Comox Valley Arts

Red Dress Day MMIWG2S+ Awareness Event
2026-05-05 12:00 - 15:00 (America/Vancouver) | Florence Fliberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue, Courtenay, BC, V9N6C6, Canada
This event is in honour of all MMIWG2S+
The event will include local indigenous organizations, educational booths and tables as well as community speakers and will conclude with a community awareness walk.
For more details, please vist the Facebook event page.

Comox Valley Concert Band concert
2026-05-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Florence Fliberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue, Courtenay, BC, V9N6C6, Canada
A fundraiser for Evergreen Club.
Youth 12 and under are free.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Florence Filberg Centre reception, or at the door.

Holding Heritage: Unspoken Stories
2026-05-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Cumberland Museum & Archives, 2680 Dunsmuir Ave, Cumberland, BC, V0R 1S0, Canada
Unspoken Stories showcases candid conversations between
Chinese-Vietnamese Boat People refugees and their families.
At its heart is the belief that for younger generations to carry culture forward, they must first be inspired by the stories of their own families.
By encouraging honest and intentional dialogue across generations, we invite viewers to see how embracing personal understandings of their roots can spark pride, belonging, and a deeper connection to both their identities and family histories.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with:

Hollie Ha, Holding Heritage founder and Unspoken Stories creator
Sandy Ho, Author of “No Way But Through: A Family Memoir”
Andrew Ha, interviewee from the Unspoken Stories project

Hollie Ha bridges generations by sharing candid conversations and untold stories of Chinese-Vietnamese Boat people refugees and their descendants. Through these meaningful exchanges, the series explores the delicate interplay between heritage, identity, and family dynamics.
Watch the trailer here!

Spencer Krug w/ Elbow Kiss
2026-05-15 18:30 - 22:30 | Comox Valley Curling Centre, 4835 Headquarters Road, Courtenay, BC, V9J1P2, Canada
CVBGs Presents
Wolf Parade leader Spencer Krug celebrates solo album release at the CVCC
SPENCER KRUG
with special guests from Victoria
ELBOW KISS & the Comox Valley’s bathslut
Friday May 15, 2026 6:30 PM Comox Valley Curling Centre 4835 Headquarters Road

SPENCER KRUG
Victoria’s Spencer Krug is the co-frontperson of Wolf Parade, leader of Sunset Rubdown & Moonface, & writing member of Frog Eyes & Swan Lake. This special show is in celebration of Krug releasing his first solo album Same Fangs the very same day. First gaining attention in the mid 2000s as co-leader of Montreal’s rock’n’roll Wolf Parade, then soon after as the voice and mind behind the chaotic Sunset Rubdown, and equal member of indie supergroup Swan Lake (with Dan Bejar of Destroyer and Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes) Krug eventually used the now defunct Moonface as an outlet for his more experimental and sporadic solo material. And while he still plays with both
Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, there remains in him a need to express something less rock-oriented, something quieter and more introverted. So, returning to his first and favorite instrument, the piano, Krug has ventured back into his own fantastic world of pseudo-classical balladeering; poetic lyricism laced with twisted pop sensibility and jazz mimicry. Using this template, he now releases solo work on his own label, Pronounced Kroog, and tours a variety of new and old material as Spencer Krug.
After these solo shows, Wolf Parade will be touring festivals and larger venues. There is substantial resurgence of interest since December, when Wolf Parade’s song “I’ll Believe in Anything” (written by Spencer Krug) went viral for its use in an episode of the same name of the Crave TV hockey romance Heated Rivalry. The episode, the fifth of season one of the series, aired on December 19, 2025, and by December 27, plays on Spotify increased by 2658%. The song’s continued success resulted in it peaking at number four on Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales chart and at number seven on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Krug
https://www.instagram.com/krugspencer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Parade
https://firstdatetouring.com/spencer-krug
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Rubdown

ELBOW KISS
From Victoria. Plucking guitar, harp, and heart strings. Softly dredging up deep seeds of yearning, nostalgia, heartbreak. Love songs to ghosts.
https://elbowkiss.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/elbow.kiss
https://bio.site/elbowkiss
https://www.youtube.com/@elbow-kiss

