great adventures, and dreams of an even better life. A classically trained foundation gives Aidan the core confidence to explore Joni Mitchell-esque alternate tunings full of ethereal edge and a full sensory supply of sweet soaring vocals accompanied by expert level organic instrumentation. All the emotions poetically flow.

Aidan Mayes grew up in Penticton, BC and graduated with honours from the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC. Achieving the highest level of accreditation in Theory from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Aidan developed an Okanagan creative arts organization in the Aidan Mayes School of Music sharing world-class music instruction and youthful exploration. A dedicated music teacher and dynamic live performing artist, Aidan Mayes has persistently strived for elevated musical experiences that manifest moments of inspiration and joy.

Released May 2021, Aidan’s fifth studio album, Dream Again, is a pure celebration of her trademark themes; personal growth, self-love, female empowerment, and overcoming. Her truest essence is revealed through this visionary collaboration with multi-platinum Juno Award winning producer, Ryan Stewart, of Vancouver, BC. His accomplished resume (Carly Rae Jepsen, Simple Plan, Owl City, Smash Mouth, Alan Walker, Shawn Desman, Coleman Hell, Trevor Guthrie, Jocelyn Alice, Carys, Victoria Duffield, Andrew Allen, Tyler Shaw, and others) gave Aidan an anchor point for the project ambition and quality she imagined in her dreams. With the freedom and clarity to be fully vulnerable and creative while reeling from fresh heartache, Mayes coalesced unencumbered with Stewart to transport this music into a full-blown expression of her passionate heart.

This collaboration was so successful and musically potent, that Aidan headed back into the studio with Stewart at the end of 2022, continuing into 2023 to embark on the creation of her most ambitious Full Length Solo Album to date. Stay tuned for stunning single releases in 2023 and the unveiling of LOVE, in 2024! Aidan has also teamed up with world renowned DJ producer, DTO to have one of her beloved tracks from Dream Again reimagined, release set for June 2023. The stars hold no limit to Aidan’s drive, passion and creativity. When Aidan isn’t pursuing her personal musical aspirations, she facilitates her 9-Week Musical Self-Care program ‘Play Your Song’, inspiring adults of any ability, to delve into singing, strumming, songwriting and learning to play their own song.

Aidan Mayes. An Okanagan Dream. Heartfelt & Raw. Beautiful & Bold.

Singer – Songwriter - Performing Artist – Music Coach

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS

Female Artist of The Year – Okanagan Music Awards 2007

Cave Of Wonders – Full Length Album – Aidan Mayes 2007 Hello Hercules – EP – Aidan & Mandy 2013
CBC Searchlight Top 10 Winner – Aidan & Mandy 2014 Penticton’s Arts Award recipient – Best Music 2014

CBC Searchlight Top 25 Winner – Aidan & Mandy 2015
Okanagan Life Magazine Finalist “Best Musician” 2015 & 2016
Siren Songs – Full Length Album – Aidan & Mandy 2016
St. Saviour’s Sessions – Full Length Album – Offramp Jazz Sextet 2016 (Lead Singer) GOLD Best of Penticton - Best Musicians - Aidan & Mandy 2019, 2020, 2021
Dream Again – EP – Aidan Mayes 2021
SILVER Best of Penticton - Best Musicians - Aidan & Mandy 2022
GOLD Best of Penticton - Top Entrepreneur - Aidan Mayes 2021, 2022
GOLD Best Private School – Aidan Mayes School Of Music 2022
Owner/Music Coach: Aidan Mayes School Of Music 2014-2021
Creator – Aidan Mayes Method – Play Your Song – Online Music Program 2021 – present *Nominated for 8 Best Of Penticton honours for 2023 – Winners announced in July! LOVE – Full Length Album – Aidan Mayes – Coming 2024

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Movement Director, Amber Borotsik, is also an Amiskwaciwâskahikan-based creator and performer keenly interested in the intersection between contemporary theatre and dance practices. She has acted and performed as a dancer across Canada, the United States and Japan. She won a Sterling Award as Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role, and created several original dance pieces which have been performed at the National Arts Centre and at the Centre de Creation O Vertigo in Montreal.

Andre *the Man from Eldorado" Sutherland Begin is an indigenous member (Moose Cree) of the Storytellers of Canada, recites at museums, libraries, theatres, retirement homes, galleries, festivals and is no stranger to the Ryga Arts Festival.

