Adäka Cultural Festival

The Adäka Cultural Festival (‘Adäka’ or ‘Festival’) is an annual multi-disciplinary arts and culture festival in Whitehorse, Yukon that celebrates First Nations arts and culture, with a specific focus on Yukon First Nations. 'Adäka', in the Southern Tutchone language, means 'coming into the light' which reflects the Yukon First Nations arts and culture being brought forward to the public eye and celebrated by all. The Festival name was inspired by the work of Joe Johnson, the late father of Festival co-founder, Katie Johnson. Several years prior to the launch of Adäka, Joe had been involved in a conference of the same name. That conference brought the people of the Yukon together to identify areas of concern and exchange thoughts on heritage and culture in the Yukon. The conference aimed to initiate dialogue between the two main Yukon cultures so that everyone could “come into the light” together.

The Adäka Cultural Festival has moved from an outdoor street location to the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, ideally located beside the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon. Since its launch in 2011, Adäka has grown to include national and international artists coming from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, United States, Greenland, and New Zealand.

The Adäka Cultural Festival is hosted by the Yukon First Nations Culture and Tourism Association (YFNCT). YFNCT is a not-for-profit organization “committed to growing, promoting and celebrating strong and sustainable Yukon First Nations arts, culture and tourism sectors." The Festival office is located in the Yukon First Nations Culture and Tourism Association office in Whitehorse, Yukon.

The Adäka Cultural Festival’s mission is to "develop and deliver a world-class, iconic festival that showcases, celebrates, and fosters the development of Yukon’s diverse and distinctive First Nations arts and culture". The Festival objectives are:

The Adäka Cultural Festival is committed to celebrating, preserving and revitalizing Indigenous artistic, musical, and cultural talent. Indigenous art workshops have been included in the festival program since its birth, which allows participants to learn techniques of various Indigenous arts. During the week-long festival, Indigenous performing artists showcase their historic and modern-day culture through traditional dancing and drumming, folk, rock, storytelling, comedy, fiddling, country/gospel, and contemporary music. The Festival’s art gallery and gift shop allows artists to exhibit their work in a world-class, professional setting and sell their work to festival visitors. By including Elder and youth participation and workshops, Adäka allows traditional Indigenous knowledge to be passed on to the next generation, while empowering that generation to carry their culture forward in a modern-day world. In more recent years, a fashion show has been an addition to the festival program which showcases modern and traditional Indigenous designs. Other aspects of the festival program include free activities for children, iconic ticketed events, artist collaboration, networking opportunities, film screenings, arts and cultural demonstrations, and community events. The Adäka Cultural Festival is a primarily free event. However, the ticketed events, workshops and purchasing artwork all have an associated cost.

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