BC Music Festival Symposium

We are pleased to announce the details of the upcoming BC Music Festival Collective Symposium, September 13-14 in Victoria at the Victoria Event Centre. Running in tandem with Rifflandia Festival (Sept 13-15), the Symposium will include a chance to connect with festival colleagues around the province, learn from inspiring presenters and experience the Rifflandia Festival.

The cost of registration is listed below, but if the fee is a barrier to attendance, please reach out, as we want to ensure that every member that wants to attend is able to. We really hope that you can join us. Registration now open.

Symposium Schedule

4:00pm

Arrival at Victoria Event Centre

4:30pm – 5:30pm

Welcome and Opening

Territorial Acknowledgement Nəʔəmtənat (Florence Dick) from the Songhees Nation

Honourable Lana Popham, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport

Councillor Stephen Hammond, City of Victoria

Councillor Susan Brice, District of Saanich

Petcha Kutcha Presentations from Festival Members

Ann McDonell from the Vancouver Folk Festival

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival is a Canadian cultural institution. It is a unique community-based celebration internationally renowned for presenting the finest traditional and contemporary folk and roots music from around the world. Now in its 47th year, the Festival continues to be one of the city’s most beloved, enjoyed, and respected events. Through the years, the Festival has won “Best Local Music Festival” by readers of the Georgia Straight and the Westender. Each year, the Festival draws tens of thousands of enthusiastic attendees to beautiful ʔəy̓alməxʷ Jericho Beach Park. Two and even three generations of families join friends and fellow community members to experience the music and culture of more than 40 international, national, and local acts. They come together to dance and to enjoy food and children’s activities – and the magical ambience of the Festival. Post COVID, the Festival’s financial situation was dire and the future looked uncertain. A renewed board of directors, and a new artistic director together with the Festival staff are on a mission to find a sustainable path forward.

Elyssia Sasaki from the ArtsWells Festival in Wells

Decisions in displacement: Elyssia Sasaki (ED/AD of Island Mountain Arts and Director of the ArtsWells Festival) shares their experience from this past summer.

5:30pm – 7:30pm
Networking Mixer – sponsored by Tickit

7:30pm
Head to Rifflandia – Check out the full schedule here

9:30am
Arrival at Victoria Event Centre with coffee and muffins

10:00am – 12:00pm
Open Space Discussion – Opportunity for discussion responding to emerging issues.

Invited speakers include:

Destination BC’s President and CEO, Richard Porges on the subject of connecting with Tourism
Destination Greater Victoria’s Vice President, Marketing Communications, Jodi Westbury.
BC Museums Association ED and Lead with the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture and Heritage and the Pathways Program, Ryan Hunt on the subject of Advocacy and Equity
BC Arts Council Senior Director, Programs, Darb Erickson on support for festivals
Creative BC’s Coordinator, Music Programs, Navreet Dhaliwal
Actsafe Safety Association’s Safety Advisor, Dagan Nish on the subject of workplace Psychological Health and Safety.

12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch provided on site

1:00pm – 2:30pm
Code of Conduct Workshop with Stacey Forrester of Good Night Out

Codes of Conduct are an important piece of creating ‘safer spaces’ in the music and event industry. Join Stacey Forrester from Good Night Out as she walks you through how to write one that speaks to your values and, more importantly, is realistic to actionize. This working session will highlight why this tool is important, what goes into a Code of Conduct, the limits of them and more. You might even leave with the start of your very own Code!

Stacey Forrester Biography

Stacey Forrester (she/her) is the education director of Good Night Out Vancouver. Stacey is a former community health nurse with a passion for creating safer, more equitable arts and culture communities. Stacey is the co-founder and Education Director of Good Night Out Vancouver facilitating interactive and engaging workshops about sexual violence prevention and response for the nightlife, hospitality and live music sectors. She is also the Harm Reduction Manager for Bass Coast Music and Arts Festival, a position she has held for 10 years. Stacey was recently nominated for a Live Music Industry Award in the area of Community Impact.

2:30pm – 3:00pm
Symposium Wrap up

3:00pm
Head to Rifflandia Check out the full schedule here

Behind the Scenes with Rifflandia

Behind the Scenes with Rifflandia Meet at the main ingress at 3:30pm on Sunday September 15th for an exclusive tour of Rifflandia Festival with Head of Partnerships, Morgan Sutherland. The tour will include a walkthrough of the site and touches on stages, partner activations and back of house operations and logistics.

Registration - Register by Thursday, August 15 to ensure your pass to Rifflandia

Festival Member – First Registration: $100* (includes sessions, Friday networking mixer, Saturday lunch, and 1 complimentary weekend pass to Rifflandia)

Festival Member – Additional Registration from the same festival: $50* (includes sessions, Friday networking mixer, Saturday lunch, and 20% off a weekend pass to Rifflandia)

*If the cost of registration is a barrier to attend please reach out for support. *Register by Thursday, August 15 to ensure your pass to Rifflandia

The BC Music Festival Collective Symposium is gratefully being held on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples, and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples have existed since time immemorial.