From Feb. 17–March 1, Western Canada’s most prestigious Aboriginal arts festival celebrates its 14th anniversary in Vancouver. The Talking Stick Festival brings together visual art, dance, theater, drumming, music, and both multimedia and spoken word performances honoring the culture and artistic contributions of Aboriginal peoples. The festival is named for the traditional “talking stick” that serves as a symbol of power and honor among many Indigenous North Americans, signifying the responsibility of the holder to speak with honor and truth, and to those hearing to listen with respect and without interruption.

Presented by Full Circle First Nations Performance, the theme for 2015 is “Coming to the Fire.” Along with workshops, arts programs and cultural experiences, this year’s event will feature performances by national and international artists including Generations (Feb. 26), throat singer Tanya Tagaq (Feb. 28) and singer-songwriter Leela Gilday (Feb. 28). An evening of slam poetry will honor the late spoken word poet Zaccheus Jackson, with dance and theater presented by The Roundhouse Community Centre — including the comedy Salt Baby, written by Falen Johnson and directed by Yvette Nolan.