Thank you so much to everyone for supporting and attending the 2024 Ryga Arts Festival! Stay tuned as we begin to plan for 2025.

2025 Lineup

📅 September 17–21, 2025
🎭 Words, Theatre, Music
📲 Follow us at @rygafest for updates
Wednesday, September 17
Festival Launch and Opening Night Reception - This opening night reception and variety show reflects the Festival theme of Words, Theatre, Music honouring George Ryga, with performers  representing these themes. Entry is Pay What You Can, and seating is limited.
George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre, 9525 Wharton Street, Summerland, BC
6:00 PM
Thursday, September 18
Character Development for Plays, Songs, and Novels - Character Development for Plays, Songs, and Novels:  A panel discussion with Festival artists on how to develop believable, relatable fictional characters with emotional depth, whether for plays, songs, or stories.
George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre, 9525 Wharton Street, Summerland, BC
10:00 AM
A chat with Danielle Krysa, aka The Jealous Curator "Dealing with your Inner Critic - Inner critics can get the best of us, whether we’re full time artists, writers, musicians, etc., or just people who love to dabble in creativity from time to time. Danielle has written books on exactly this, and will share her insights — and a bit of humor — to help all of us get past this grouchy little gatekeeper. Everyone should be free to make whatever they want to make, no matter what that jerk has to say about it! Tickets are Pay What You Can.
Summerland Branch Library, 9533 Main Street, Summerland BC
2:00 PM
Author reading with Joanna Cockerline and Kevin Heslop - Joanna is a CBC Literary Awards prizewinner, Pushcart Prize nominee, and author of Still (Porcupine’s Quill, 2025), a novel set in Kelowna’s street community that explores sex work, the opioid crisis, friendship, and the search for home. Kevin is a multidisciplinary artist and writer whose latest book, The Writing on the Wind’s Wall, presents a series of in-depth dialogues on Medical Assistance in Dying, offering a collective portrait of how a community thinks and feels about death, dying, and what it means to live together now. Tickets are Pay What You Can.
Summerland Branch Library, 9533 Main Street, Summerland BC
4:00 PM
Reading of a new play-in-progress - commissioned by the Ryga Arts Festival.  Come and see an emerging original play in development!  Admission is Pay What You Can.
George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre, 9525 Wharton Street, Summerland, BC
7:00 PM
Friday, September 19
Inclusivity in the Arts - a Community Conversation with this year's featured Festival artists Chris Dodd, Tristan Boisvert, and Michael V. Smith.
George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre, 9525 Wharton Street, Summerland, BC
10:00 AM
Brian Thomas Isaac - Author Reading and Q&A  - Join us in welcoming Brian Thomas Isaac for a reading from his new book, Bones of a Giant, followed by Q&A.
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Brian is a celebrated Syilx author whose debut novel All the Quiet Places won the 2022 Indigenous Voices Award and was a finalist for several major literary prizes. A former bricklayer turned award-winning writer, Brian lives in West Kelowna and is currently working on his third book. Tickets are Pay What You Can.
Summerland Library, 9533 Main Street, Summerland BC
1:00 PM
Reading and Workshop by C. E. Gatchalian - Double Melancholy: Art, Beauty, and the Making of a Brown Queer Man—a lyrical exploration of race, desire, and artistic identity shaped by literature, film, and family history. At 4pm, Gatchalian will lead Writing the Unraveling Self, a workshop that invites participants to embrace emotional rawness and creative disruption through guided prompts and reflection. The reading is Pay What You Can, and the workshop is $25.
Summerland Library, 9533 Main Street, Summerland BC
3:00 PM & 4:00 PM
Claire Coupland and Ollie Rankin - Claire Coupland, soulful musician, and Ollie Rankin, spoken word artist, explore themes of healing, justice, and hope.  Enjoy their intimate, thought-provoking performances that speak to hearts and minds. Tickets are $20 to $25.
George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre, 9525 Wharton Street, Summerland, BC
7:00 PM
Saturday, September 20
Theatre Trail - Join us on the "Trail" for this popular annual event featuring original short plays in unusual locations,   Beginning at 1:00 PM at your assigned location, your group will embark on a stroll to various popup theatre spots, until you've seen all the plays. Reserve early - tickets are limited and sell out fast!
in locations throughout downtown Summerland
1:00 PM
Feature Event -  Deafy The Theatre highlight of our 2025 Festival is Deafy, a play written and performed by Edmonton playwright and actor, Chris Dodd.  It has received rave reviews across Canada and we are delighted to present it at the Festival.
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Dodd, who is Deaf, developed the play and plays the central character, Nathan Jasper. Here is his description: "Deaf public speaker, Nathan Jesper, has arrived at his venue desperately late. As his speech begins, he soon realizes that things are not what they seem."
Deafy is a tragicomedy, combining spoken word, ASL (American Sign Language) and captions. Nathan recounts the tales of his life, navigating relationships with friends and the everyday challenges of deafness, and ultimately leads the audience on an unexpected journey of discovering what it really means to belong.  
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Do not miss this chance to see Deafy, a play that has taken Canada by storm. Tickets $35, $25 Students & Seniors.
Centre Stage, 9518 Main Street, Summerland, BC
7:00 PM
Sunday, September 21
Soundtrack: a poetry karaoke night with Michael V. Smith - What would be the soundtrack for your coming-of-age story? In this karaoke-meets-poetry party, writer Michael V. Smith shares stories about growing up queer in a small town, all inspired by the music albums he listened to growing up. But wait, there's more. Guests at this event are invited to sing karaoke from a handful of the 19 albums in Smith's book. Come hear some old songs from the late 20th century, and Smith's dynamic stories inspired by them. Tickets are Pay What You Can!
Detonate Brewery, 9503 Cedar Ave #103, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z2
7:00 PM

