17th Annual Coastal Dance Festival

Dancers of Damelahamid present the 17th annual Coastal Dance Festival, honouring Indigenous stories, song, and dance from across Canada and around the world, March 1-3, 2024 in New Westminster – and you can enter to win tickets…

17th Annual Coastal Dance Festival

• Dates: March 1-3, 2024
• Location: Anvil Centre (777 Columbia St, New Westminster)
• Tickets:
  • Festival Stage Performances March 2 & 3 1:00pm to 4:00pm pm by donation
  • Signature Evening Performances March 1 & 2 at 7:30pm ticketed $30 for Adults; $25 for Students/Seniors. Purchase here for Friday, and here for Saturday.

This year’s festival features an exclusive excerpt from Dancers of Damelahamid’s upcoming full-length work, Raven Mother, created in honour of the late Elder Margaret Harris, co-founder of Dancers of Damelahamid in 1967. The culmination of generations of artistic and cultural work, Raven Mother is the group’s most ambitious production to date.

Dancers of Damelahamid will be joined by a host of the festival’s signature artists and performance groups, including returning favourites: a family group of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, Chesha7 iy lha mens (Skwxwu7mesh, Stó:lō, Tsimsian); dynamic dance group Chinook Song Catchers (Skwxwu7mesh, Nisga’a); the award-winning Inland Tlingit Dakhká Khwáan Dancers; mask-dancing groups Git Hayetsk (Nisga’a, Tsimshian)and Git Hoan (Tsimshian); dancer and educator Laura Grizzlypaws (St’át’imc); Squamish-based Spakwus Slolem (Skwxwu7mesh), who share their canoe and cedar longhouse culture; a family group from many First Nations Xwelmexw Shxwexwo:s (Stó:lō, Musqueam, Sts:ailes, Snuneymuxw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Skwxwu7mesh); and Yisya̱’winux̱w (Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw), a group representing many of the 16 tribes of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw people on Northern Vancouver Island.

Also returning for their second Coast Dance Festival appearances are special guests: Saskatchewan’s award-winning Métis fiddler Adam Daigneault, who made his festival debut in 2022, and Māori artist Karena Koria, who first performed at the festival as a member of the Turanga Ararau Kapa Haka group from Gisborne, New Zealand, as part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. In 2024, Karena will perform as one half of the Turongo Collective, with his partner and wife, Milly Grant-Koria.

This year’s programming represents the spirit of Elder Harris’ legacy – the support and celebration of the ongoing artistic practice of the songs, dances, and stories from Indigenous communities across British Columbia, Canada, and the world.

2024 Coastal Dance Festival Program

Enter to Win

I have a pair of tickets to the festival to give away, and the winner can select to attend Signature Evening Performances on either Friday, March 1st or Saturday, March 2nd. Here’s how you can enter to win:

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