Thursday’s Aboriginal Day kicks off a magical summer of entertainment in Chemainus’ Waterwheel Park.
The program commences with welcomes to the event’s honourary families and dignitaries at 3 p.m. Opening prayer will be conducted by Florence James.
Scheduled performers include: Tzinqwa, Nate Harris, Ms. Panik and Ed Peekeekoot. Closing statements and recognition of the Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society for its sponsorship takes place at 7 p.m.
There will be food vendors and numerous arts and crafts.
Saturday, July 7 is the Chemainus Blues Festival.
Starting at 2 p.m., it will be an exciting day to enjoy some great blues bands. Admission is by a suggested donation of $20 for the day.
Bands include: Mark Crissinger, Kelly Fawcett and many others.
The following Saturday, July 14 is the staging of the annual Chemainus Bluegrass Extravaganza, featuring Jesse Cobb and Border Ride.
Wisconsin native Cobb is a founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters, a Nashville-based powerhouse touring group. With The Dusters, he received a Grammy nomination for his original song Magic #9. He has also recorded on a Grammy-winning project, and has won three International Bluegrass Music Awards.
Border Ride includes Virginia-born Jeff Ellis, a world-champion bassist. Over the years, he has played with several notable bands, including David Parmley and Continental Divide, and Marty Raybon and Full Circle.
The band features Miriam Sostenes on the fiddle. With her band The Sweet Lowdown, Sostenes has toured extensively in North America and Europe. Mike Kraft, who has long been a mainstay on the Vancouver Island bluegrass scene, is included in the group.
Other groups in the lineup include: The Clover Point Drifters, Vancouver Island’s perennial favourite bluegrass band; Bluegrass Fever, the host band for this festival the past eight years; and the Riverside Bluegrass Band, another Island favourite.
Genevieve and the Wild Sundays, a lively all-female group that brings catchy original songs to life, with guitar, fiddle, upright bass, percussion, mandolin, and soaring harmonies, rounds out the agenda.
The festival lineup also includes Accordion Days Aug. 11, the Chemainus Jazz Festival Aug. 18 with the traditional New Orleans style of jazz featured; and Open Mike at the Bandshell Sept. 2.
Following is the schedule for the popular Tuesday evening Music in the Park concerts: July 3, Lady V and Key Krasher – Virginia and Larry Blatchford present some great keyboard-driven blues; July 10, Sweet Potato Brown and the Troublemakers – great country-blues-rock; July 17, Undercurrent – members of the famed Naden Band with a wonderful variety of music; July 24, Crissinger Blues Band – Mark Crissinger’s blues band with a CD release party; July 31, Compassion Gorilla – Earthy and folkloric sounds translated to an explosive performance; Aug. 7, Luv Train – Rhythm & Blues and Motown; Aug. 14, James McRae, Nico Rhodes and Brad Shipley – three Island musical legends with a night of jazz; Aug. 21, Bijou de Bayou – Cajun, Zydeco, Swing, Calypso and more; and Aug. 28, La Familia – 11-piece Latin dance party band.