Barbara Jagodics has been in the performing arts since 2001, her mission is to educate people about First Nations people. “If it makes you laugh, or think, it was worth it!” Currently she is in Summerland Ryga Arts festival events:

Outspoke! Reading her dark comedy "CRACK! Which was inspired by a true story of a man getting help with housing. Some of the questions are real and some are made up. Guess which ones?

Brown Bag Art Social - Interactive Hoop demonstrations with participants. Indigenous hoop dancing is a form of storytelling through dance by creating shapes.

In addition to participating as an actress in Theatre Trails in the play CarboNation.

Betty-Ann has been involved in community theatre for over thirty years. This is her directorial debut.

Brakeman Jack is a heritage troubadour. For 25 years he entertained B.C. audiences telling stories and singing original song with The Kettle Valley Brakemen. He's delighted to participate in this year's George Ryga Festival's Spoken Word Event.

Bryan has "trod the boards" of community theatre from the Prairies to BC, for over 50 years, both onstage, of stage and backstage. He has performed in productions of comedy, drama, musicals and music reviews and variety shows. He has built sets, acted in, produced, and directed both theatre and radio plays, with recent productions of the Summerland Singers & Players, both on stage and "on the rails,” with the Kettle Valley Railroad. Most recently Bryan appeared in Trista Bassets production of "Covid The Musical" and is now pleased to be returning to play a role in The Ryga Festival's collaboration with the SS&P Bead Trails presentation of "Robert and Sam.”

Cameron's passion for music began at a young age. He learned to play guitar in his early teens, switching later to electric bass guitar. Cameron became a musician proficient in diverse genres, including jazz, blues, folk and rock, and worked in bars, at weddings, ni musical theatre, recording studios and on the concert stage with many notable performers.

Cameron played with Les Copeland, as a duo, for six years, honing his skills and delving into lesser-known songs of the twentieth century. Currently, Cameron is writing and arranging for an upcoming project and mentors new musicians.

Jazz Saxophone

Campbell Ryga was born in 1961 in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. Campbell is the eldest son of the Internationally renowned Canadian Author and Playwright - George Ryga. Campbell was raised in the community of Summerland British Columbia, where he lived until moving to Vancouver to pursue private and post secondary study in 1979. Since 1979, Campbell has resided in the cities of Vancouver British Columbia, Toronto Ontario and in New York City.

Mr. Ryga was honoured to have received the Jazz Report Magazine Award of 'Canada's Alto Saxophonist of the Year 2000' presented to him at the annual Jazz Report Awards Ceremony held in Toronto in May of the year 2000. The two former recipients of this award were Moe Koffman and PJ Perry.

Mr. Ryga has received 3 Juno Awards, with two additional nominations, a Grammy nomination, and he appeared on Michael Buble's recording 'Crazy Love' which received a Grammy Award in 2010. Campbell Ryga's recordings have twice received the 'Western Canadian Music Award' in the Jazz category.

Campbell Ryga has toured internationally on 26 occasions, primarily to Western Europe and to Latin America, notably to the Havana International Jazz Festival, where he has been invited to perform for six consecutive years.

Mr. Ryga is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Hugh Fraser Quintet, an All Star multiple Award

Winning Canadian Jazz Quintet to which Campbell has had a long term association. Campbell's affliation with Hugh Fraser and the Quintet began in 1981.

On top of his International touring schedule, Campbell has also been involved in cross country Canadian touring on 24 separate occasions, and has performed week long engagements at the famed Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho - London, on 4 separate occasions.

Campbell has contributed to 87 Jazz Recordings inclusive of his four current releases as a leader, 'Coastal Connection' and two years later 'Spectacular' which was released in December of 2001 and was nominated for a Juno Award. Both of these releases were handled by Radioland/Universal Records.

More recently, Campbell recorded a release with the great New York pianist Renee Rosnes for CBC Records entitled Deep Cove which features Neil Swainson on bass and Rudy Petchauer on drums, recorded by CBC Records and is distributed by Universal. Deep Cove was nominated for a Juno Award for 2005. This recording received the Western Canadian Music Awards award for Most Outstanding Jazz Recording for the Year 2005.