BATHSLUT
bathslut is a dark-wave noise pop band born out of a shared love of drum machines, saw waves, scented candles, and late night bubble baths. Their music flows from atmospheric soundscapes to riff-driven post punk and heavy late-night synth-driven tracks. Get in the tub.
https://www.instagram.com/bath_slut

Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1985782913149
Facebook Event

Comox Valley Songwriters Circle
2026-05-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Each month singer/songwriters gather to share their tunes at Artful : The Gallery. The range of abilities, experience and genres welcomes musicians who appreciate the challenge (and the deadline!) of creating a new song each month.
The circle provides a place to be inspired, seek feedback and to be
able to hear what other creatives are working on. Most musicians bring along their
guitars or ukuleles, although some sing a cappella or use the in-house piano for accompaniment.
Host Ashley Sykes’s love of connecting with other artists provides motivation to write
and perform in the supportive group. The circle does not provide instruction; it provides an opportunity to perform your song, and to be impacted by others doing the same.
Attendance is by donation ($10 or pwyc). The group welcomes newcomers, and the
only criteria is that the songs performed are original.

Bridging Conversations
2026-05-20 12:00 - 2026-06-13 17:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
We are a group of six Comox Valley visual artists with varied backgrounds and life experiences. For the past few years we have been meeting monthly to share stories of challenge, inspiration, and creative processes. Conversations that go off in unexpected directions have created a space of shared reflection resulting in connection.
Bridging Conversations celebrates individuality woven into community—a visual manifestation of stories exchanged and growth witnessed and experienced. We are abstract artists; we are representational artists. We paint with different mediums. Our work ranges from nonobjective to figurative, from boldly expressive to quietly meditative. We come from diverse cultures and have followed varied artist paths. What unites us is our commitment to the belief that art is a vital tool for connection. Stories that tie together with threads of curiosity and identity open up our individual worlds to one another, and the effects of what is known as adjacent possibilities (the inadvertant shift in what is possible resulting from an action taken) come out on the canvas. Despite our differences, we bring the “other” inside our boundaries.
Division often dominates headlines, as the world is quite fractured. We share what happens when people come together with open minds and creative hearts. Through this exhibition, we invite viewer into our circle—to feel the energy of collaboration, the vulnerability of shared experience, and the beauty of seeing the world through multiple lenses. For it to be a full conversation there is a ‘call and response’ involving the artist and the viewer, as happens in an exhibit space. We learn and grow separately and together. We welcome this opportunity to present a curated selection of paintings reflecting the whole of our experience.

CV/ARTS Incubator Microgrant Program - Last Day to Apply
2026-05-22 00:00 - 23:59 | BC
Last day to apply – applications close tonight at 11:59 PM.
The CV/Arts Incubator Program supports local artists and collectives in developing community-engaged, experimental, and culturally relevant projects across the Central Island. From public art and performances to workshops, storytelling, and community-based initiatives, the program helps bring new ideas to life while building capacity for future opportunities.
Learn more and apply visit our website

Bridging Conversations Artist Reception
2026-05-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Join artists Sharon Lalonde, Laurie Martz, Corina Menz, Jenny Mitchell, Miriam Myers and Elaine Smith at the artist reception in celebration of their exhibition at Artful : The Gallery.

Lecture: Source Encounters – The Comox Lake Watershed
2026-05-26 19:00 - 20:00 | the Courtenay and District Museum, 207 4th St, Courtenay, BC, COURTENAY, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Time: Doors open 6:30 PM, presentation starts 7:00 PM..
Join Meaghan Cursons as she presents a lively and visual overview of the many issues, past and present, affecting our watershed.
Cursons is a Storyteller and provides Public Outreach and Engagement for the CVRD Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan.
Tickets: Free admission thanks to Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD). Please call to reserve a space as seating is limited. 250-334-0686 ext. 2.

