Awaken Festival 2025
April 13th-27th | Whitehorse, YT & Online
Question… Honour… Celebrate… Awaken!
Gwaandak Theatre presents Awaken Festival 2025 - Featuring in-person and digital workshops, cultural presentations, performance showcases, and more - all in an effort to celebrate the different ways we can gather and connect! This hybrid festival is curated for Indigenous and Northern artists as well as interested members of the public.
As winter transforms into spring, life wakes up in the North. Mother Bears pass on knowledge to their cubs in order for them to thrive on their own. Awaken - so to speak - connects “cubs” (new and aspiring artists) to “mother bears” (experienced artists). Join us this spring from April 13th-27th, 2025 in Whitehorse YT and Online to learn, share, and Awaken new beginnings within yourself and your community.
We encourage you to check out the Festival pages below and to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay updated!
Find out more about our Current Season or get special updates throughout the year by subscribing to our e-newsletter using the link at the bottom of this webpage.
Updated March 27th, 2025. Details are accurate at the time of print/posting and are subject to change.
Thank you to the sponsors & supporters of the 2025 Awaken Festival!
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada (nous reconnaissons l'appui du gouvernement du Canada), the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Yukon, the City of Whitehorse and Lotteries Yukon. We acknowledge the support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation with funding provided by the Government of Canada. Funding for Gwaandak Theatre is made possible through the assistance of Arts Operating Fund - Annual Operating Component, Department of Tourism and Culture, John Streicker, Minister.
We also thank the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre and their staff for their generous support as our Festival Hosts, The Guild Hall for their venue support towards the Superbloom and Climate Play events, What’s Up Yukon for marketing support, as well as Air North, Yukon’s Airline and Northern Vision Development LP (NVD) for their continued support of visiting artists. (We also want to give a special shoutout to Air North’s Flight Kitchen for providing cookies for our 25th Anniversary Celebration!) We are grateful to the Indigenous Arts Knowledge Exchange (IAKE) for their generous financial support, as well as to the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA), Theatre Alberta, Balancing Act, the Government of Yukon’s Art Branch, Nakai Theatre, and the wâhkôhtowin project for their support of the Awaken Theatre Gathering, local presentations, and festival workshops. Thank you to Cultured Fine Cheese & Tum Tum’s Black Gilt Meats for their support of the Post-Show 25th Anniversary Celebration, the Post-Show Tea, and the Post-Show Mixer. We also wish to thank Patrick Matheson for sponsoring additional lighting equipment in support of the Performance Showcases and Local Presentations taking place at the KDCC. We also thank the Blue Feather Music Festival for donating the use of a lighting instrument as a special during one of the Performance Showcases!
Community Survey
Fill out the Awaken Festival 2025 Community Survey!
This survey is intended for anyone who has attended one or more events at this year's festival between April 13th-27th, including in-person and/or digital events. These responses will help us to know our community better and support the planning of future festivals. This survey will close on May 19th, 2025 at 12PM Yukon Time. We are grateful for your feedback as Awaken continues to grow!
- Save The Date -
You are invited to the Seventh Annual Awaken Festival, taking place April 12th-26th, 2026 in Whitehorse YT and Online!