In 2008 Campbell collaborated with the great Canadian Jazz Alto Saxophonist PJ Perry to record his most recent release 'Joined at the Hip' a live recording with Ross Taggart on Piano, Neil Swainson on Bass and Terry Clarke on Drums - available on Cellar Live Records.

Mr. Ryga continues to maintain a busy schedule as a Clinician, in association with Yamaha Canada. Campbell also maintains an active Adjudicators' Schedule.
Campbell has sat on the Jury Boards for The British Columbia Arts Council and The Canada Council for the Arts.

Campbell Ryga has formerly been a faculty member of Capilano College Jazz Studies Department, and later at Kwantlen Polytechnic University Music Department in Langley, British Columbia.

Mr. Ryga has received the honour of having been placed on the British Columbia Secondary School District 67 - Wall of Fame - for excellence in his field.
In 2010, Mr. Ryga has been inducted to the Envisions Jazz Festival 'Hall of Fame' in honour of his accomplishments as a Performer.

Mr. Ryga is proud to be affiliated and Sponsored by the following good friends: Campbell Ryga is a Yamaha Canada Saxophone Artist, a Theo Wanne Mouthpiece Artist and a D'Addario Reeds Artist

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Chantal is excited to perform for the first time with Theatre Trails at the Ryga Arts festival. She has an extensive background in theatre, starting with earning a theatre degree At Canterbury High School for the Performing Arts. She continued her training in Theatre, earning a BA in

Theatre at the University of Ottawa. Since then, she’s acted, produced, and directed in many plays in Ottawa, Vancouver and the Okanagan. Chantal thanks her director Jamie Doll, the writer of GPS, Karla Henning, and Trista for all their hard work and collaboration.

Christina is a mixed race artist hailing from amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). Selected upcoming credits include: Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night (Freewill Shakespeare); Sound of Music (Citadel Theatre/RMTC).
Selected credits include: Jersey Boys, A Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre (Citadel Theatre); Agammemnon (Bleviss Laboratory Theatre); Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions); Much Ado About Nothing, Winter’s Tale (Freewill Shakespeare); Sprouts! (Concrete Theatre); Here There Be Night (Workshop West Theatre); and Chrysothemis, Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again (Studio Theatre). Christina is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting Program.

Dan started his drumming adventure at the age of eleven. Beginning with jazz and latin music, Dan was also exposed to many different genres, attributing to his unique style and vocabulary when drumming. Completely captivated by music, he spent countless hours practicing and more importantly, listening to legendary drummers. A few years later, Dan would go on to win numerous awards internationally, such as Top Instrumentalist, Top Soloist, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Zildjian’s Top Young Drummer and many, many more. Building a name and reputation for himself, he began work as a session drummer for various artists and producers, all the while performing live for many different bands and artists. Falling in love with the recording and engineering processes, Dan decided to open and operate his own company, DMA Studios, specializing in studio recording and live sound. Now a member of the wonderful Soultone Cymbals family, Dan has teamed up with Soultone to create an amazing signature line of cymbals, DMA Studios Signature Series. He also sings and plays guitar in a duo with his lovely wife Rachelle!

Dan Tait is that road-worn artist who continues to greet the day with his bright eyes and a smiling bearded face. He's a warm-hearted storyteller with over 16 years of touring across the country under his belt. He's a folk-musician's rocker, and a honky-tonker's bluesman. He is a man enthralled with each and every human he meets, and shares this through his story and song.

Now, Dan is recording the songs that will become his second full length album - derived from the past 3 years of change in the world, and change in his own life.

We’re happy to have this artist onboard for our 2023 festival. Watch this space, for more information.

Ryga Festival Board Director at Large, Theatre Trail Production Manager/Director - CarbonNation/Assistant Director - The Button

A graduate of Studio 58 and SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts, Dawn has been performing, directing and stage managing for many years.  Over the past five years, Dawn has directed four successful murder mysteries on the KVR Steam Train with Summerland Singers and Players, performed in Musicals with ShowTime Community Theatre, Summerland Singers and Players and Cat's Paw.  Dawn is thrilled to once again be involved in the Ryga Arts Festival. She is looking forward to a busy Fall of various theatre projects.

