Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival (NIFF) organizer Lee Bolton says it’s “amazing” that Peterborough-Nogojiwanong plays host to the only known Indigenous fringe festival in the world, and that she is thrilled that the “grandmother of Indigenous theatre” will be performing at this year’s festival.
From Thursday, June 19 to Sunday, June 22 (which encompasses National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21), both new and returning artists will gather for performances in NIFF’s new East City home, the Peterborough Theatre Guild at 364 Rogers St.
Following four years at Trent University’s Peterborough campus, NIFF previously announced the new venue for the 2025 festival would be the former church now known as the Guild Hall, which has played host to a wide variety of performances since 1965.
NIFF, which features theatrical performances, puppetry, and music, will also include Indigenous visual art for the first time this year.
Bolton told kawarthaNOW those are just a few reasons to be excited about the annual festival.
“How amazing is it that our town hosts the only Indigenous fringe festival in the world?” Bolton said.
“(It’s) a unique chance for people of all cultures and all ages to experience Indigenous theatre, music, and visual art — all in one place and for only $12 per ticket. Patrons can feel extra good knowing that 100 per cent of that $12 goes directly to the artists.”
The performing artists on the bill for NIFF 2025 were chosen by lottery, which is the tradition for fringe festivals. Bolton said it’s hard to pick just one reason why she’s most excited about this year’s event.
“That is such a hard question — of course I am excited for all the artists, but I admit being especially thrilled that the amazing Muriel Miguel, grandmother of Indigenous theatre, has agreed to do her retrospective show for us,” she said. “I also have to say I am pretty excited about the move to the Peterborough Theatre Guild, not least because I can enjoy great food and drink between shows just a block away on Hunter Street.”
In “Making the Connections: A Retrospective,” Miguel — the founder and artistic director of New York City’s Spiderwoman Theater, the longest-running Indigenous theatre company in North America — will share her journey from the streets of Red Hook in Brooklyn to her pioneering contributions to the contemporary feminist and Indigenous theatre movements in the United States, Canada, and around the world.
Festival-goers can “experience this extraordinary life through stories and videos from the last 60 years” at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 22 at 12:30 p.m.
Also this year, NIFF will welcome Nogojiwanong’s own Indigiqueen Art as the inaugural visual artist at the festival. The Indigiqueen’s collection, entitled “Reconnecting to Culture,” will hang in the lobby of the Guild Hall.
Behind Indigiqueen Art is Jess Vossen, described as “a fierce two-spirit Anishinaabeg.”
“Born and raised in northern Ontario, this Indigiqueen broke through the lies of colonial gender norms, re-connecting with their culture and depicting their journey through art.”
Below are the other shows at this year’s festival, with descriptions and performance dates and times from the NIFF website.
Centre for Indigenous Theatre (Toronto) with “Whistling Pine (A Dark Comedy)” by Chris Mejaki
CJ is a young Indigenous man dealing drugs in small-town Ontario. The trajectory of his life takes a dramatic and comedic turn when he’s arrested, incarcerated, and mysteriously contacted by his ancestral spiritual guides. Whistling Pine takes CJ on a spiritual journey of awakening and personal reconciliation.
Whistling Pine (A Dark Comedy) will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on June 19, 1:30 and 8:30 p.m. on June 21, and 4:30 p.m. on June 22. This show is not for children, and parental guidance is advised.
Indian Way Theatre (Akwesasne) with “My Good Friend Jay”
In short, this play is about Akwesasne. This play is about childhood. This play is about smuggling. This play is about Indigenous sovereignty. This play is about family. This play is about the Mohawks of Akwesasne.
We can focus on the physical and the cultural. How our traditions got tangled in this web of politics and ideologies, which only caused our people to suffer. How we persist and continue. How close and personal the land is to our very livelihood, how people don’t understand and how we don’t really care if you can’t understand. How we say we’re not going to coddle you after everything is done. Not after all the patience we’ve spent already.
Akwesasne is cut into four separate jurisdictions: one district in Ontario, two in Quebec, and one in New York State. To people who are not aware or used to this fact, it’s fascinating. It’s intricate. It begs more explanation and more questions. To us it’s an inconvenient and, most of the time, dull reality. Until we decide it isn’t.
My Good Friend Jay will be performed by creator Montana Adams at 9 p.m. on June 19, 7:30 p.m. on June 20, 6:30 p.m. on June 21, and 2 p.m. on June 22. This show is not for children, and parental guidance is advised.
3 Soul Goddess with their drama “Postcards from Colonization”
Three women from different backgrounds (Mara Heiber, Marianne Nahayo, and Stefanie Wood) explore their relationship to colonization and each other. They come together, exploring similarities and differences as well as joys and challenges.
Postcards from Colonization will be performed at 6 p.m. on June 20, 4 p.m. on June 21, and 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on June 22. This show may not be appropriate for young people under the age of 15, and some content may be uncomfortable for some people.
John-Paul Chalykoff (Sault Ste. Marie) and his puppet friends with “Songs from Gichi-Gamiing”
Coming from Gichi-Gamiing (Lake Superior), Baabii, a furry blue creature from an island on the lake, will be visiting with some of his friends. They will be sharing songs and stories bilingually in Anishinaabemowin and English. There will be time for a Q&A at the end.
Open to all ages, Songs from Gichi-Gamiing will be performed at 11:30 a.m. on June 21.
Oshkagoojin Theatre Projects (Winnipeg) with “Niin Anihinaabekwe”
Join Bae (short for Ah-nish-eh-nah-Bae) on a brief adventure in her daily urban life. Bae, an Ojibwe woman and “Contrary” (a ceremonial role as a mirror and teacher to society), navigates her day and suddenly finds herself stranded.
This 15-minute piece reflects the predicaments urban Indigenous folks face, using humour and clownery to grapple with lack of access to traditional territories, knowledge, and connections to land.
It deals with themes such as how resilient urban Indigenous folks are and explores how easily blood memory is reignited through reconnection to the land, honouring reciprocity, inherited traditional knowledge, food security and land stewardship.
Niin Anihinaabekwe will be performed at 5 p.m. on June 20, 3 and 7:45 p.m. on June 21, and 3:30 p.m. on June 22.
For more information about the artists performing in the Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival, visit www.indigenousfringefest.ca.
Tickets for each performance are $12, with the exception of children’s tickets for Songs from Gichi-Gamiing and tickets for Niin Anihinaabekwe, which are $8.
To order tickets online, visit eventbrite.com/o/nogojiwanong-indigenous-fringe-festival-65311521633. Tickets are also available at the door prior to each performance.
