Aboriginal Day Live and Celebration!
Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for! Head down to the Celebration Villages in Winnipeg and Regina for unique food, authentic art, entertainment, all kinds of fun and interesting tents, and so much more! Check out the stages in the Village for day-long entertainment including Sagkeeng’s Finest in Winnipeg and so much Aboriginal dancing in Regina. In Winnipeg, there will be skate park demos and so much beautiful space to spend time outside at the Forks with friends and family beginning at 11am! At the First Nations University of Canada in Regina, the celebrations begin at 1:00pm.
Come down to enjoy APTN’s free events, or watch it on tv or online with Webstage Pass!
Happy National Aboriginal Day
Prepare for Aboriginal Day Live today with your own map! Need to make your way around the celebration grounds at The Forks or the First Nations University of Canada on June 23? Just click right here for printable versions of the site maps for Winnipeg and Regina!
Aboriginal Day Live @ Lunch
Once again APTN and the Winnipeg Free Press Café hosted a free all ages show in the Exchange in downtown Winnipeg. Indian City was there to perform on June 14 but this time Vince Fontaine, Neewa Mason and Pamela Davis were joined by Don Amero and William Prince.
You can catch Indian City and all its members on June 23 at The Forks in Winnipeg during the Aboriginal Day Live concert live or online.
Join us again June 21 on National Aboriginal Day for a special performance by Australia’s own Adam James! AJ is a country music singer and songwriter with a passion for Indigenous education. He will also be performing live in Winnipeg for Aboriginal Day Live!!
The Digital Drum ambassadors were on site to capture the performance last week and even had the chance to sit down with Don Amero and William Prince to talk about Aboriginal Day Live. Check it out here:
Winnipeg Headliner
One of the most successful groups in First Nations history will be headlining together for a one night only reunion for Aboriginal Day Live at The Forks in Winnipeg.
Claude McKenzie and Florent Vollant, two Innu from Maliotenam reserve in northern Quebec, were certified double platinum as Kashtin and had the popular hits “E Uassiuian” and “Tshinanu”. Kashtin’s most popular Canadian hit came from their second album (Innu) with the song “Ishkuess” in 1991.
Regina Headliner
Academy Award winning songwriter and folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie will be taking the stage as headliner for the Aboriginal Day Live concert at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina. Buffy Sainte-Marie is an internationally renowned performer and is known for her commitment to social causes, especially with First Nations Peoples of North America. Many of her songs are about Aboriginal Peoples experiences.
Check out the full artist line up for Winnipeg and Regina right here.
Meet Your Hosts
Comedian Don Kelly (Fish out of Water) returns as on-stage host for the fourth year in Winnipeg and will be joined by Chantelle Ducharme (APTN Upload) and Candy Palmater (The Candy Show).
Regina’s show will be hosted by two talented and beautiful Aboriginal ladies, actress/producer Jennifer Podemski (Rabbit Fall) and actress Michelle Thrush (Blackstone). Join this group of talented hosts on June 23rd, live, on tv or online!
APTN Celebrates Its 6th Annual Aboriginal Day Live
APTN’s Aboriginal Day Live has been delighting audiences since 2006 and after 6 years the event continues to shine bigger, better and brighter. Join us in Regina and Winnipeg on June 23 to be a part of history in the making, live or online. Just take a look at all of these great photos capturing the moments that have paved the way for what Aboriginal Day Live is today.
Celebration Stages
Although the live to broadcast concert will begin at 8pm in Winnipeg and 7pm in Regina, there is still all kinds of entertainment going in the Celebration Village (Winnipeg / Regina) all afternoon.
If you are attending the Celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg, head over to the First Nations Bank stage to catch this year’s winners of the Canada’s Got Talent program, Sagkeeng’s Finest! Sagkeeng’s Finest will be a part of the larger dance group, Sagkeeng’s Dancers. Catch them for their first performance of the day at 12:30pm.
Along with Sagkeeng’s Finest and Sagkeeng’s Dancers, there will be more talent gracing the stage including DJ Tik on the turn tables, hoop dancer Joshua Hansen with pow wow singer Nelson Thomas, Lorenzo and APTN’s Fit First coach Kent Brown!
If you’re in Regina, you will also be kept entertained all afternoon at the Celebration stage with a Grand Entry beginning at 1:30 followed by an Aboriginal Fashion Show, pow wow and Metis jiggers!
Aboriginal Day Live @ Lunch featuring Indian City
Last week, APTN and the Winnipeg Free Press hosted a free show for all ages at the Winnipeg Free Press Cafe in the historic Exchange District in downtown Winnipeg. Audience members and lunch patrons were delighted by the smooth sounds of Vince Fontaine’s Indian City. Last week the crew consisted of Vince Fontaine, Neewa Mason and Pamela Davis accompanied by the bass player, and brother to Neewa, Atik Mason. You can catch Indian City and all it’s members on June 23 at The Forks in Winnipeg during the Aboriginal Day Live concert live or online.
Catch Indian City once again in the intimate setting of the cafe on Thursday, June 14. This time Vince will be joined by William Prince and Don Amero. The Digital Drum ambassadors were on site to capture the performance and even had the chance to sit down with Vince to talk about his new project. Here’s a small taste of what went down last Thursday.
Aboriginal Day Live Flag Contest Winner Chosen
APTN has collected submissions from young people between the ages of 12 – 17 from across Canada for the sixth annual National Aboriginal Day Live flag contest and a winner was chosen!
The annual flag contest is part of APTN’s Aboriginal Day Live every year. Entries were encouraged to represent the diversity and culture of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples and illustrates what National Aboriginal Day means to them.
The winning flag gets erected above APTN’s headquarters in downtown Winnipeg and the winner of the contest will earn a cash prize of $500, and if the winner’s flag was initiated as part of a school project, their school will also receive $750 towards the purchase of learning materials. The contest winner and a parent/guardian will be flown to Winnipeg to receive their prize and be part of APTN’s National Aboriginal Day celebrations at The Forks!
The winner’s name will be announced Monday, June 18!
