FRIDAY
• Cyclists of all ages and abilities are invited to meet at 10 a.m. at Songhees Park in Vic West for the Capital Bike Reconciliation Day ride. After a speech by Diane Sam, the ride will proceed over the Johnson Street Bridge, culminating at the South Island Powwow at Royal Athletic Park in time for the grand entry. The Songhees First Nation has organized a free bike valet at the powwow for the cyclists.
• ReconciliACTION Oak Bay hosts a ceremony in front of the Sno’uyutth Welcome Pole on the grounds of Oak Bay High School at 9:30 a.m.
• Gates open at 10 a.m. and an opening ceremony will start at 11 a.m. for the Songhees First Nation Powwow at Royal Athletic Park. Grand entries are set for noon and 6 p.m., followed by dances.
• Xe Xe Smun’ Eem-Victoria Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters Ceremony starts at 10 a.m. in Victoria’s Centennial Square. The ceremony will include a welcome by Tsartlip Nation Elder May Sam, a land acknowledgement by Songhees Nation member Brianna Bear, speakers and performances, along with a minute of silence to remember the children who did not survive residential schools.
• 'Sou-ke Truth for Reconciliation hosts a ceremony outside the new Vancouver Island Regional Library, 6671 Wadams Way in Sooke, from 12:30-1:30 p.m., with Scott Sam leading the Amber Academy's Drum for the Children and opportunities to sign up for action groups.
• Healing Nation by director Jamuna Galay-Tamang and producer Symbia Barnaby will be shown to the public in honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day. The event, put on byThe Support Network for Indigenous Women and Women of Colour, a Victoria-based non-profit, will also include traditional music. It runs from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Vic Theatre, 808 Douglas St. in Victoria. Tickets by donation (suggested $15). For more information, see the Truth Before Reconciliation Eventbrite page.
• The Art of Reconciliation Exhibition is at the B.C. Legislature Hall of Honours until Oct. 14. Open weekdays to visitors from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Sept. 30 from noon to 4 p.m. Artist-participants will be available on site on Friday to answer questions. See oac.uvic.ca/aor for more information on the program, which is led by the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and the UVic Centre for Youth & Society.