2025 Festival Poster

This year's poster, created by Tarcila Neves, sets the tone for 2025, the tenth year of the Ryga Arts Festival. This year the Festival will again present a dynamic variety of performers, creators, and experiences inspired by the spirit of George Ryga, whose works drew public attention to social injustice and marginalization.
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We present events that match our themes of Words, Theatre, and Music. These were all genres in which George Ryga created. Our 2025 Festival will again welcome artists and performers with these themes. Please browse our artists and our events - and join us for our Tenth Anniversary.

There are many reasons why Summerland is the ideal location for a festival inspired by George Ryga – it’s a charming town with good venues and amenities, hospitable people, beautiful scenery and a mild climate. But most importantly, it’s where the nationally acclaimed playwright and author lived from 1963 until his death in 1987 and where he wrote most of his major works. Over the last ten years, the Ryga Arts Festival has done more than bring world-class arts and cultural offerings to Summerland; it has allowed for George Ryga’s legacy to finally be recognized by his home community.
- Doug Holmes
Sharing my work at the Ryga Arts Festival was an absolute dream: seamless logistics, a beautiful venue, and a warm & attentive audience made for an unforgettable experience.
- Meghan Fandrich
author of Burning Sage: Poems from the Lytton Fire
You ran a beautiful festival. We felt cared for and the vibe was calm and generative and fun - so good work! And congrats!
- Emelia Symington-Fedy
Writer • Radio Broadcaster • Theatre Maker
 I love the Ryga Fest. Its community-minded focus on justice, equity, and social change make it one of my favourite arts festivals ever. I look forward to returning again and again, and I can't wait to see where the team takes Ryga Fest over the next 10 years.
- Andrea Warner
author of Rise Up and Sing! Power, Protest, and Activism in Music, The Time of My Life: Dirty Dancing and We Oughta Know: How CĂ©line, Shania, Alanis, and Sarah Ruled the '90s and Changed Music.
We felt especially well-hosted by the business owner of Heartspace Yoga Boutique, Celeste, who stepped up to provide her studio as a performance space for our show, and went to extra-lengths to make it feel really cosy and welcoming to audiences. The community in Summerland is spectacular, and we were so grateful to be able to experience it.
Julia Mackey & Dirk Van Stralen
Jake’s Gift • Juno ProductionsRyga Arts Festival 2024