Canadiana Fest Kalamazoo

We had some incredible poutine entries in the World Champine Poutine Competition, for sure. First place went to FireKeepers Casino with their fantastic duck fat poutine, second place went to Centre Street Tap House with an inventive take involving pretzels, and third went to Best Coast Provisions, who did a traditional poutine! The People’s Choice winner was The Brooklyn Street Local, who had a line every time I looked over there. Thanks to our judges, Chef Michael R. Murray Bobby Hopewell, Chef Anthony Cox, and James Doucet of Poutine Feast Ontario! We’ll be posting videos from the winning chefs talking about their poutine, so stay tuned!

Our winners in the Great Canadian Cosplay contest at the Fest! From left, Red Green, Dudley Do-Right, and Avril Lavigne!

#redgreen #dudleydoright #avrillavigne #cosplay #canadianafest

Music is the heartbeat of the Canadiana Fest.

“We wanted to share iconic music of Canada, the sounds that resonate and instantly take you to the homeland” says Channon Mondoux, Event Creative

The Kalamazoo Pipe Band will be leading the opening ceremonies with their bagpipes, and they will be joined by the Southern Straight Singers with their First Nations drumming and singing.

“Gordon Lightfoot captured the imagination of generations of people around the world, but Orillia, Ontario, Canada was his true home. “  Mike Fornes, who portrays Gordon Lightfoot onstage with the Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Band, says “These songs are heart-wrenching at times, romantic beyond measure, and sorrowful at the loss of a love. Other songs tell tales of the sea, a walk in the woods, or they celebrate Canada.”

Mr Lightfoot died on May 1, 2023 after a long illness that forced the cancellation of his 2023 tour.  He approved of the music of the Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Band and the carrying on of his musical tradition. 

The Gibson B-45 12-string and Martin D-18 guitars that Mr. Fornes uses in concert are identical to the ones played by Gordon Lightfoot on stage (not to mention his Gibson is made right  here in Kalamazoo!). “There is a distinctive sound from Lightfoot’s guitars that are instantly recognizable in his recordings,” Fornes added. “These tones bring us a little closer to recreating his signature songs. It’s an honor to be able to perform these songs on stage.”  The band’s stage set, lighting effects, instrumentation, clothing and mannerisms are identical to those presented by Gordon Lightfoot, live in concert. This remarkable program pays tribute to the artist’s legacy of music, songwriting and history as a performer.

Toronto native and jazz saxophonist and twice Juno Award nominated (Canadian version of the Grammy) Andrew Rathbun is widely esteemed as one of the most creative and accomplished saxophonists, composers and bandleaders of his generation. He is also an associate professor of saxophone and jazz studies at Kalamazoo’s own Western Michigan University!  Mr. Rathbun states “As a proud Canadian, it’s a real honor to get to present some of my music from my new recording “The Speed of Time” on Steeplechase records, due out in early September. It’s always fun to play with the amazing musicians that I’ll be appearing with, including Matthew Fries, piano, Carlo De Rosa, bass and Keith Hall, drums.  Some of my past projects have a distinctly Canadian angle: “Atwood Suites” was a jazz orchestra project that set the text of famed Canadian author and poet Margaret Atwood to music, and “The Idea of North” is a project inspired by one of Canada’s musical titans, Glenn Gould.”  We are excited to host him at the festival in October.

The Henpecked Dawgs bring to life the early Canadiana sound of the French and Celtic Canadian population.  A local quartet, Charlie Holleman, Richard Koontz, Leigh Fryling and Jenni Leckrone play everything from guitars, ukuleles, bagpipes, and the bodhran drum to mandolins, spoons, bones, tin whistles, small pipes, and flutes. Their stunning four part vocal harmonies will delight your ears and bring you to your feet.  While the whole band enjoys classics like ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’ and ‘Red River Valley’, they are also thrilled to play Canadian music by the always hilarious “The Arrogant Worms”. They are excited to play for you!

