A Feast to Remember

Photo by Scott Benesiinaabandan

On the evening of October 24, 2011 we had a feast to make sure we gave gratitude to all the spirits that are helping us along our journey into making this festival a go.

 Native Earth also had a chance to welcome Ernie Sandy to our feast for the first time.  Mr. Sandy was an elder that most of the staff met during an Indigenous bus tour arranged by the Centre for Indigenous Theatre.  He blessed the food, and explained to us that we give thanks to everything that went into providing the food that will nourish our bodies. 

 With an attendance in the 30’s we were pleased to see an assortment of food shared and faces smiling. I had the chance to talk to a couple of the Animikiig playwrights to see how their experience was going, and I also got to talk to some of the actors who were all excited to be a part of their respective pieces.  Festival photographer Scott Benesiinaabandan was in the house and we are excited to see what memories he captures throughout the festival. 

This feast marked the opening of our Festival, with professional development workshops happening the morning of October 25^th and 26^th, then we get into the swing of things with our first night of pieces, starting with Hoofs and Huff on October 26^th. 

Elder, Ernie Sandy
Photo by Scott Benesiinaabandan

~Jantone