Pellsqepts Spring Winds 2023

SALMON ARM, B.C.—The wind whispers as it blows across Shuswap Lake and sweeps through Pierre’s Point, where, on the edge of the water, leather hand drums and acoustic guitars sing. It’s the time of the spring winds, pellsqepts, a time of rebirth and renewal, and an opportunity to celebrate Indigenous culture. The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society invites the community to the Pellsqepts Spring Winds Music Festival Saturday, March 18. Complete with a variety of Indigenous music, art and dancing, the free festival is open to all ages and showcases handcrafted goods from Shuswap artisans and delicious treats from local food vendors.“We want to celebrate the original peoples of the land here in the Secwepemc. What better way to do this than with a lineup of some of the best music and entertainers here in the Interior,” says Kenthen Thomas, Indigenous and youth coordinator, SAFMS. “We want to celebrate our Indigeneity, our ways of knowing and being through the voices, through the songs and dances.”The Pellsqepts Spring Winds Music Festival features traditional St’at’imc grizzly bear dancers, Bernice Jensen & Pow Wow Crew, the DerRic Starlight Show, Rain Penner August, Ashcroft’s contemporary Indigenous fusion group The Melawmen Collective and Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter and ROOTSandBLUES festival-favourite George Leach.Made possible thanks to the support of PacifiCan and the Government of Canada, the one-day-only, free family festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 at 2471 Pierre’s Point Road in Salmon Arm. For more information about the Pellsqepts Spring Winds Music Festival and the 31st annual ROOTSandBLUES Festival this summer, visit the SAFMS online at rootsandblues.ca or call 250-833-4096.