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Don Gayton fuses ecology and deeply personal insights, as he portrays his Okanagan Valley homeland—and beyond. Don is the author of several award-winning books of non-fiction, including The Wheatgrass Mechanism, Man Facing West, Landscapes of the Interior, and Okanagan Odyssey. More at  www.dongayton.ca

Ed has been on stage one way or the other since he was four years old and is still enthralled by its magic. He has worked with theatre companies in the Lower Mainland and Okanagan for as long as he can remember. Currently Ed is Director/Producer/Publicist for Many Hats Theatre Company, of which he is also a founding Director. 

Erick Thompson is a communications professional and filmmaker. He is communications supervisor with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS). Erick is also the information section chief in the RD05 Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). He joined the EOC in 2018 during region-wide flooding and wildfires. Erick is an avid trail runner and recently produced and directed a short trail running film called Fifty. Erick has spent more than 20 years working as a television and radio broadcaster.

Faye Arcand, raised on the west coast of BC, is the seventh of eight children and has been blessed with and appreciates, an abundance of family and friends. It was her eldest sister who taught her how to read and write at a young age. Lessons took place in the attic with a chalk board and pointer stick. That was the beginning of something special.

Arcand loves participating in writing conferences, festivals, and literary events. She’s currently organizing the Wine Country Writers’ Festival which takes place September 2023, in Penticton.

www.fayeearcand.com

www.wcwfestival.com

Fereidoon started acting recently in Cat's Paw Productions' Rocky Horror Picture Show in 2022 and is an active member of Peach Gravy Improv. He is performing in Cat's Paw’s second show, Nevermore, and is co-star in the Theatre Trail play, "The Button."

Georgia Goerz is a self-taught artist with a passion for pencil drawings and acrylic paintings. Her paintings and drawings focus on the human mind and figure, while mixing many different themes and genres throughout, including expressionism, realism and art nouveau. She loves to explore new art techniques, and is always looking for new ways to express herself into her art. She currently lives in the great Okanagan but has lived in Edmonton as well, and is excited to continue creating live art.

Isaac Story is an upright bass player from Vernon, BC. He is well-versed in swing, jazz, roots and country. Isaac is mainstay in the Vancouver music scene, playing with artists such as Spank Williams, Joe Abbott and many others.

Author, Isobel Rondeau was born and raised in Edmonton Alberta and eventually settled in northern Alberta where she and her husband raised their two children. Currently residing in beautiful British Columbia, Isobel finds peace and tranquility while writing close to nature. Fiction stories about everyday people are what she enjoys writing about. Isobel also writes under the pen name Belle Rondeau.

NOVELS:
“Wings Of An Angel”

The life after residential school is not an easy one. Follow Mark Whitestone as his life unfolds before your eyes, laugh at his stories, cry at his heartbreak, love who he is and watch as his wings open.

“Absence Of Breath”

Walk with Sahtu as he meets various people in the afterlife and why they are important to him and his future self.

“Ava’s Curse”

Travel the country as young witch, Ava, and her friends try to break the curse that follows her family from generation to generation. Along the way you meet several characters who help or hinder their progress, in the end her magic must prevail. Book one. ‍

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Born and raised in the Okanagan, Jamie found a passion for musical theatre at a young stage. She has performed across Canada on stage, commercials, and music videos, before settling down in Calgary. For six years she taught the Musical Theatre Program at the Calgary Actors' Studio, worked in the Learning and Engagement department at Theatre Calgary, all while continuing to perform on stage. Jamie is excited to be back in the Okanagan raising a family, and thrilled to call Summerland home. She recently started teaching with the Soundstage Youth Performance Arts Group in Penticton, and performed on stage earlier this year in Soundstage Productions' Disney+ Broadway Musical Showcase. Currently, Jamie is assisting and directing in The Ryga Festival’s Theatre Trails and continues to be an instructor at In House Performing Arts Studio in Summerland.

3 years ago John auditioned for his first stage production as a personal challenge proving you are never too old to try something new and scary. Since then he has appeared in various productions in the Kelowna area. John spends his days delivering supplies to home dialysis patients.

