Fil-Can Events
O.R.C.A. Festival is gearing up for its second annual iteration on Aug. 2, 2023
O.R.C.A. Festival organizing team. Left to right: Jeevan Taggar, Emma Pawlowski, Emma Chu, Anna Kovtunenko, Kyla Stokes. Photo Credit: Annika Logarta.
The festival, which aims to promote Ocean Conservation, Reform, Climate Optimism, and Action (O.R.C.A.), will feature local, sustainable businesses and environmental organizations at Milton Wong Plaza. The free-to-attend festival hopes to engage the Vancouver community in conversations on climate action through vendor booths and sustainability-focused activities.
“Many people understand that climate change is a major threat to our existence but lack the tools to take action,” said Emma Chu, co-founder of the festival. “Our mission is to connect people with those tools and empower them to make changes in their lives and communities.”
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the public can explore booths run by eight organizations, five local businesses and an arts and crafts station with free colouring pages and stickers. Items for sale include zero-waste swaps and sustainable candles, and organizations will be speaking on topics like environmental law and ocean conservation.
O.R.C.A. Festival was founded in 2022 by Anna Kovtunenko, Emma Chu, Emma Pawlowski, Jeevan Taggar, and Kyla Stokes, ages 15 to 18, as a part of Ocean Wise’s Youth to Sea program. The inaugural festival was held in October of last year and attracted over 150 people.
“Being a huge advocate for young entrepreneurs, I was so excited to witness and be a part of such an awesome day,” said Lisa Seriosa, a returning vendor and owner of the mom-and-daughter run Periwinkle Designs, which sells beeswax food wraps and unpaper towels.
This year’s festival is supported by Ocean Wise’s Eco-Action Accelerator program, and it is partially funded by the Commemoration Fund for Victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Tragedy.
Ocean Wise is a globally focused conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans. Through research, education, public engagement, and international collaborations, Ocean Wise empowers communities to fight three major ocean challenges: ocean pollution, overfishing and climate change. Ocean Wise is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. with staff across Canada, Mexico, and Chile, and operates conservation projects that make national and international impact.
For more information and updates on the festival, visit O.R.C.A. Festival on Instagram.
