Festival celebrates nature

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Tickets for the 19th Annual Meadowlark Nature Festival are now on sale.

Showcasing the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys’ natural environments, the festival, May 19-23, is the flagship public event presented by the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance.

This year, it offers 79 tours including hiking, cycling, horseback riding, canoeing, geology tours, astronomy events, children`s programs, film screenings, art exhibitions, Aboriginal events and photography, painting and writing workshops.

“We’ve got a really great roster of events planned for this year. Meadowlark events allow participants the opportunity to engage with experts in their fields, including biologists, botanists, historians, traditional knowledge keepers, herpetologists, naturalists, artists and explorers. There truly is something for everyone,” said festival coordinator Jayme Friedt.

This year’s keynote speaker is James Raffan.

Raffan spent three years circumnavigating the arctic circle engaging with people in Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska and Canada.

He has produced a spectacular collection of images, sights, sounds and stories, touching on the full spectra of human ingenuity that lie in the remarkable lives of northerners.

“James is an incredible storyteller. His tales and pictures are mesmerizing, funny and inspiring. It really will be one of the highlights of the festival,” said Friedt.

Tickets are available online from the Meadowlark Nature Festival website at meadowlarkfestival.ca.

Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the Meadowlark’s offices at the Shatford Centre, 760 Main Street, Penticton every Wednesday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., from now until May 18.