The New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture is returning to the Okanagan this March. 

The second annual event will include a three-day weekend filled with music, literature, and performances taking place around Kelowna香蕉视频直播檚 downtown core, with events offered in both English and French. 

Starting at BNA Burger on March 6, Inspired Word Cafe (IWC) co-founder Rawle James will headline an open mic night, which includes multilingual music and storytelling, a workshop with two-spirit, Oji-Cree poet and novelist Joshua Whitehead, and ends with the PONY! Cabaret. 

PONY! Cabaret, now in its ninth year, is a crowd favourite that is expected to sell out. 

IWC executive director Cole Mash explained that last year the New Leaves theme was 香蕉视频直播淨ueer Art as Resistance,香蕉视频直播� in response to a local rise in anti-LGBTQ2SIA+ sentiment in the Okanagan and elsewhere. 

The 2024 event featured a number of performances and workshops that celebrated queerness in the arts through drag, hip-hop, poetry, punk rock, and more.

香蕉视频直播淚n 2025, the theme is 香蕉视频直播淵our Backyard.香蕉视频直播� While no literal backyards will be featured, the festival wants to celebrate the vibrant literary and performance art right here in Kelowna, focusing both on local artists and celebrating Inspired Word Cafe香蕉视频直播檚 15th Season as a fulcrum of the arts scene,香蕉视频直播� said Mash. 

Marsh added that things have been tough for the arts since the pandemic, so IWC wanted to use the platform of New Leaves to showcase, 香蕉视频直播渢he incredible community we have right here in our own (figurative) backyards.香蕉视频直播�

For a full list of events, and show times and to purchase tickets, visit .