Ottawa’s first Cracks Festival, an exploration of “art, spirituality and social justice,” is to be held at the Dominion Chalmers United Church this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7-8.
The name of the event is derived from a quote from a Leonard Cohen poem that, “there’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
David Sherwin, the executive director of the Cracks organizing team, says the festival will help illustrate the crossover between art, justice, and faith.
“We all know we’ve got our cracks and we’re broken in different ways, and a healthy spiritual life is about healing and finding ways to be stronger in a community,” says Sherwin. “All of that plays into what the festival is about.”
Sherwin hopes the festival will be an opportunity for residents of Centretown to connect to one another. The church is located at 355 Cooper St.
“There are more people living alone in Centretown than any other part of Ottawa,” said Sherwin, pointing to the high proportion of single-room apartments in the downtown area. “We’re hoping this is just one small way to reach out to people who are new to the city to meet people.”
The idea for the festival was sparked after Gary Paterson, Vancouver-based moderator of the United Church of Canada, led 100 ministers from Canada to attend the Greenbelt Festival in Britain. That event, which similarly explores art and spirituality, has been running 40 years — most recently in North Hampshire.
“The key thing about Greenbelt is that it does not belong to one church or denomination. The secret to its success is that it spans the whole spectrum,” said Paterson, describing how the four-day festival attracts about 20,000 participants a year.
Paterson will be performing a jazz vesper at the festival, a combination of jazz and spoken word that tries to share a faith-based message with people who are not regular churchgoers.
“I would say something and the music would say something back that’s cinematic and supportive,” said Paterson, describing a previous jazz vesper he performed.
Paterson will be performing with Peter Woods on saxophone and Brian Browne on piano, a trio that has collaborated in the past.
“We’re looking forward to hearing the message (Gary) wants to bring,” said Wood. “It is about discovery and discerning the poetry that is in all of us, and how that musically resonates.”
Sherwin has been working on organizing the festival for more than a year. He says he’s optimistic it will become an annual tradition in Centretown.
“It’s a pilot. We have no idea how successful it will be right now, but certainly after the festival is over we’ll be looking at the feedback.”
“Our hope is it will be an annual event and it will grow over time,” said Sherwin.
The festival will open Friday night with a concert by Tom Wilson of the Canadian folk band Lee Harvey Osmond. Saturday morning and afternoon will feature a variety of hands-on workshops and shows including the jazz vesper, closing with a performance by Canadian rhythm-and-blues singer Jully Black.