John has spent the last 3 years involved in the Okanagan theatre scene, as both an actor and sound technician. As lead sound tech for Cats Paw Productions Rocky Horror Picture Show in 2022, John got to flex his talents, working tech with a 13-cast ensemble and a 5-piece band. Even during Covid years, he stayed busy by teching the 2021 and 2022 Ryga Arts Festival events. He has performed in Summerland Singers and Players' Murder on the Rails in 2022 and Blackmail on the Rails in 2023 and assisted with story development for Covid the Musical: We're All In This Together and for The Button. Stepping out from the tech side is a new and exciting adventure and he looks forward to unleashing a longtime and unexplored passion.

Jordann Wolff is a classically trained actor making her comeback to the stage as the bicyclist, in CarbonNation. During her three years at Victoria School of the Performing and Visual Arts, Jordann was involved in a number of musicals, plays and improv shows. In 2016, Jordann took a theatre hiatus to focus on her academic aspirations, and has since become a paramedic.

Josh + Bex are a Canadian Dream Folk duo from the Okanogan Valley of BC. Their spellbinding harmonies and homed yet rustic sound meet at the intersection of hope and sorrow – giving space to let their songs explore light, love, pain, connection and nature. Close your eyes and think Tim Burton meets Fleetwood Mac – creating a haunting, yet soothing and familiar dreamscape.

Josh + Bex released their self-titled EP in October, 2019 and have recently followed up with their sophomore record, “Everything Is Everything,” in May, 2022. “Everything Is Everything” is Josh + Bex’s latest dream folk production. Whimsical, enchanting, haunting – these songs bridge the audience from the physical world to the spiritual; a world where we are connected as one. Just as the Stardust particles of the cosmos, there is a shared commonality in all of us – and, to Josh and Bex, this unique experience is non-coincidental and intertwined amongst all forms of life. Through this philosophy, they have explored beyond the natural human experience, dipping into the metaphysical realm where they posit their deepest inquiries through ethereal song and story.

Playwright - GPS/GPS Voice/Venue Manager

Karla Hennig has directed, acted, stage managed or designed for more shows than she can remember and spent the last 12 years of her "working" life running a 700 seat roadhouse. She has received four "Best Female Actor" awards from Theatre BC Competitions and has seen three of her plays jump off the page and onto the stage. When not in theatre mode she sings, plays harp and piano, gets lost while hiking, designs fundraising activities for non-profits and tries to ignore housework.

Playwright and co-Artistic Producer at Pyretic Productions in Edmonton, is a second-generation Ukrainian-Canadian theatre artist. She is a graduate of the BFA Acting Program at the University of Alberta. Apart from writing ALINA, she also performed her recent play, Barvinok, which has garnered her awards from across Canada and in Ukraine. She is currently on a national tour with First Metis Man of Odessa, a new play by Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova that she directed.

Loni has been a resident of Penticton since 2017. She works in social work and is new to the theatre scene. Loni recently appeared as the intrepid reporter in last summer’s Blackmail on the Rails, with the Summerland Singers and Players. Loni loves improvisation, gardening, cosplay, and making people laugh.

Playing “Vancouver” in CarbonNation and new to the Summerland community, MacKenzie has settled here for the long haul, to be near family. When not on the local theatre stage, he’s working in the high-tech crypto startup realm and building saunas.

Meghan Fandrich lives with her young daughter on the edge of Lytton, BC, the village that was destroyed by wildfire in 2021. She grew up in Summerland but spent her early childhood and much of her adult life in Lytton, Nlaka′pamux Territory, where two rivers meet and sagebrush-covered hills reach up into mountains. Before the fire she ran Klowa Art Café, a beloved and vibrant part of the community; Klowa was lost to the flames. Burning Sage is Meghan’s debut poetry collection.

On the day that Lytton, BC, burned to the ground, Meghan Fandrich ran from the flames. She saw the village turn into a black pillar of smoke, and went home after a month-long evacuation to its ashes. Her house, on the edge of the fire, was saved; her community and her small business were not. Life as she knew it was gone, and somehow, in spite of the trauma and the ongoing onslaught of natural disasters, she had to keep going. Living. Surviving.

Burning Sage shares Meghan’s deeply personal story of the fire, the ensuing trauma, and the path out of it. But it is also a human story, a universal story, of loneliness, fragility and beauty. The poems follow the arc of shock, fear, and anger, and the impossibility of single parenting in a burned-up town. They tell of a connection, a love, and the way that feeling understood can help us understand ourselves. The poems in Burning Sage share a vivid portrait of grief and heartbreak and, ultimately, of the beginning of healing.