Book Launch and Reading, Do You Know the Dark?
2026-05-30 10:30 - 11:30 | BC
Join us to celebrate the release of local author illustrator Roz MacLean’s newest picture book, Do You Know the Dark? !
“A mesmerizing invitation to embrace night’s beauty—great for bedtime shelves and budding naturalists alike.”
– Kirkus starred review
Do You Know the Dark? published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, uses minimal text and traditionally created artwork to explore what is beautiful and fascinating about darkness, from dancing shadows to seeds growing underground, bioluminescence, deep sea beings, shooting stars and black holes. Grounded in darkness as a space of rest, regeneration and possibility, this book is a gentle companion for bed time and curious minds.
We will have a story reading, crafts, snacks and time for questions! This event is free to attend, open to all ages, and focused on being fun for kids. You can see a preview of the book at: https://us.macmillan.com/…/9781250392206/doyouknowthedark/
Roz MacLean is also the author of More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean (featured on CBC Kids Reads) and Together, a Forest.
May 30, 10:30 am, at Smol Store (previously Little Village) at 2704 Dunsmuir Ave, Cumberland.
Space is wheelchair accessible, with a bathroom nearby at the library.

Blue Moon Surrealist Extravaganza
2026-05-30 12:00 - 16:00 | BC
ART/MUSIC/POETRY/DANCE/FILM

Unsculpted!
2026-05-31 10:00 - 14:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
This afternoon workshop will connect you with the joy of creating for the sake of exploration, humour, and collaboration. Primarily utilizing modelling and assemblage, we will cultivate a sense of possibility, adventure and imagination.
Creating with unexpected materials can lower our inhibitions, giving us the playful experience of creating with curiosity and openness to the unexpected…just for the pleasure of it!
Unsculpted is not about learning to sculpt with skilled technical expertise; it will expand your creativity though, just not in the ways you might expect!
The activities in Unsculpted are intended to guide you back to your creative heart. The act of (art) creation can get so twisted up in our judgments of what constitutes ‘good’ that we completely lose touch with the joy of creating for the sake of exploration and playfulness.
​This one-session workshop runs from 1 to 4pm with a mid-way break. Feel free to bring drinks and snacks. The $105 workshop fee includes GST and all materials supplied. Bring a friend discount of $25 each when 2 people sign up at the same time. Email kristinacampbellart@gmail.com to register.

Artful : The Poets
2026-06-01 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Join host Dan Kirk as he welcomes our feature poet Michael Penny at Artful : The Poets. Michael’s feature spot will be followed by an open mic. Sign up at the door for the open mic, 5 minutes max per poet, $10 or pwyc.
Michael Penny was born in Australia, but his family moved him to Canada when he was young. Since then, he has published five books, most recently, ‘Particles’ and ‘Outside. Inside’, both with McGill-Queen’s University Press. His work has appeared in many literary magazines including Fiddlehead, The Antigonish Review, The Amsterdam Review, Acumen, The Malahat Review, and The Salzburg Review. He lives on Bowen Island, and, once upon a time was a lawyer.

Tin Town Cafe Member Show – Closing TODAY
2026-06-03 00:00 - 23:59 | Tin Town Cafe, 2456 Rosewall Crescent #106, Courtenay, BC, V9N 8R9, Canada
CV/Arts first Tin Town Cafe Member show is closing today
CV/Arts and Tin Town Cafe have partnered to host a rotating exhibition series featuring work by current CV/Arts members. The salon-style hang in the cafe will rotate three times a year, giving multiple members regular opportunities to show and sell their work in a welcoming, high-traffic setting. The current member show features 27 works of art by 20 local artist members.
To apply for the next show visit our website

HeARTful Art: Paint for Relaxation & Wellness
2026-06-12 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-19 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-26 08:00 - 17:00 | Silver Bowerbird Gallery, Back door 479 4th St., Courtenay, british columbia, V9N1G9, Canada
Join Margaret every Friday 2-5 pm at the Silver Bowerbird Gallery in a series of expressive art activities that focus on improving mental and physical wellness helping you to reconnect with your authentic self.
For anyone, but especially those who are experiencing stress, anxiety, dealing with life changes or health issues. The aim is to enhance one’s vitality, energy and positivity through art. Discover your own creative genius or just relax into a comfortable, nurturing space to explore what art has to offer you. No experience necessary.

Lenticular Print Making with Kourtney Jackson
2026-06-13 13:00 - 15:00 | campbell river art gallery, 1235 Shoppers Row, campbell river, BC, V9W2C7, Canada
Join us SATURDAY JUNE 13TH from 1PM-3PM for a special workshop with ‘Sacred In All Forms’ artist, Kourtney Jackson!

