Lytton River Festival returns after postponement due to wildfire risk

The Lytton River Festival will take place on Thanksgiving weekend this year after nearby wildfires and an extreme fire risk forced organizers to postpone the event.

The community-oriented event was originally scheduled for the Labour Day weekend at the start of September. Now, the two-day celebration will take place Oct. 7-8 in the Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux School gym.

“Fire risk has subsided to the point where we can again safely host the festival,” said Jessoa Lightfoot, festival president, and Lytton Village Councillor. “And to celebrate the season, we’re going to host a community feast on Thanksgiving Sunday.”

The Lytton River Festival is a celebration of the Thompson and Fraser rivers, whose conflux runs through the village. The festival’s website says the Nlaka’pamux People have lived alongside the rivers for over 10,000 years and therefore, the water bodies are an integral part of the festival.

In 2021, about 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the Village of Lytton were destroyed and two people were killed when a wildfire torched the town. Since then, organizers say the festival has gained a new meaning.

“For the past two years, the festival has also been a celebration of the resilience, spirit, and strength of the people of Lytton as the village recovers from the deadly 2021 wildfires that destroyed virtually every home in the townsite,” the festival’s website states.

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For attendees of the festival, organizers say they’re asking people to keep Lytton’s recent history of devastation in mind since accommodations and groceries are still in short supply.

Some of the weekend’s festivities will include music, dancing, children’s events, cultural displays, “make-and-take” sessions and even chicken poop bingo.

The “make-and-take” sessions with artisans and traditional knowledge keepers will teach participants skills, such as traditional beading, and leave them with a piece of art they can take home with them.

While the “mostly Lytton invention” chicken poop bingo will feature a large bingo board, some chicken droppings and loads of anticipation, organizers state.

Organizers say there will be no vendor fees and all vendors are welcome, so long as vendors are self-contained.

-With files from Kurtis Doering