Celebrate queer talent at our first FREE concert of the summer! This unofficial warm-up for the Pride Festival will take place in small but beautiful Cridge Park (beside the lawn bowling club at Blanshard Street and Belleville Street).
The concert will feature live, bicycle-powered music by Zofah and Finley Rose, and poetry by Wilder Simpson (performer bios below). Invite your friends, grab a blanket or a lawn chair, and bring along a picnic!
The event will take place on the homelands of the Lekwungen People and we are honoured and grateful that TEALIYE/Brianna Bear will be joining us to provide a welcome. Please try to arrive on time so that you don’t miss her heartfelt words.
Accessibility details: The event will take place on the grass in Cridge Park. There are paved pathways that provide access to the park and there are accessible parking spots behind the Church of our Lord, which can be accessed from Humboldt just west of Blanshard. If you have questions or concerns about accessibility at the event, please contact us at engage@victoriadra.ca.
We encourage those who are able to walk, cycle or take public transit to the event. The closest bus stops are on the north side of Belleville west of Douglas and on the east side of Douglas in front of the Crystal Garden building. There is paid street parking on Humboldt between Penwell and Blanshard and paid parking in the WestPark lot at 646 Superior St.
About the performers:
Zofah (she/they) offers supportive music lessons, group workshops and heartfelt performances that celebrate creativity and connection. With training as a music therapist and experience across multiple instruments and genres, Zofah brings a blend of skill, sensitivity, and care to teaching and performance.
Finn Letourneau (they/them) is a professional fiddler, singer, banjo player and music teacher. Finn performs frequently with their band Clanna Morna and under the moniker Finley Rose – the title of their solo project. They bring new life to traditional folk music spanning many different regions – from Appalachian mountain songs to melodic Irish tunes.
Wilder Simpson uses poetry as an extra sense to witness the world. He embodies the tension of opposites everywhere he goes as a transgender man, and writes to create space for the enduring paradox we all face. We are simultaneously parents and children, busy and tired, laughing and crying, living and dying. Wilder’s poetry offers permission to be human for a second. He wonders whenever he’s awake, but somehow the more he learns—the less he knows.