Discover how motion, time, and visual storytelling can exist within a single image in this hands-on DIY lenticular print workshop. Using their own photography, participants will create prints that shift as the viewer moves, producing the illusion of a movement and transformation.

For more information, visit our website: www.crartgallery.ca/events

ES:MO live in Campbell River
2026-06-13 19:30 - 21:30 | Rivercity Stage, 1080 Hemlock, Campbell River, BC, V9W 3E4, Canada
ES:MO is Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti, two imaginative genre-defying musicians who create music that is uniquely their own. ES:MO fuses a love of songwriting with the inventive musicianship they’re known for as perennial Juno Award nominees (19 JUNO nominations between the two!) and veterans of the Toronto music scene.
Michael Occhipinti’s huge palette of sounds and versatile skills has made him one of Canada’s most admired guitarists. He leads jazz orchestras, plays afro-pop, R&B, funk, and Sicilian folk music, and does it all with finesse, curiosity, and virtuosity. He’s played with Bruce Cockburn, Bill Frisell, Trey Anastasio, Laila Biali, Andrea Bocelli, the Toronto Symphoni and many more.
Elizabeth Shepherd is a classically trained pianist who turned to jazz through her love of old-school hip-hop. She’s been hailed as “wholly unique and unclassifiable,” a “jazz virtuoso with a pop sensibility” blaring the boundaries between jazz, R&B, pop and hip-hop. Her soulful and ethereal voice and keyboard work stunned listeners on ES:MO’s debut album The Weight of Hope, which received a JUNO nomination in 2022. The album was built around the duo’s unique interpretations of songs by Stevie Wonder, Bruce Cockburn, Jackie Shane, Nick Drake and others.
The second ES:MO album SUNSHINE IN MY BONES which comes out just before this tour is a celebration of the duo’s own compositions built on hours of jam sessions, found sounds such as washing machines, improvised voice and guitar loops, and the magical connection Elizabeth and Michael have when they create music together. Their thoughtful songs explore everything from war crimes to cruise ship class warfare, love among tulips, and the need for human connection. On the recording they’re joined by guest drummers Larnell Lewis, Jinu Isac, Tony Ferraro, and Marito Marques. For this west coast tour they’ll be joined by Tony Ferraro on drums and Derek Fillippo on bass.

Sing & Steam
2026-06-18 19:30 - 22:00 | The Lost Faucet Sauna House, 3455 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 9N6, Canada
Sing & Steam is a cozy evening of sauna rounds, simple songs and good vibes.
No music experience needed, all songs will be beginner-friendly (promise!), no music-reading required. Song time will be in between steams, and guided by Zoë from Squeaky Wheel Creative, with Dan & Lisa from The Lost Faucet facilitating an awesome, music-focused Aufguss session for us at the end. Our sauna is booked from 7:30-10pm – stay for some or all of that time.
Come solo or bring a friend – all genders, bodies, and voices are welcome! (Ages 18+)
Register by emailing thesqueakywheelcreative@gmail.com.

Art Opening Celebration (with Artist Talk by Michael Campbell) | Field Recordings of Icebergs Melting
2026-06-19 16:00 - 18:30 | Comox Valley Art Gallery, 580 Duncan Avenue, Courtenay, BC
ART OPENING CELEBRATION (WITH ARTIST TALK)
Field Recordings of Icebergs Melting by multi-media artist Michael Campbell will open at the Comox Valley Art Gallery on Friday, June 19. Doors open at 4:00pm to view the new exhibition.
At 5:30pm, there will be an artist talk, followed by a casual reception and hospitality. Everyone is welcome.
—

