SKAMpede, now in its 18th year, is an annual professionally curated outdoor performance festival. It is fun for the whole family, providing engaging live entertainment for the many communities of Victoria. This year’s festival, running from July 10th to 12th, will feature eight 10-minute works presented by local performers as well as artists from across the province. New this year is a performance hub at Regatta Point Park on Saturday and Sunday (July 11-12th).

How does it work?

Audiences can choose between two different tours, Selkirk and Central, each consisting of four shows each, as well as a choice between cycling or pedestrian tours. At the festival, patrons depart in groups of fifteen from our festival hub. On each tour, audiences watch a mix of original works of comedy, music, dance, theatre, poetry, and other artistic practices.
Tours run simultaneously and continue throughout the weekend, so that audiences can see every performance SKAMpede has to offer. Friday night is our preview; each tour departs 5 times from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. On Saturday and Sunday, tours depart 12 times each from noon until 5:10 pm.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JULY 11-12

Selkirk Tour

Tour Departs:
12:00pm – Cycling
12:20pm – Cycling
12:40pm – Pedestrian
1:00pm – Pedestrian
2:00pm – Cycling
2:20pm – Cycling
2:40pm – Pedestrian
3:00pm – Pedestrian*
4:00pm – Cycling
4:20pm – Cycling
4:40pm – Pedestrian
5:00pm – Pedestrian

Central Tour

Tour Departs:
12:10pm – Cycling
12:30pm – Cycling
12:50pm – Pedestrian
1:10pm – Pedestrian*
2:10pm – Cycling
2:30pm – Cycling
2:50pm – Cycling
3:10pm – Pedestrian
4:10pm – Cycling
4:30pm – Cycling
4:50pm – Pedestrian
5:10pm – Pedestrian

*ASL-interpreted Tour on Saturday, July 11

HUB OPEN FROM 12-5 PM

Emily Case Productions – Sally’s School

If you wanna get smart, Sally’s School is the place to go! Sally The Clown has spent her time learning all she can, about all she can, and she’s ready to pass the learning along. She recently learned about bikes, a fascinating work of machinery, and is excited to introduce you all to the wonders of bikes. Come with an open mind, a thirst for knowledge, and some questions. Also make sure to wear socks… so you can laugh them off!

Content Notes and/or Trigger Warnings: Audience engagement, and optional participation

Emily Case (she/her) – Creator & Performer

Venus Moon Theatre – Witches in the Field

On a summer’s afternoon in 1689, best friends Lenora and Corinna retreat to the comfort of their frequently visited oasis, a secluded field outside of town. The thirteen year olds reminisce over their already fleeting childhood as they play pretend, sing songs, and ponder why things are the way they are.

Kendra Bidwell (she/her) – Director/Writer
Emma Sainte (she/her) – Actor
Victoria Stolting (she/her) – Actor

Jhoely Triana Flamenco – Arboles (Trees)

How can we learn from the beautiful trees that surround us and the metaphorical trees that connect us? Featuring flamenco music and dance, “Arboles (Trees)” invites the audience into the universal language of emotion. Choreographed by Jhoely Triana, the 10-minute, solo dance performance connects with audiences to share themes of hardship, perseverance and determination. Dancing on and off a tree trunk shaped dance board, the dancer reaches, pushes, gathers, and channels the rootedness, strength and renewal of the trees through grounded flamenco footwork and elegant floral hand gestures. The work spreads the seeds of empathy and compassion.

Content Notes and/or Trigger Warnings: Stomping and loud noises.

Jhoely Triana (she/her) – Dancer/Choreographer
Peter Mole (he/him) – Guitarist (recorded)
Maria Avila (she/her) – Singer (recorded)

Ghost Collective – Mirror Face

Mirror Face is a whimsical outdoor puppet encounter featuring three towering ghostlike figures with glowing mirrored faces. These shape-shifting creatures chirp, hum, and warble through the landscape like curious visitors from another world. As they explore this unfamiliar place, the audience helps guide them through moments of fear, wonder, and discovery. When one creature feels unsure, the support of their companions and the crowd helps them find confidence and joy. Through their mirrored faces and simple, universal emotions, the puppets reflect the audience and environment back into the performance, creating a world of wonder, laughter, and shared humanity.

