Annual three-day festival responds to issues of abundance in the Okanagan
What: New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture
When: March 5 to 7, 2026
Where: Venues across Kelowna, including Hello Darlin’, Innovation Centre Theatre, Revelry, and UBC Okanagan
Inspired Word Cafe’s (IWC) New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture returns this spring from March 5-7, 2026. The three days of film, music, literature, and performances are situated at venues across Kelowna, with events offered in both English and French.
This annual festival welcomes artists from the Okanagan and across Canada for high-calibre performance engaging the idea of how art can be used as a vehicle for sociopolitical resistance and community building. Taking the idiom ‘turning over a new leaf,’ the festival features an annually changing theme that responds to a community-expressed need or topical issue.
This year's festival welcomes writers, drag queens, filmmakers, musicians and more under the theme of ‘Abundance.’ This idea can be both a positive force, as in abundant harvest, or negative one, as in excessive waste, explains IWC Executive Director Cole Mash.
“We are responding to issues of abundance in the Okanagan, such as the growing disparity of wealth and the increasing effects of climate crisis, so we ask: how might the arts engage the duality of abundance, locally, to affect positive change? In which ways are we taking too much, and in which ways might we give more?” says Mash.
The Fire Ecologies Film screening on March 6th, co-presented with UBCO’s Biodiversities of Gender project, is a great example of this as the films presented will both explore the destructive abundance of fire.
A portion of the proceeds from the film screening will be donated to a local charity, PEOPLE Lived Experience Society.
“Sharing part of the film screening’s revenue allows us to help turn the gathering function of art into meaningful action. As PEOPLE helps individuals get back on their feet and rebuild their lives, we feel that this is the perfect place to put our support,” adds Mash.
The festival line-up kicks off at Hello Darlin’ at BNA with a spoken word evening of poetry, prose, and music featuring special guest shayna-adjowa jones. The festival continues with Many Tongues, a multilingual open mic, as well as a film screening and a zine making workshop.
A highlight of the festival is the annual queer cabaret, PONY!, which closes out the festival and celebrates its 10th year with PONY! The Musical.
“I can’t believe Pony has been running for a decade. Well, I can. Because IWC stepped in to help. They’ve been a godsend with funding, logistics, and volunteers. What a terrific community we’ve built together,” says Michael V. Smith, producer and co-host of PONY!
For the anniversary performance, along with co-host Erin Scott, they are plotting a little something extra for Mister Sister’s opening number.
“I hope we surprise even ourselves. I can’t wait to get freaky with everyone,” Smith adds.
Join IWC this March in conjuring local change and spring itself!
Events are planned at the Hello Darlin’, Innovation Centre Theatre, Revelry, and at UBC Okanagan. For a full list of events, show times and to purchase tickets, visit www.inspiredwordcafe.com/events.
Inspired Word Cafe and The New Leaves Festival are supported by the City of Kelowna, the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, Espaces Francophones, Valley First (a division of First West Credit Union), the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Okanagan School of Education at UBC Okanagan, This Space Belongs to You, The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and BNA Brewing Co.
Media Contact: Britt MacKenzie-Dale, britt@inspiredwordcafe.com
Rawle James performing at the 2025 New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture.
Mister Sister, a.k.a Erin Scott and Miss Cookie LaWhore (centre stage in green wigs), co-host the PONY! Cabaret to close out the 2025 New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture.
About IWC
Inspired Word Café Society (IWC) is a community arts-organization that provides accessible, low-cost literary and performance art programming (including events, education, and mentorship) for local writers, performers, and word lovers from many walks of life, including youth and other equity-deserving groups across the Okanagan.
We believe that participation in the literary and performing arts is not only a right for everyone, both as consumers and to creators, but is also a vital part of the creative and emotional well-being of our local community.
Find out more at www.InspiredWordCafe.com