Welcoming Pole Raising and Ceremony

Public Place / Sacred Space 
Welcome Pole Raising & Ceremony
Saturday, October 27, 2018 – 10.00am – 12 noon.
Location: Comox Valley Art Gallery (580 Duncan Ave., Courtenay). 
 
You are invited to a welcome pole raising & ceremony and to share in a celebration of partnership between the Comox Valley Art Gallery (CVAG), K’omoks First Nations community and the City of Courtenay. The project initiated by the CVAG, is seen as a step toward reconciliation and recognition of the historic relationship the K’omoks peoples have had with this Valley for thousands of years. 
 
Two new Puntlege-designed Welcome Poles have been created by the artists Karver Everson and Randy Frank. They have worked under the mentorship of Master Carver Calvin Hunt, and have been advised by K’omoks elders in design and technique. The poles are being placed downtown Courtenay – on the Centre for the Arts plaza outside the Art Gallery. We will also celebrate the development of a seasonal Indigenous Plants garden – created in partnership with Barb Whyte a traditional knowledge keeper & Elder from the K’omoks First Nation (the garden’s planting is dependent upon weather).
 
The ceremony will include: Acknowledgements and a Pole Blessing Ceremony. A light lunch will be served.
 
We welcome you to witness this historic event and honouring.

Please note: 6th Street between Cliffe and England Avenues, and Duncan Avenue in front of the Comox Valley Art Gallery, will be closed to traffic during this event.