Unique FISH Festival launching in Sturgeon Falls

The first FISH Festival is premiering in Sturgeon Falls this weekend, and it’s not what you think.

There are no actual fish involved, or fishing rods, although there will be some fish and chips available for Saturday’s lunch, as Jocko Point Fish and Chips are stopping by to sell their wares.

FISH stands for Future in Safe Hands, and the three-day festival brings together theatre, performance art, stunt work, creative workshops, and stage combat. There will also be professional wrestling bouts, and medieval combat, complete with suits of armour.

“I wanted to start doing more things locally,” explained Clayton Windatt, who is organizing the event. “This is the first time I’ve initiated something like this in town.” He’s referring to Sturgeon Falls, the town he calls home. Windatt has also been producing the Bay of Blood horror movie festival in North Bay for the past two years.

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However, he wanted to put on something for Sturgeon Falls, and FISH Fest fits the bill. The programming is a mix of entertainment – live music, theatrical performance, wrestling – and educational, with workshops focused on acting and aspects of the film industry.

‘There’s going to be music, some art installations, some media arts performance,” Windatt said, “the first day is very performance art heavy, with a focus on contemporary art.” On Saturday, there’s a stage combat workshop, a stunt work for film seminar, and a wrestling workshop.

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At 6 p.m. the Sturgeon Falls Buhurt Tournament erupts. Buhurt is a medieval combat sport, complete with armour and period correct weapons. This one features the Scallagrims, the official Buhurt team of Canada. This is not a workshop; it will be a full-on medieval battle.

After the Buhurt, talent from Northland Wrestling and the NRGY Professional Wrestling Academy take to the ring for an epic “Beat the Heat” match. The show begins at 7 p.m.

The event begins on Friday, July 26th at 10 a.m., and runs throughout the weekend. Weekend passes are $30, and the Buhurt event is $15. The wrestling is $20 per person, although a weekend pass will get you into everything.

Tickets are available at Quick Pick Variety at 37 John Street in Sturgeon Falls, and the full lineup of events can be found at studioproject.ca.

Note that some of the workshops and seminars require pre-registration.

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.