Content Notes and/or Trigger Warnings: The puppets stand about 9ft tall and will move in close proximity to audience members.

Please do not to touch the puppets.

Hailey Christie-Hoyle (she/they) – Creator/Director
Alexa Ste. Marie (she/her) – Performer
Abby Woodhouse (she/her) – Performer
Emily Carlson (she/her) – Performer / Puppet Captain

Naomi Duska & Julien Amar – Make Me a Moose

Everyone’s heard about Marvin’s Rangers in stories. Each summer, a handful of noble park ambassadors are selected to don furry costumes and antlered headpieces and sing educational songs in campgrounds across the province. Gemma used to dream of joining them, but she’s put that dream aside for good. Her life is just fine. She doesn’t even think about Marvin’s Rangers any more. Until now. Stumbling home along the Galloping Goose, she loses her way. One by one, the creatures who live along the trail come forward to sing, forcing Gemma to confront the dream she’s shoved down for decades. Will she finally don the anointed moose headpiece and join Marvin’s Rangers on the mainland, or is that dream gone for good?

Julien Amar (he/they) – Actor/writer/musician
Naomi Duska (she/they) – Actor/writer/costume designer

Kizuna Theatre – Between Earth and Sky

Experience a vivid tapestry of Japanese history and melody in this outdoor performance. “Between Earth and Sky” weaves together a thousand years of classical Japanese poetry with the contemporary energy of the Okinawan song “Hana.”

Through expressive movement and stirring vocals, two performers trace a journey from the heat of the summer sun to the fluid rhythms of a rushing river. This evocative ritual explores the fleeting nature of time and the resilience of the spirit, inviting the audience to bridge the gap between the ground beneath them and the vast sky above.

Content Notes and/or Trigger Warnings: The performance is multilingual, featuring spoken word and song in both English and Japanese.

Misty Yumiko Cozac – Creator/Director
Noé Nishizawa – Performer
Tamae Yoshizawa – Performer
Bradley Kurushima – Musician

Over the Moon Puppets – The Transformation Station

Over the Moon Puppets brings you on an exploration of creatures big and small through storytelling, puppetry, and live music. Join us on a journey of sound and colour as one little caterpillar undergoes the biggest change of their life. Using large scale puppetry, lambe-lambe puppetry, live guitar, and audience interaction, this all-ages show invites kids and adults alike to ignite their imagination at the Transformation Station!

Trigger Warnings and/or Content Notes: Optional audience participation

Kiley Verbowski (she/her) – Creator and Performer
Sophie Underwood (she/her) – Creator
Darcie Snider (she/her) – Composer and Musician

Rebound Dance Collective – Something Weird is Happening in Balanchine’s Backyard

“Something Weird is Happening in Balanchine’s Backyard” is a piece melding aspect of both dance and theatre. It follows a ballerina taking class but slowly realizing over the course of the piece that she is not in a dance studio at all. This absurd concept reflects the experience many professional dancers have after they retire of reconciling with life after dance and finding a new identity outside of a world as all consuming as ballet. More broadly, this relates to a question of identity, and to what extent we are defined by what we do.

Miranda Reid – Writer, Director, and Choreographer
Eric Moll – Writer
Koby Springsteen – Music arrangements and composition
Jordan Cooper – Performer

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PERFORMANCES

SKAMpede is a festival in Victoria of new short works by top performers who have been selected through a formal submission process. Each of the shows are different and the range of performances encompasses spoken word, dance, story telling and much more!  The local performers have all worked as professional artists, including at Craigdarroch Castle, Atomic Vaudeville, The Belfry Theatre and Butchart Gardens. SKAMartists are paid for their work.

See our past lineups here.