Bowfest turns 50

Our annual community festival, Bowfest is happening today. AS I write from home, a kilometre and a half from the festival field I can hear the band Queer as Funk getting everyone dancing. It turned out to be a beatiful day – blustery and cool but bright sunshine and clear skies. It looked like rain was in the forecast but we dodged it. My friend Pauline Le Bel and I spent the day at our little table chatting with people about our initiative to fund the carving and installation of a Squamish welcome figure at our community centre. We raised $760 just from donations today. We need another $2300 by the end of September to pay our carver, Xwalacktun, to begin work on the sculpture. The festival was the best in years. Since the pandemic, I have feared that Bowfest might fade away, but there is new energy, new people, a million new kids, and it feels like the community has come through a big transition. Even though we don’t recognize a lot of new faces, many of the Elders I spoke with today…