Tom Sawyer, A Tribute to Rush hails from Chicagoland. They are a power trio that emphasizes the progressive rock era from 1974-1981. These are the sounds that created the bedrock for Rush’s iconic 40+ year career.  They will play all the greatest hits and deeper album cuts from RUSH through MOVING PICTURES plus all the greatest hits of their later eras. If you want to hear what Canada’s own Rush sounded like in their prime, come check out Tom Sawyer.  

Tony Mok, who handles vocals, bass, keys, synth pedals, and samples, says “I love being included in this event because we always have tried to represent RUSH in an authentic way. They are smart, kind, funny, humble, and very dedicated musicians and I feel like they represent some of the best aspects of the Canadian people.”

Brent Johnson plays electric and acoustic guitars and synth pedals for the band, and notes “I am very happy to be part of Canadiana Fest and feel very honored to be representing one of the best Canadian exports ever – RUSH!”  We concur!

Scott Lang manages all things percussive, and is looking forward to coming to Kalamazoo.  He says “I am beyond excited to get out there and play this incredible Canadian music for you all! Neil Peart was a huge influence on me and will live in my heart forever!”  

The Canadiana Fest Team is working to create an event that everyone will enjoy from young families who want to learn about Canada to those who just love to party with our music and food. We have volunteers from both sides of the border, several young people bringing their energy and fresh approach on the planning team as well as veteran chefs, brewery owners, business folk and many community partners without whom we could not put on an event of this magnitude. We know that you will  get a world class experience and we welcome our friends and neighbors from Canada to come be celebrated in a joyful event.

Polli Poutine joins us to represent this iconic Canadian comfort food! Lansing, MI artist Tony Steele, who also created Kalam A. Moose, drew this up for us, and we all con-curd that he was poutine on a great character here. The fact that you’ll be able to buy a t-shirt with her on it is just gravy!

When you come to the Fest, we’ll give you a Poutine Passport. When you sample each of the poutines on offer, you’ll get a button that says WORLD CHAMPINE POUTINE COMPETITION CANADIANA FEST 2024 AND I Eh’T ‘EM ALL!

Isn’t this a beauty? If you know of places we can leave a poster, let us know here or email us at [email protected].

We have a winner in our Name That Moose contest! We had a lot of funny, creative, and sometimes ribald entries, but Janet Nykaza dropped Kalam A. Moose on us, and we loved it! She’ll be attending the Fest in grand style with two VIP tickets. Honourable mention goes to Erin Dougherty Kash who gave us Callum and Kallum, so we’re setting her up with a pair of adult tickets. Our thanks to all who participated!

The festival is the brainchild of local chef, food writer, and event creator Channon Russette-Mondoux and will be held at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place in downtown Kalamazoo on Saturday, October 7. She tells how the event got started here:

“When the pandemic hit, my sister and I were flying back from a vacation together. We parted at the airport, she went back to Windsor and I went on to Kalamazoo where I’ve been living for nearly 20 years. That was the last time I saw her or anyone I knew in Canada for nearly 3  years. My heart was broken. I missed my home, my friends, my family, my country. During that time many people expressed how much they loved Canada too. And so, as the pandemic began to wane I realized, I never wanted to not celebrate my native home again and thought that the world really does need more Canada!”

Fondly known as The Canadiana FestEH!val, the event was born of that missing home feeling of IF YOU CAN’T BRING THE GIRL TO CANADA, BRING CANADA TO THE GIRL! The festival will bring the Canadian values of music, food, culture, love and kindness to benefit two local charities that fight hunger and food insecurity and provide educational scholarships to students in the hospitality and culinary field.  

The Southern Michigan Food Bank has grown from a small group of people believing in this mission to an organization that reaches thousands of people each year. They partner with 300+ agencies over eight Michigan counties to make sure that everyone has access to the nutrition they need to succeed.

The Chef and Cooks Association of Kalamazoo/Battle Creek (CCA KZ/BC) provides financial scholarships for culinary students, industry training for cooks and chefs, educational opportunities, and supports other organizations in our community