Final Flight: Home After 62 Communities

After 144 performances, Raven has landed at last in Toronto. Our impressive five months on the road saw 62 communities, from urban centres to remote villages and everything in between. One of our final stops was on the isles of Haida Gwaii, where we spent a magical week. From Prince Rupert, we boarded the overnight ferry and checked into our berths. Seven hours to cross the Hecate Strait, and we arrived early morning in Skidegate, continuing our early morning path up to Masset, which lies on the northern shores of Haida Gwaii.

Island time took hold as our tour wound to a close; we spent hours exploring, climbing up Tow Hill, walking on North Beach, visiting carvers and weavers in Old Masset, and the artists of the community of Tlell; we saw the fossil imprints of shells in old lava rock on Moresby Island; the vibrant communities of Skidegate and Queen Charlotte City; the incredible Haida Heritage Centre; and of course, the people, with a wonderful, warm, welcoming energy, so pleased to have us as both visitors and performers to the remote islands of Haida Gwaii.

Over these five months, Raven crisscrossed over 15,000 kilometres of Canada’s terrain. We saw so many people, touched so many communities, and were affected by these communities in return. We learned, and taught, and drove, drove, drove. And whether we were crossing the Columbia Icefield, ferrying through the Sunshine Coast, or covering vast distances of prairies, here is what we learned: this country is vast, majestic, diverse. We may have covered a lot of ground, but there is still so much to see.