FIELD RECORDINGS OF ICEBERGS MELTING
Artist Michael Campbell’s multi-media exhibition “. . . brings into play its place in the cultural imagination of a frontier zone of extreme conditions, and its history during the period of European expansion from the 16th to the 20th centuries. The allusion conjures the stream of survey ships that sought the north-west Passage of the North Pole, strove to classify species and peoples, and to map the New World. It further speaks to present day resource extraction and climate change monitoring, the forays of animal rights activists and increasingly, military survey flights asserting territorial claims. . . . Its steam punk ethos with its fusion of Victorian Era and future technologies sets an undercurrent of planetary emergency in motion. . . .” – Jan Allen
—
The Comox Valley Art Gallery is committed to creating safer spaces where everyone can participate.
All ages are welcome.
CVAG spaces are accessible. Efforts are made to make presented programming contents available to all by using approachable audio and visual technologies to aid in experience and wayfinding. Staff are available to answer any questions and to provide orientation to the presentation and gallery spaces.
Programs are barrier-free (no cost). DONATIONS are appreciated and contribute to ongoing community interactive programming.
PUBLIC HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS: we ask that visitors choose not to visit if they are experiencing symptoms of colds and flus.
Hand sanitation dispensers are available at CVAG. Wearing a mask is at the discretion of the visitor.

Amber Webber & Stephen McBean: BLACK MOUNTAIN Twin Oscillations
2026-06-19 18:00 - 22:30 | Comox Valley Curling Centre, 4835 Headquarters Road, Courtenay, BC, V9J1P2, Canada
CVGBs presentsFrom Los Angeles & Vancouver
ATO Recording Artists
Amber Webber & Stephen McBean:BLACK MOUNTAIN Twin Oscillations

With special guests from VictoriaSMALL PLEASURES

and from Powell RiverELECTRIC BRAINS

6 PM Friday June 19Comox Valley Curling Centre4835 Headquarters Road, CourtenayLicensed all ages event.$25 Advance tickets athttps://www.eventbrite.ca/…/amber-webber-stephen-mcbean…$30 tickets at the door if not sold out.

BLACK MOUNTAIN TWIN OSCILLATIONS TOURBlack Mountain’s founders & principal singer/songwriters Amber Webber & Stephen McBean are pleased to announce special intimate duo performances of select BMA bangers in the UK and Canadian / European dates. Most shows are with the incredible SUNN O)))
The rock canon has many anti-heroes, Black Mountain being the latest. In the past, Can’s ‘Tago Mago’ established that the only rule in rock and roll is that there are no rules. Delinquent proto-metallers Black Sabbath demonstrated that you can make a lot from not that much. Now Black Mountain teach us that you don’t have to be afraid of the past to move bravely into the future.Black Mountain is a Canadian psychedelic rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band is composed of Stephen McBean, Jeremy Schmidt, Adam Bulgasem, Amber Webber, and Arjan Miranda. Since forming in 2004, Black Mountain has released five globally celebrated LPs: Black Mountain (2005), In the Future (2008), Wilderness Heart (2010), IV (2016) and Destroyer (2019)https://www.blackmountainarmy.com/https://blackmountain.bandcamp.com/https://www.instagram.com/blackmountainarmy/https://www.facebook.com/BlackMountainOfficialhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mountain_(band)

with special guests from VictoriaSMALL PLEASURESSmall Pleasures is a post-punk duo from Victoria, Canada.Inspired by early 80s dark-wave pioneers, the band is a fusion between Viny’s fuzzed out bass backed by Nevada’s textured drums and triggered synth mixed with lofty vocal melodies. Currently, Small Pleasures are working on their sophomore album recorded by Colin Stewart at The Hive, with a release planned for the summer of 2026. In the past year, the duo toured Japan, France and played multiple shows and festivals across Canada. April 2026 will see the return of the band overseas, with dates in Germany, Austria and France.

and just as special guests from Powell RiverELECTRIC BRAINSPower pop, punk rock and roll from qathet BC! These guys ruled at the Dead Soft/K Car roller skating night last summer! Before that all those fortunate enough to catch the Dead Bob show at the Waverly will recall the rawkus punk rock celebration that was Electric Brains (then called the Kicks) who worked the room into a frenzy. Electric Brains count among their members a certain Sean Hawryluk, a crucial member of both Kelowna/Vancouver’s legendary Ladyhawk, and then hardcore metal pathcutters Baptists.https://open.spotify.com/artist/6YHbb1RXqz1WvSsAhWQzET…https://www.instagram.com/electric__brains/

CVGBs is a loose collective bringing oddball music, art, & culture to the Comox Valley.https://cvgbs.com/upcomingshows/

John Czegledi Annual Outdoor Art Show
2026-06-20 10:00 - 18:00 | BC
This is John’s 15th Annual Outdoor Garden Art Show. Metal Sculptures large and small. Stainless steel and Patina natural steel.

