Annual Flying Canoë Volant festival begins

Edmonton's Flying Canoe Winter Festival starts Wednesday night. Nav Sangha has more on the celebration.

Edmonton’s Flying Canoë Volant winter festival starts Wednesday night.

Organizers hope the 13th edition of the festival will bring people together to celebrate Indigenous and French Canadian cultures.

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The festival is based on the legend of the flying canoe, a tale about voyegeurs making deals with the Devil to make their canoe fly.

“The pillars of the story are Indigenous, Métis, and francophone cultures, and we’re here to celebrate with all of Edmonton, so we want everybody to come,” Daniel Cournoyer, producer of the annual festival and executive director of La Cité francophone, told CTV News Edmonton.

The festival, which runs through Saturday, markets itself as an interactive cultural celebration, with activities including a three-kilometre trail in the Mill Creek Ravine illuminated by colourful lanterns, live music, food, relay races,a 360-degree projection dome, ice carving workshops, bonfires and an ice bar.

There will also be an Indigenous camp where members will be sharing stories.

“It’s really a chance to partake,” Cournoyer said. “I always say I don’t want us to observing culture, I want us to be living it.”

Dozens of artists worked on the lantern installations, led by Dylan Toymaker.

He says the pieces of art are made out of traditional material.

“We’ve got art that’s made out of skis and snowshoes. We got some places where we invited some First Nation artists to do some work,” Toymaker said, adding he’s honoured to be part of such a large project that brings people together.

“My installation is kind of the setting so people can feel the togetherness with each other in the festival,” he said.

The festival runs until Saturday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nav Sangha