Storytelling featured in Winterruption’s outdoor programming

The outdoor programming for this year’s Winterruption started Friday at 6 p.m. behind Ecole Victoria school on Broadway Avenue.

There are many free activities scheduled Friday and Saturday in the park, including an ice rink, outdoor ping pong tables, over-sized jenga and even traditional indigenous storytelling in one of the teepees that have been set up.

“We got a lot of our old ancestral stories such as myths and legends,” said Sanford Strongarm, Winterruptions elder and one of the storytellers.

“It’s very important for our children to understand that anything that we do is basically never written on paper but basically something that they have to learn orally and that’s how my grandparents used to teach us when we were younger.”

However, Strongarm said he is particularly excited to hear some of the stories from new Canadians that will also be shared over the weekend.

“I’m sure that they have some good stories as well, I’m going to try to catch a couple this year,” he said.

“I get to sit down with a lot of different people from different countries and sometimes we share stories back and forth and there is  a lot of similarities from our people’s perspective to theirs.”

Along with telling stories, Sanford was also responsible for setting up the teepees and blessing the event.

“I just went out and smudged out the teepees when we put them up and said a prayer and things like that, just kind of basic stuff but this evening, I’ll be going around to the teepees and doing the same thing again,” he said.

“Whenever you are going to utilize the teepee you have to make sure things are done in the proper order, in order for people to be there to come.”

Saturday’s events run from noon until 10 p.m.