Come stroll the gardens and find a perfect piece of art for your garden.

Refreshment provided on the patio. Everyone welcome!

6742 Rennie Road, Courtenay, BC

250 338 7904 for more info

National Indigenous People's Day
2026-06-20 12:00 - 21:00 | Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds, 4839 Headquarters Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9J 1P2, Canada
National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations coming on Saturday June 20th!
K’ómoks First Nation and their community and cultural partners are inviting the Comox Valley to come together to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day 2026 and the unique contributions and cultures of First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities locally and across Canada. This FREE community celebration takes place on Saturday June 20th from 2 pm till 9 pm at the beautiful Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds

This year’s celebration includes interactive Youth and Elder Zones, K’ómoks cultural resource and archeology displays, guided walks to the Tsolum River, live screen printing, story telling and knowledge sharing, delicious food vendors including a traditional salmon BBQ, over 30 Indigenous craft vendors, cultural and community tents, and live music from world class Indigenous artists including The Spiritual Warriors, Tsimka and Michael Red, LOV, and 4 time Juno Award Winner Aysanabee!
Aysanabee is a multi-instrumentalist and singer songwriter currently based in Toronto. He is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of the Sandy Lake First Nation, a remote fly-in community in the far reaches of Northwestern Ontario. A four time JUNO winner, Aysanabee merges indie, soul, and electronic sounds with mournful saxophone and pulse-quickening fingerpicking, exploring themes of memory and storytelling.
Solemn and soaring, his striking sound is equal parts hypnotic and melodic which has been compared to Bon Iver, Matt Corby, Don Ross, Kim Churchill, Kings of Leon and Sam Smith. On March 23, 2024, Aysanabee made history as the first ever Indigenous Artist to win the JUNO Awards for both Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the year, for Here and Now, his sophomore album. This year he won JUNOs for both Alternative Album and Indigenous Artist of the Year for his 2025 album Edge of the Earth!
Tsimka & Michael Red is a collaboration of music from the land and from the heart. Rooted in ancestral Tla-o-qui-aht homelands, Tsimka works with Nuuchahnulth singing traditions along with contemporary inspirations as part of her musical expression. She often invokes Tla-o-qui-aht language in her songs, integrating language revitalization into the experience and tapping into cultural teachings, imagery and love of her home.
Michael Red fills out the rest of the music, beats and atmospheres *all* created from blending & morphing & affecting natural sounds recorded primarily on Tsimka’s ƛaʔuukwiʔatḥ home territory. Sounds like Cixwatsac (Frank Island frogs), Swainson’s Thrush, and other birds, a little creek at Hiłwinʔis, ocean, rain, mist and ice. Together they express a human experience with observations and emotions that arise with desire, joy, care, resiliency, and kinship.
The Spiritual Warriors create music inspired by the land and life in the coastal mountains of the Lil’wat Nation, Mount Currie BC. With their unique blend of indigenous chants and contemporary roots, rock, reggae, The Spiritual Warriors are distinctly west coast.
This internationally acclaimed band performs most of their songs in U’cwalmicwts (the Lil’wat Language) and are passionate about preserving and promoting their language and culture. They use the chanting styles of the Lil’wat/St’at’imc people to fuse with reggae and rock to create uplifting contemporary Indigenous world music. This truly unique band will take you on a cultural journey to the natural heartbeat of the Indigenous drum and the St’at’imc people.
LOV is a force of resilience, rhythm, and reinvention. Hailing from Poundmaker Cree Nation, Treaty 6, Saskatchewan, LOV transforms personal trials into soulful affirmations of strength and independence. With a sound rooted in UK-inspired soul and guided by a deep sense of purpose, LOV’s music is both healing and unapologetically empowering.
Her journey took a pivotal turn when she decided to fully embrace her artistry – stepping into her truth and reshaping her narrative. What followed was a rebirth. LOV’s rich, smoky vocals channel raw emotion into songs that carry the weight of lived experience while remaining light enough to dance to. Whether she’s celebrating matriarchal strength or voicing quiet moments of reflection, her music resonates with sincerity and grace.
Cultural and Community Partners for this year’s celebrations include Kumugwe Cultural Society, Queneesh Indigenous Community Society, Wachiay Friendship Society, MIKI’SIW Métis Association, Indigenous Women’s Sharing Society, Upper Island Women of Native Ancestry, City of Courtenay, Town of Comox, Village of Cumberland and Comox Valley Regional District.
Volunteers are still welcome for this year’s celebration, with a special meal for all volunteers provided by LUSH Valley! The volunteer sign up, event details, stage schedules, community sponsors can be found at https://komoks.ca/nipd-2026/
For more information message communications@komoks.ca

