Artist and spiritual teacher Danielea Castell is embracing the Canada Winter Games as much as anyone from the world of sports.
Castell is the co-founder of the Water Gratitude Society and one of the leaders of various water appreciation and awareness events in the region. She often combines singing, drumming and vocal soundweaving with outdoor communing in nature.
She and her fellow society supporters are the force behind the annual Rivers Day art and meditation events in September held at what's been dubbed The Bank Of Gratitude - the undeveloped park space at the western foot of the CN Rail bridge.
With the 2015 Canada Winter Games only a couple of weeks away, Castell is leading a Water Gratitude Concert to celebrate the athletes and the community spirit welcoming them, but also to draw some particular awareness.
"It is all about the water," she said. "You would have no Canada Winter Games, you wouldn't have these sports at all, if it weren't for the various forms of water. It's a no-brainer when you think about water the way I do. It's my job. And it's true of snow and ice as much as rivers and lakes."
In true Games fashion she is drawing the region into her events. On Feb. 6 she will hold a Water Gratitude Concert at Satya Yoga Studio in Williams Lake, repeat the process in Quesnel the next night at Shiraoi House, then on Feb. 8 she leads the song and story show in Prince George at Knox United Church (doors open at 6:30, show at 7 p.m.).
"I know people are feeling busy and stressed because the Canada Winter Games experience is so intense on a community level, so this is one hour you can stop, sit comfortably, take stock, gather your energy, and feel strength for this amazing coming together of people in the north," she said.
The concerts are fundraisers for the main Water Gratitude Society activities in September. Tickets are $20 if you buy in advance from Books And Company, Chinook Yoga or the eventbrite.ca website or $25 at the door. There will also be art items for sale.
The society holds this fundraiser yearly but always in mid-February. They moved the dates earlier in order to avoid conflict with the Canada Winter Games. This year Castell and the other organizers feel particular motivation to focus healthful energy on the Cariboo region's waterways after the Mount Polley dam disaster.
"When you sit at the rink watching the skaters or watch the athletes on the mountain, people might be a great reminder for people that everything you are watching and all the things these amazing athletes are doing is all because of water," Castell said. "Water is there for us to use in all its forms, to draw community together, to make each of us healthy, to sustain all of nature, and that makes it vital to put the health of our water at the top of our priorities."
The Water Gratitude Society has a Facebook page, and there is also one detailing the Water Gratitude Concert tour.
