Last weekend Deer Crossing the Art Farm, in partnership with Sunshine Coast Credit Union, hosted its annual Synchronicity Festival in Shirley Macey Park in Gibsons.
The festival was huge success with the popular Rainforest Circus selling out five times with more than 1,500 attendees enjoying the festival grounds thanks to the enormous efforts of volunteers, the marketplace of social entrepreneurs (Live & Learn, Sunshine Coast Regional District, Transition Town, One Straw Society, Iris Griffith Centre, Elphinstone Logging Focus and Friends of Gospel Rock); the children’s tent hosts, SCCU staff and face-painting artists Hailey Stanway and Alexa Houle; stunning art in the field installations by Nadina Tandy, Robert Studer, Todd Clark, Myuki Shinkai, Kim Oka and Emily van Lidth de Jeude; live music by Anagram and Sostenuto; and fabulous food vendors (The Fickle Pig, Tawha Barboza, Superhero Popcorn and Batchworks Sorbet).
“We chose to support Syn-chronicity because it is a unique, one-of-a-kind festival that transcends age; it simply attracts those both young and old who have an appreciation for the blending of performance, art, music and nature,” said Jodi Fichtner, marketing manager at SCCU. “SCCU employee volunteers also appreciated the opportunity to interact with the youngest festival attendees at the kids’ craft tent throughout the weekend — a fantastic preview into the next generation of artistry and creativity.”
The Rainforest Circus team produced a jaw-dropping performance that adults and children enjoyed alike. They laughed, they cried and they promised to be back next year. A special thank you goes out to circus ushers and crew along with Eilis Carpentier, Steve Wright, Sandy Buck, Chad Hershler, Riley Mcferrinn, River Rohlicek, Katherine Denham, Alison Denham, Galia Goodwin, Terence Van Der Woude, Mark Dombowsky, Starr Rairie, Jessie Rydde, Marc Desaulniers, Jonathan Teague, Rolf Reynolds, Lani Claxton and Darcy McMurray.
“We took a huge leap this year,” said festival artistic director Chad Hershler. “The artists in the field, the carnival music, the interactive tents, the food vendors, the staff, the volunteers, the Rainforest Circus and, of course, the festival goers themselves — everyone brought something unique, vibrant and essential to the event. Thanks to everyone for helping create such a phenomenal two and a half days of culture and community.”
See www.synchronicityfestival.ca for more.
— Submitted