Ian Fry Exhibition: Landscapes of Light
2026-06-24 12:00 - 2026-07-18 17:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7
Ian Fry: Landscapes of Light
This exhibition celebrates the work of Ian Fry, a painter whose distinctive vision has been shaped by his remarkable journey from Scotland to the Pacific Northwest. Born in Edinburgh and educated at the Glasgow School of Art, Fry began his career as a successful illustrator before dedicating himself fully to painting. Over the past three decades, he has developed a body of work that captures the enduring spirit of the landscapes he calls home.
Drawing inspiration from Vancouver Island, Bowen Island, and the wider coastal regions of British Columbia, Fry’s paintings reveal an intimate understanding of light and atmosphere. Expansive shorelines, distant mountain ranges, rolling grasslands, and quiet rural scenes are rendered with a striking balance of realism and lyrical interpretation. Whether depicting waves advancing toward a misted beach, horses moving through open country, or birds silhouetted against a luminous sky, his work conveys both grandeur and stillness.
Fry’s background in illustration is evident in the clarity of his compositions and his ability to distill complex scenes into powerful visual narratives. His paintings invite contemplation, encouraging viewers to experience the rhythms of nature and the fleeting qualities of weather, season, and light. His restrained palette and masterful handling of atmosphere create spaces that feel simultaneously familiar and dreamlike.
Throughout the exhibition, themes of journey, belonging, and connection to the natural world emerge. The landscapes are not simply records of specific locations but meditations on our relationship with the environments that shape us. In Fry’s hands, the coastlines, mountain valleys, and open fields become places of wonder and quiet emotional resonance.
Ian Fry’s paintings remind us that landscape remains one of the most powerful vehicles for storytelling, expressing both the beauty of the visible world and the deeper currents of our human experience in nature.
Artist Reception Saturday, June 27, 7-9pm. 526C Cumberland Rd in Courtenay, BC. Exhibition runs thru July 18, 2026. Gallery hours Weds to Sat, 12-5pm. Visit www.artfulthegallery.com for more information.

Cumberland Home & Garden Tour AND Culture Crawl
2026-06-27 09:00 - 17:00 | Cumberland Village, Cumberland, BC, Canada
Join us for the 2026 Cumberland Home & Garden Tour AND Culture Crawl! Explore the built places, gathering spaces, studios, gardens, urban farms, historic gems and modern additions in the Village of Cumberland.

Early Bird Tickets are on sale now until June 15th for $25 – Buy your tickets HERE

The overarching theme for this tour is ‘resilience’. We explore ways that our community can build resilience through water conservation, mindful landscaping, urban farming, alternative energy, restoring old buildings and building new structures with state of the art materials.

We also explore ways to build resilience through Neighbourhood Emergency Planning, FireSmart assessments and drought and wildfire smart landscaping.

Resilience is also all about creativity! Expect pop up art shows, music, crafts and other creative undertakings as we partner with Comox Valley Arts to activate the culture crawl aspect of this awesome event!

Wan to join this fun this year and share your home, garden or gathering space? We’d love to hear from you. Message courtney@cumberlandforest.com

Ian Fry: Landscapes of Light at Artful : The Gallery
2026-06-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Artful the Gallery, 526 Cumberland Rd, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2C7

Canada Day Open House at The Courtenay and District Museum
2026-07-01 11:00 - 14:00 | the Courtenay and District Museum, 207 4th St, Courtenay, BC, COURTENAY, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The Courtenay and District Museum will celebrate Canada Day with an open house from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Wednesday, July 1. Guests are welcome to enjoy live music by Alan Jossul, enter to win a door prize, and try their hand at kids’ crafts.
There will also be a special one-day-only 50% off sale for the book Step Into Wilderness: A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in and around the Comox Valley (limit of 3 per person).
While you’re at the museum loving the air-conditioned comfort, take a few moments to check out the second-floor exhibit New Acquisitions, an in-house produced display showcasing some of the donations that haven’t yet been seen by the public.

