Grosvenor Park United Church is pleased to announce that the fourth Contemplative Arts Festival of Saskatoon will be held on May 24, 2025.
Following a successful four-day events in 2019, 2023 and 2024, the church will once again sponsor a time of arts programming and conversation meant to encourage deep connection and self-expression. Everyone’s welcome!
"’What the World Needs?’ is our theme for this year’s mini-Contemplative Arts Festival. In this time of chaotic change and instability, the festival’s an opportunity to feel grounded in the arts, in our bodies, and remember who we are as beloved human beings,” says Nobuko Iwai, chair of the festival.
“Our past festivals were meant to be moments to pause, to breathe, to create, to engage. They have been well attended, with great reviews.”
While the Contemplative Arts Festival is largely a free event, there’s limited space for certain workshops, such as birchbark craftmaking, bead work, and writing. There will be an opportunity for people at the door to pay a nominal fee ($10 cash, first come first served) for some of these workshops.
There are some workshops which will be free, and a participatory conversation prompted by the
question “What the World Needs?”
There are also drop-in opportunities as well, for such activities as raising the tipi and receiving teachings, working on a community mural, and origami.
Please check out the festival website for bios of artists and presenters, along with the schedule.
This year’s mini-festival gives planners a chance to pause and give thanks to previous Planning Team members, and be refreshed for 2026, and a return to a multi-day Contemplative Arts Festival.
Come walk our labyrinth, introduce yourself to T’ai Chi Chih, learn about Kything, or enjoy the Free Flow Concert in the evening, which can be enjoyed for a donation. Come, and join us for soup and bannock for lunch (also by cash donation). Simply pause your phone and unplug to connect!
Artists and Presenters Include:
- Belinda Betker
- Chris Lindgren
- Donna Aldous
- Lyndon Linklater
- Marisa Merasty-Buffalo
- Nobuko Iwai
- Shawn Sanford Beck
- Andrea Ledding
- Tracy Dudar
- Nathaniel Trebish
- Terri Bear-Linklater
Morning:
- Tipi Raising & Teachings
- Soup & Bannock Lunch (by cash donation)
- Beading Workshop
- Birch Bark Craft Workshop
- Kything Workshop
- Writing Workshop
- T’ai Chi Chih
- Origami
- Labyrinth
- Community Mural
- Participatory Conversation
Evening:
- Moment of Gratitude
- Free Flow Concert