Mehrmaz Massoudi arrived in Canada 40 years ago as a political refugee from her homeland of Iran. A revolutionary, scientist, breast cancer thriver, mother, grandmother and emotional healing coach, she integrates her science background with the wisdom of Persian mysticism to help guide seekers to their radiant souls. Her earlier memoir, Never Without Love, tracks her path to love, courage and inner tranquility. Her second book, The Namaste Way, a soul-provoking, empowering self-help book for navigating grief, loss, and transformation will be published in October, 2023.

Melissa is happy to be participating in Theatre Trail at the Ryga Arts Festival for the first time. She has had the opportunity to act in a handful of productions over the years. She is thankful to be cast in CarbonNation and hopes you enjoy it.

Natalie Hobbs earned a dance diploma from MacEwan University in 2002 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Simon Fraser University in 2004. She has choreographed for professional venues in Vancouver, the BC Interior and Newfoundland and worked as a dance teacher in several professional studios. Natalie has been teaching and performing swing dance for over nine years and has attended numerous swing dance workshops, lectures, and community events. In 2021 she completed the Lindy Hop Teacher's Academy online with Asa and Daniel Heedman. She began teaching in Kelowna (Okanagan Swing Dance) in the Fall, 2022.

Patricia Keeney is widely published, both in Canada and abroad. As an editor and critic, she has written extensively in Canadian journals such as The Canadian Forum, Canadian Literature and Maclean's Magazine and currently for Arc Poetry Magazine (twice winning its in-house award for the best short review) and for such online publications as Critical Stages and Critically Speaking. In 2012, she won the Nathan Cohen Award for Excellence in Theatre Criticism. Patricia is the author of ten books of poetry and two novels: a picaresque novel entitled The Incredible Shrinking Wife (Black Moss Press1995) recently translated into French and, most recently, One Man Dancing (Inanna 2016): a novel of politics, theatre, Africa, of artistic risk and international adventure. Avolume of her Selected Poems (Oberon Press) was published in 1996 with an introduction by the distinguished Russia poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Her poetry has also been translated intoFrench (winning the Prix Jean Paris in 2003), Spanish, Bulgarian, Chinese and Hindi. Her books of poetry exist in each of these languages. Keeney's experiment in poetry and theatre called Vocal Braiding with sound poet and playwright Penn Kemp was published by Pendas Productions (2001). Her series of conversations and poems on national and personal culture, entitled You Bring Me Wings, with the Mexican poet Ethel Krauze was published in 2011 by Antares Press. She has three French translations out with Les Poemier de Plein Vent series under the Les Amis de la Poésie imprint in Bergerac and has just brought out her latest French translation entitled L'Aproche de la Déesse with Alidades Press in France. Her long poem on South Africa was published in the journal New Contrast (University of Cape Town) and her long poem, Out of Iran, based on experiences in Iran and published in Canadian Woman Studies, 2013. Her latest poetry collection, Orpheus in Our World (NeoPoiesis 2016 ) contains poetry and dialogue based on the oldest of Greek songs, the Orphic hymns. Aprofessor of English and Creative Writing at York University for many years, Keeney continues to work on new fiction and poetry, including a new Selected Poems and a novel entitled Emptiness and Angels, which she describes as a biblical mystery a feminist satire and a spiritual search.

Director, co-Artistic Producer at Pyretic Productions in Edmonton, is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s Acting Program (2009). Later that year he co-founded Edmonton’s Common Ground Arts Society where he was a key artistic producer until 2016. Patrick also worked at the Citadel Theatre for four seasons as an actor and as the associate director of Outreach and Education. His many credits include directing Barvinok.

Roark was born in Calgary in the 60's. He moved to Summerland at 15 and eventually attended Uvic where he fed his passion for acting in the Theatre Department. He performed on stage around Canada for a few years and then found himself in the vanguard of the fledgling Vancouver tv scene.

He comported himself well, then moved to Los Angeles where, after braving the inclement weather and some not too little time, he landed the role of Dr. Mike on Days of Our Lives. Since leaving that erstwhile institution, he has played in everything from feature films to tv movies to series regular roles ( Pretty Little Liars, V) and guest spots on over 10 television shows.

