Something Neighborly
Celebration honors all things Canadian
A festival that celebrates the nation to our north will be held Sept. 21 at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place.
From noon to midnight, Canadiana Fest will feature Canadian-focused food, music, art and more. Live music performances will include several Canadian artists: Crystal Shawanda Blues, a Juno and Maple Blues award-winning artist; Sky Consort and Emma Björling, a folk band; and the Andrew Rathbun Ensemble, playing jazz. They will be joined by three local bands and the Southern Straight Singers, who will present Indigenous sacred drum music.
Food options will include iconic Canadian selections such as poutine and butter tarts, while activities will include curling, lacrosse and hockey, genealogy and art.
Tickets are $5–$15, with children under age 12 admitted free. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit canadianafest.fun.
Something Enduring
Cowboy Junkies to play State
The Canadian band Cowboy Junkies will bring alternative folk music to the State Theatre Sept. 25.
The band was formed in 1986 by Alan Alton and siblings Michael, Peter and Margo Timmins and has recorded 20 albums, including 1988’s The Trinity Sessions, their breakthrough album that reached platinum sales status. The band has performed on The Tonight Show under three different hosts — Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon — and has recorded and performed steadily for nearly four decades with the same band lineup.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40–$75. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit kazoostate.com.
Something Earthy
Wine & Harvest Festival is back
An action-packed weekend is in store when Paw Paw hosts its annual Wine and Harvest Festival Sept. 6–8.
The festival celebrates the community’s strong agricultural roots, with activities including tours of wineries, vineyards and breweries; grape stomping; a pickleball tournament; a hole-in-one contest; and a parade.
For more information or to see a complete schedule, visit wineandharvestfestival.com.
Something Informative
Lecture series on Honorable Harvest
The Indigenous practice of the Honorable Harvest will be the focus of a free lecture series put on by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, beginning this month.
Ten lectures make up the series, which explores the principle that humans should give back to the land that sustains them. The series will be presented in Room 223 of KVCC’s Marilyn J. Schlack Culinary and Allied Health Building at 418 E. Walnut St., and will conclude in November.
This month’s lectures and topics are:
- Cultivating Community Resiliency Through Natural Building, Organic Farming and Education, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 17, featuring Lariss Toulloupas-Pekarovicova and Ondrej Pekarovic discussing how they built their solar-powered farm and straw bale house.
- Rooted In Love … For Rooted Luv Farm, 6:30–7:30 p.m. Sept. 24, featuring urban farmer Chaz Rawls talking about growing food by partnering with nature instead of extracting from it and how working in a garden can be seen as work on oneself.
For more information and a full schedule, visit valleyhub.kvcc.edu.
Something Classic
Hot rods and muscle cars roll in
Car lovers will be in heaven on Earth Sept. 20–22 when the National Street Rod Association’s Nationals North descends on the Kalamazoo County Expo Center.
Hot rods, muscle cars and classic cars that are at least 30 years old will be displayed at the event, which will also include a swap meet, vendor booths, live entertainment and kids’ activities.
The event runs from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Sept. 20–21 and 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Sept. 22. Admission is $6–$20 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit nsra.usa.com.
