BackwardsNess Festival

Are you a nature, music, and community lover? Spend your September Long weekend harkening back to the high days of summer and the old days of Ness at BackwardsNess. NEW THIS YEAR, TWO DAYS OF MUSIC, FUN, and DANCE. Of course, live music and dancing held ON the Ness Creek Main Stage, you guessed it- BACKWARDS!!

We have more programming than ever before! New this year we will have more fun family activities, workshops, vendors, games, music lover jams, and of course our beloved "Let's Get Pickled" is back! New this year we are offering a Botanical Dye Workshop! Make sure to sign up, only 12 spots available! 

Come early for games, stay late for the music! Bring the family! Children 12 and under are free if accompanied by an adult!

FEATURING

The Steadies

https://thesteadies.ca

 

The North Sound

https://www.thenorthsoundmusic.com

 

Sammy Lee Folkerson

https://www.facebook.com/sammyleefolkersen

 

Cupid's Heart

https://linktr.ee/cupidsheartband  

 

Danika Potie

https://www.facebook.com/danika.potie

TICKETS

$35 Advance Online Tickets (plus taxes and fees)

$50 At The Gate (flat rate)

12 and under FREE!

Includes camping. Cabins are available for rent through Ness Core. Taco Bar dinner FRIDAY night for purchase. SATURDAY Dinner and a late-night snack are available to purchase at 3rd & Main in the main downtown area on site. There's a bar, so bring your ID and cash! Music, games, workshops, and more!

EVENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2nd 2022

4:00pm- Gate Opens - welcome home, find your favourite camp spot in 1st or 2nd field setup.

6:00pm- Taco Bar dinner sponsored by Big River Coop with to purchase backstage and enjoy a jam night with a bonfire! Bring your instruments JAM on stage!

8:00pm- Sammy Lee Folkerson Jam

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3rd 2022

11:00pm- Brunch with 3rd & Main in the main downtown area.

12:00pm - 1:00pm Lunchtime jam! Open Mic, let's hear what you got! 

1:00pm - 4:00pm Games in the main downtown area. Singles, duos, groups, and families alike! 

1:00 - 3:30pm Prairie Honey Creative Botanical Dye Workshop * pre registration required*

1:00pm- 2:00pm Music Workshop by Sammy Lee Folkerson

2:00pm - 3:00pm Music Workshop by North Sound

3:00pm - 4:00pm Music Workshop by Earl Pereira

4:30pm Pickleoff

6:00pm Dinner with 3rd & Main in the main downtown area. 

8:00pm - LATE! Mainstage Live Music 

HANDS ON PROGRAMMING

~ Botanical Dye Workshop~ $65 *ticket registration below

Prairie Honey Creative Bundle Dyeing Flowers onto Silk Workshop is an experience of the playful power of plant color in the form of soft and vibrant yellows, earthy, moss-like, and cosmic greens, unique turquoises and blues, lilacs, bold purples, and majestic pinks and corals. Utilize and discover pigment from fresh wildflowers, fresh botanicals, in combination with facilitator Blaine Lunsford's personal dye collection of dried plant matter and extracts, to create a wonderous range of color and design that will be made possible working with silk as a canvas.

The bundle dye process is unique and truly magical! Participants will receive an in-depth how-to educational process throughout this workshop, highlighting specific techniques to apply to their own at-home practice. A myriad of topics, methods, and techniques will be discussed throughout, from plant pigment color theory to natural dye methods, and an e-book will be provided to all participants following the workshop.

This is the perfect boreal forest art activity to add to your Backwards Ness experience. Blaine’s favourite location to facilitate is in the Boreal, surrounded by tall birch and pines, non-human kin and flora. Northern Saskatchewan and the Ness Creek Site holds a special place in the hearts of many, and this fibre art expression / play therapy is a unique way to integrate the experience into a forever piece of wearable to art.

The process of this workshop includes:

1. Choosing and placing flowers, herbs, and natural dye extracts onto your very own 14x72, 100% silk habotai scarf (ideal for natural dyeing and prepped ahead of time by your facilitator to ensure long-lasting steadfast dyes and color pigment). This is where we PLAY!
2. Dive into the process of creation. This process is experimental, eliciting a sensory experience for the body, both externally and internally, regulating the nervous system and taking us to an active rest state, AKA, Play. Let go and feel the alchemy!
3. The Bundle. We will bundle our silk pieces carefully to then steam in steamer pots for a period of about 20-35 minutes, allowing the pigment to be extracted even further onto the silk via heat and steam activation. The smell will light up the room as this alchemical process takes place.
4. The Reveal! Once our pieces have finished steaming and the plant color is fully extracted, binding onto the silk, we will unwrap and unveil the magical work and beauty each participant has created.

This workshop is rooted in ecology, slow fashion initiatives, forest art, the science of play, nervous system-based regulation practices, ecosomatics, color theory, botanical alchemy, ceremony, ritual, connection, and community, and is truly Soul Activism.

12-person capacity. Refunds are unavailable due to the supply-based nature of this workshop. Dye kits and full instructions, as well as guidance online with Blaine, will be made available to anyone unable to attend.

~"Let's Get Pickled"~ $10 *please bring cash
Do you think your home-made pickles have the best taste and crunch? Enter them to be considered by an elite panel of judges and win tickets to BackwardsNess 2023 and bragging rights! Entry is $10 per jar. TO ENTER EMAIL: admin@nesscreek.com to sign up!

~Games Tournament ~ Free

Do you have a love of games? Well, we have many! Prizes too! Come in a group theme for extra bonuses! Free to play! 

• Potatoes sack
• Three leg race
• Large style beer pong
• Horseshoes
• Plank race
• And more!

~ Music Workshops~ Free

Enjoy an afternoon of music workshops by Earl Pereira, The North Sound, and Sammy Lee Folkerson. Learn techniques, the stories behind their music, and ask the questions you have always wanted to know!  

~Saskatchewan Vendors ~ Vendor pricing may vary

Enjoy a local Saskatchewan shopping experience! Paintings, textiles, home grown food, and more!

• Wiebe Works
• Central Standard Textiles & Apparel
• Multicolored Thumb

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

• District Brewing
• Lake Country Coop 
• Big River Liquor Store Custom Signs & Apparel
• Charton Hobbs

MORE INFO
Accommodations
Check out the cabins at discovernesscreek.com!
If you would like to rent a cabin at the Ness Creek Site please email nesscorerentals@gmail.com.

Vendor Village
P.S. We're looking for vendors! If you're interested in setting up a shop please email backwardsness@nesscreek.com - ONLY $25 per booth!

Sponsorship Opportunities
P.S. We're looking for sponsors! If you're interested please email backwardsness@nesscreek.com and please download our sponsorship kit PDF from our website to find out more about how you can make a difference.