This musical/poetical collaboration with Sergei represents a new format for Roark and he is very excited about it.

Having once had the privilege of participating in a workshop conducted by George Ryga, Rob is a big supporter of Rygafest! He particularly enjoys being part of mysteries, comedy or both!

I'm Rolly Grimm, often introduced as a Cowboy Poet. Well, I've got to let you know that I'm not really a cowboy and I'm not really a poet. The poems - well, I don't write them, I just recite them. In fact, a more accurate introduction would be: Rolly- the Retired Old Fart who likes to memorize Cowboy and Other Poems and share them with captive audiences- like you! I am a retired Environmental Protection Officer that is currently living in and loving the beautiful Okanagan.

Roman is 15 years old. He writes poetry, stories and music. In his poems, he writes about confusing emotions that you don't even understand, yourself.

Rosina has been a performer from a very young age and has played in front of audiences of 20 people to 20,000 across Canada and The US. She is no stranger to the stage.
As a full time singer, vocal coach and music teacher, her job is to learn songs and play music. Rosina has also been a Musical Theatre instructor at Dream Team Music Centre and Okanogan School of the Arts since 2021 in cooperation with Renee Iaicci of Shameless Hussy Productions, teaching Broadway Beginners, MusicalTheatreLand!Juniors and Musical Theatre for Teens.

A professional songwriter and recording artist, Rosina comes with a long list of feature vocal credits and original songs. She has a video for her single entitled 'Peace Sign' filmed across BC and out on all music streaming platforms. Her most recent acting experience includes two productions with Showtime Community Theater in Penticton in 2022 entitled 'How far we'll go' at The Tempest Theatre and 'Another Elfin Musical' as the musical elf playing her harp and ukelele, at The Cannery Stage.

Some notable Past performances include music from Phantom of the opera, Les Miserables and Grease, Dear Evan Hansen, and Pink Floyd: The Wall to name a few.

Rosina is currently recording her third studio album 'Karma' and is in the process of directing her own upcoming production of The music from James Bond featuring several local artists, musicians and dancers, entitled 'Shaken and Stirred' .

You can catch Rosina playing Live weekly, in and around the Okanogan Valley, or singing with The Naramata Community Choir.

" I will continue to enjoy expressing my art in mysterious ways through theatre and song"

Rusty Someone is a Canadian songwriter/producer hailing from Kelowna, British Columbia. His sound is centred around Folk- Rock with subtle flavours of roots, soul and Americana. His songs weave heartfelt stories of love, loss and finding your direction.

Taylor Gross is the multi-talented artist behind Rusty Someone.

After being involved in a number of projects over the years as a musician, producer, and writer, Taylor released his debut EP ("Don't Take My Word for It") under the alias in 2017. He then followed up with the stunning keys focused single ("Burnt Out") in 2020.

Rusty Someone released his new full-length album "Direction" on June 10th, 2022, accompanied by a release show on the same day, at Red Bird Brewing in Kelowna, BC.

He's currently playing keys for Kelowna act "Gary Saturday" and his new single "Day by Day" will be available on all streaming platforms June 15th, 2023.

Sergei noticed the piano in a back room of the Ryga house at age 13. Though the instrument had been there his whole life, it had been invisible to him until that age. Self-taught, Sergei found his passion composing songs, and learning to play the Beatles (Let It Be was the first song he learned). Eventually he began to sing.

Fifteen years later he entered university as a voice major followed by a colourful 25 year career as a high school music teacher.

Looking at retirement, Sergei loves the opportunity to be involved in all things creative and musical.

Composing for Rygafest ticks many boxes for him - getting to team up with brother, Campbell, childhood friends, Roark and Cameron and former student, Dan.

A visual artist, songwriter, composer and now playwright, Trista has participated in art exhibits and musical performances across Canada, including Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto and Dartmouth, NS. She is half of a folk music duo named Small Kitchen Chaos, and a Canada Heritage and BC Arts Council Grant Recipient for performance and scoring of Covid the Musical: We’re All In This Together. She was blind-selected for her first 10-minute play, The Buton for this year’s 8th annual Ryga Arts Fesval, which she will be directing for the first me. Trista has also been the general manager of the Ryga Arts Festival since 2021 and is excited about this year’s upcoming festival!