What: Koksilah Music Festival
Where: Providence Farm, 1843 Tzouhalem Rd., Duncan
When: Friday through Sunday
Tickets: $31.50-$57.75 (daily) or $95 (weekend pass) from
The third annual Koksilah Music Festival is looking to make a deep impact on the Cowichan Valley by spreading knowledge about the area鈥檚 past, present and future.
A completely volunteer-run festival, Koksilah 鈥� pronounced hoh-se-la 鈥� is a three-day celebration of Indigenous culture, with the long-term hope that its people will one day assert sovereignty over their ancestral territories.
It鈥檚 being held on unceded Quw鈥檜tsun territory (Duncan) at Tuwe鈥檔u (Providence Farm), near the base of Pi鈥橮aam鈥� (Mt. Tzouhalem) by Tl鈥檜palus (Cowichan Bay) 鈥� the perfect backdrop for a festival of this kind, said Koksilah director Rea Fenger.
鈥淲e wanted to have an event that celebrates Indigenous artists, people of colour and queer musicians, and puts them at the forefront of our lineup. We have workshops throughout the day that delve deeper. What does decolonization look like in 2019? It鈥檚 a buzz word on CBC, but what are the nitty-gritty aspects? What does it mean to be a settler in this day and age?鈥�
Organizers are attempting to both educate and entertain, and have made the decision to eschew alcohol sales in favour of celebrating the wide variety of gender identities and nationalities on stage and social-change topics discussed during the festival鈥檚 many workshops. A dry camping-friendly festival will carry less appeal for some, but the impetus behind Koksilah was never to make money off beer sales, Fenger said.
That mandate is stronger than ever heading into Koksilah鈥檚 third edition. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want the crowds that follow some of the younger festivals. As an organizer, that makes it really nice to not have to deal with those things. It鈥檚 family-friendly. A pretty wholesome demographic.鈥�
Fenger and her fellow directors work year-round with Quw鈥檜tsun elders and community leaders to ensure the gathering is respectfully staged 鈥� especially where recurring themes of reconciliation and decolonization are concerned. Proper protocol is of the utmost importance, Fenger said. 鈥淲e want to make sure Quw鈥檜tsun people are invited and represented. We get to breathe a little deeper when we hear an elder say: 鈥楰oksilah was good. People are doing good work.鈥� That feels really nice.鈥�
The festival received a grant this year that enabled organizers to hire on contract a Quw鈥檜tsun member who could help with outreach. Her input was key, Fenger said. Quw鈥檜tsun members are invited to attend Koksilah free of charge, while members of other Indigenous communities are welcomed on a sliding scale.
鈥淭he general makeup of our audience seems to be folks who want to come and learn about other cultures. They get to hear some music and go to some good workshops. School has just started, so a lot of folks have the mentality where they want to learn some things.
鈥淲ith our workshops, and the type of knowledge transfer that goes on at the festival, if the festival was bigger, those opportunities and experiences wouldn鈥檛 happen as organically.
鈥淥nce you reach a certain size of festival, it does just become about getting from stage A to B to C. At smaller festivals, there鈥檚 a little more meandering.鈥�
Attendance increased steadily over the first two editions. Koksilah is on target to have 500 people on site each day this weekend, which is a success in Fenger鈥檚 books.
Headliners include Ms. Pan!k, a Haida artist based in 91原创; Missy D, a rapper of Zimbabwe descent; Curtis Clearsky and the Constellationz, an eight-piece Indigenous reggae-funk band from 91原创; and Piqsiq from Yellowknife, which expands on the foundation of traditional Inuit throat singing.
鈥淲hen you think of a musical festival, it鈥檚 often about the [touring] artists. But a lot of ours don鈥檛 have name recognition. There鈥檚 diversity in our lineup, which is almost all either Indigenous, people of colour or queer. That feels nice to be putting on a show like that.鈥�
One of Fenger鈥檚 responsibilities at the festival is organizing the many volunteers. It鈥檚 a rewarding task that never fails to remind her of the impact Koksilah has on its surrounding community.
The volunteer feedback always 鈥渕akes me tear up,鈥� Fenger said.
鈥淭hey come back every year a changed person. It is things like that which make me feel like we鈥檙e on a good path. If you can dance and sing and also cry all in one day, I think that means we鈥檝e done a really good job.鈥�
