The Festival

The Ryga Festival Society is a registered charitable society, with the aim to follow George Ryga’s inspiration and foster creativity and creative expression in any art form. Most of Ryga’s plays deal with social issues, including “The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.” There was always music, discussion, and a lively exchange of ideas in the Ryga family home, and the Ryga family always welcomed visitors from near and far to their home surrounded by orchards in Summerland. Inspired by this, the Ryga Festival includes storytelling, singing, creative writing, acting, playwriting, and more.

Last year, we explored agricultural stories, stories of “weathering the storm,” how music can inspire us in challenging times; we celebrated R &B music from Celeigh Cardinal and soaring melodies from Catherine MacLellan; experiencing new plays, poetry and non-fiction writing from local playwrights, writers and internationally renowned authors, and more. With so much to enjoy, we ensured as many people as possible were able to attend with our Pay-What-You-Choose pricing and multi-ticket discounts.                            We look forward to sharing the arts with you here in Summerland this year! Please take care, and we’ll see you soon.

Trista Bassett

General Manager

As an artist, musician and performer, Trista was thrilled to be invited to join the Ryga Arts Festival team as Festival Administrator in 2021. She has since been promoted to General Manager and looks forward to a fantastic year ahead. Trista brings to the festival a deep love of the arts and years of experience as the previous Executive Director of Gallery Vertigo in Vernon. She would like to thank the Summerland and Okanagan communities for continuing to support this amazing and unique festival.

Board of Directors
& Advisory Council

Over the past several years, the Ryga Festival Society has brought together a distinguished group of Canadians to form its Advisory Council. Members include Artists, patrons and administrators, from the Arts, business and around the culture. We're proud to have a well-rounded representation of viewpoints, to help guide our festival.

Board of Directors

Cal Meiklejohn
‍President
Dorthea Atwater
‍Vice-President
Caroline McKay
‍Secretary
Jan Schumacher
‍Member-at-Large
Jennifer Cockrall-King
‍Treasurer
Trista Bassett
‍General Manager
Cain Critchlow
‍Member-at-Large
Donna Wong-Juliani
‍Member-at-Large
Dawn Bassett
‍Member-at-Large
Peter Hay
‍Member-at-Large
Bryan Laver
‍Member-at-Large
Ann Doyon
‍Member-at-Large

Advisory Council

Ann Mortifee
‍Advisor
Victor Davies
‍Advisor
Gina Payzant
‍Advisor
Don Rubin
‍Advisor
Tanya Ryga
‍Advisor

Funders, Sponsors & Partners

We gratefully acknowledge the help and support of all our members in making the Ryga Arts Festival possible.

Funders

Sponsors

Community Partners