SHINING A LIGHT ON THE REAL LUMINARIES OF SOLSTICE CELEBRATION
With ‘Solstice Celebration’ just a week away, we want to highlight the artists and people who have made this event possible!
‘Solstice Celebration’ is a new event for the Garden, and we are so fortunate to have had an incredible community of artists and volunteers bring this community celebration to life. Get to know those who helped us dream up this event last year, and those helping to make it bigger and brighter this year.
Meet this year’s luminaries: Sarah Noni, Hazel Bell Koski, Julia Booth and Lesley Cuming.
“I don’t know what’s up ahead,
But I can feel it in my gut.
There’s a taste of something sweet out there.
Yeah, there’s a change coming.”
This is a chorus in ‘Change,’ a song written and performed by Sunshine Coast singer-songwriter and composer, Sarah Noni. You will recognize this song if you attended this summer’s ‘Rainforest Circus: Intelligence’ an impactful and imaginative theatre creation of arts organization Deer Crossing the Art Farm. With the audience seated among the towering Douglas-fir, and Western cedar trees of Porpoise Bay Park, Noni closed each performance leading the spectators in song. Noni has composed the score and soundtrack for several film and theatre productions in Canada and internationally and has new music out now – be sure to check it out!
Hazel Bell Koski is a multi-disciplinary artist and creative facilitator of mixed Anishinaabe, Finnish, Irish, and English ancestry who combines land-based learning and the arts to inspire community and connection. Bell-Koski’s work is inspired by nature, and her intricate stencils tell intergenerational stories to promote transformative learning, decolonial practices, and a connection to the land. Her current work ‘Kingship Flag Project’ guides a local and international community to make flags through stencil-making and silk-
Julia Booth is a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist and Registered Therapeutic Counsellor who supports people of all ages looking to explore their emotions through creative expression. Using an integrative therapeutic approach that combines various forms of artistic modalities such as visual arts, writing, music, movement, and drama, Booth can support individuals to work through grief & loss, life transitions, anxiety and more. Booth is also works with organizations to build team-cohesion and communication through workshop facilitation.
Before moving to the Sunshine Coast, Lesley Cuming worked for the City of Burnaby, as a Floral Designer creating large-scale, showstopper eco-sculptures for the city and as part of the annual Burnaby Blooms Festival. In her role, she specialized in décor for special events and created concepts and designs of parade floats, even dressing–and occasionally yarn-bombing–the eco-sculptures! A true visionary, Cuming sees purpose and potential in everything, allowing her to create zero-waste works of art using found and foraged items. Her creations can be found at Redecor + Design in Sechelt.
Special thanks to: Sandy Buck of Deer Crossing the Art Farm; to Bryan Cuming, Lynn Duncan, Jean Munro, Jesse Bowen, and Tracy Chessa for their lantern-making support, and Sarah Dhillon and Sherryl Latimer for their Fairy Garden magic!
This event is supported by:
Last year, the Garden held a ‘trial’ winter solstice event and opened it up to our members and their friends and family to participate. Heather Vince, the Garden’s Development Officer, enlisted the support of friends Blythe and Fianna Wilde, and Tracy Chessa to help pull it all together. Over a few weeks, the group gathered to dream, scheme, and make lanterns. The solstice event was a success and out of this came a template for which we could do this all over again, on a bigger scale.
Many, many thanks to Blythe, Fianna and Tracy for their amazing support and imagination!
Blythe Wilde is a multidisciplinary artist and early career ornithologist (bird scientist). She is based in ch’atlich (Sechelt), the homeland of the shíshálh Nation. As an artist her medium varies including paper, dance and puppetry, but she is always seeking to connect people to the natural world and support people in learning and engaging with places, animals and landscapes in respectful and reciprocal ways. She loved creating paper lanterns for last years solstice event!
Fianna Wilde is a crossdisciplinarity artist and maker who engages many mediums including costume design, fiber arts, lantern making and devised theater. In her art she seeks to highlight interconnectivity through curiosity, joy and understanding the politics of knowledge. Growing up in the pacific northwest, Fianna’s love of spending time outside and nurturing deep connections with place has led to her love of birding, and work as a field biologist. She is passionate about making the outdoors a more inclusive and accessible place and recently co-created a zine, Birding by Bus. It was a joy to bring lanterns and magic to last year’s winter solstice event at the garden.
Ever since moving to the Sunshine Coast, Tracy Chessa has been busy making connections. When not out exploring with her dog, or attending events, she actively gives her time to support local small businesses and non-profit organizations. With a background in hospitality, Tracy naturally enjoys meeting new people and helping out.
“I have a lot of love for this community and volunteering at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden has been an honour and very enjoyable.”
Well, we love you too, Tracy!