Summer 2026 Make Art Series
2026-07-01 13:00 - 16:00 | Comox Valley Art Gallery, 580 Duncan Avenue, Courtenay, BC
SUMMER 2026 MAKE ART SERIES

This summer, the Comox Valley Art Gallery is inviting the community to explore new worlds and perspectives through its Make Art Series, running in conjunction with artist Michael Campbell’s exhibition Field Recordings of Icebergs Melting.

The free program includes drop-in Make Art Projects for all ages every Wednesday from 1 – 4pm on the CVAG Plaza, at the corner of Duncan and 6th Street in Downtown Courtenay. The activities are guided by CVAG summer interns.

The weekly Make Art sessions will include field journals, map-making, paper mache mountain, found material paintbrushes, planetary cyanotypes, small terrariums, pounded plant prints, and garland-making. As part of the Pulse on the Plaza and Market Day events with our community collaborators, we will also be facilitating the creation of zines and screen prints, miniature spaceships, and pride buttons and upcycled pride flags.

CVAG’s Make Art Series offers accessible art-making experiences for people of all ages and abilities. Materials are provided, and facilitators are on-hand to provide instruction. Children and those needing assistance to participate should be accompanied by adult support persons.

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WEEKLY ACTIVITY SCHEDULE (1 – 4PM EVERY WEDNESDAY)

• July 1 – Field Journals• July 8 – Map-Making• July 15 – Paper Mache Mountains/Zine-Making (Part 1)• July 22 – Paper Mache Mountains/Zine-Making (Part 2)• July 29 – Found Material Paintbrushes• August 5 – Planetary Cyanotypes• August 12 – Small Terrariums• August 19 – Pounded Plant Prints• August 26 – Garland-Making

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MAKE ART ACTIVITIES DURING SPECIAL EVENTS

• Pulse on the Plaza – K’ómoks Fusion Festival (Friday, June 26, from 5 – 9pm) – Zine-Making + Screen Printing• Pulse on the Plaza – Inner Space/Outer Space (Friday, July 24, from 5 – 9pm) – Miniature Spaceships• Market Day (Saturday, July 25, all day) – Sunshine Pinwheels• Pulse on the Plaza – Pride Party (Friday, August 28, from 5 – 9pm) – Pride Buttons + Upcycled Pride Flags

'Iconography + Identity' at the Campbell River Art Gallery
2026-07-04 13:00 - 15:00 | campbell river art gallery, 1235 Shoppers Row, campbell river, BC, V9W2C7, Canada
The Campbell River Art Gallery invites you to an artful afternoon full of personal interests, admiration, and identity exploration!
On Saturday July 4th from 1 – 3PM artist Aoife Mckirgan will be hosting a workshop where participants will look at what they hold sacred, whether it be pop-culture, environments, or personal experiences, to create a collage and drawing based portrait on paper. Explore using symbolism and iconography to make a representation of who you are when identities are broken down to simple imagery rather than realism!
Bring your enthusiasm for all that interests you!
For all ages and experience levels!
>REGISTER NOW ONLINE AT https://www.crartgallery.ca/events/#!event/register/2026/7/4/iconography-identity
About the Artist:
Aoife McKirgan is a painter and coloured-pencil artist whose work draws inspiration from her own childhood and contemporary pop culture. Through her art, she explores themes of idolization, gender stereotypes, and personal identity.
She includes the use of pop-culture and everyday imagery in her work to hopefully create connection among viewers through shared interest and experiences.

Venue
Campbell River Art Gallery

Address
1235 Shoppers RowCampbell River BC V9W 2C7, CA

Starts
Sat Jul 4 2026, 1:00pm PDT

Ends
Sat Jul 4 2026, 3:00pm PDT
