Sechelt Arts Festival

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About

September 19 – 28, 2025

Sechelt, BC

Sechelt Arts Festival connects art to considerations of climate change and environmental justice. From music, dance, theater, exhibitions, performances and film screenings, to lectures, discussions and hands-on activities, the Festival draws our community into engaged and inspiring ideas around biodiversity, climate activism and creative making. All events are free!

The Festival is curated to connect artists and creative ideas to local ecologies and our changing climate on the Coast. This year’s Festival considers sinku – she shashishalhem word for “open water”, what we commonly call the “Salish Sea”.

Some highlights include:

An Autumnal Equinox free waterfront concert and inter-cultural procession at Snickett Park.

A global Climate Change Theatre Action project hosting play readings and free performances of short plays by Elaine Avila about hummingbirds saving pipelines, and sea lions reflecting on climate change.

Exhibitions and series of talks bringing painting, sound, digital media and fibre art to telling the story of the forest’s connection to the Salish Sea. Artists include Valerie Durant. Hadis Fard, Giorgio Magnanensi and others.

An Ecological Field School that will bring artists, scientists, conservationists, shíshálh knowledge keepers and municipal staff together to share creative ways of telling the stories of the coastal waterways in our community and how we may prepare for future flooding.

Thanks to our sponsors who make this event possible for our community:

District of Sechelt, Department of Canadian Heritage, BC Arts Council, BC Gaming Commission, SCRD, Sunshine Coast Credit Union.

Organizer

Sunshine Coast Arts Council

Our History and Mandate:

The Sunshine Coast Arts Council (SCAC) is a volunteer-based society founded in 1966 to raise the profile of local artists and artisans. Our mandate is to broaden the opportunities for the citizens, artists and artisans of the Sunshine Coast to enjoy and participate in local cultural activities. We are a vital resource for the artistic and cultural life of the Coast community. In addition to operating the Arts Centre which includes two exhibition spaces, a music and visual arts studio, the SCAC hosts ongoing free cultural events. Our mission is to provide opportunities for Coast citizens to enjoy and participate in cultural activities, and to increase platforms for artists and artisans to share their work. We achieve this in a variety of ways including hosting exhibitions, developing public programs, delivering professional development workshops, finding platforms for young people to engage, hosting readings, screenings and talks, and providing accessible space for cultural groups to gather and work. Our annual craft fairs contribute economically and culturally to the creative sector and the broader. We work to make the Arts Centre a welcoming and open gathering place, that is community-minded and accessible for all. We seek to be a creatively vibrant and culturally relevant organisation for audiences and citizens across the Sunshine Coast.