Yukon Blonde

Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS) hoisted it’s first-ever Anchors Away Arts and Music Festival last weekend at Starlight Stadium in Langford, bringing together the Defence and local communities for a day of all-ages fun.

The Naden Band opened the festival while families engaged in activities including balloon art, bounce castle, arts and crafts stations, food trucks, face painting, and more. Mr. Mojo and his magic band performed to the early audience, inspiring children to get up and dance. Passion Performance Inc. then brought together an energetic and talented group of dancers, hyping up the crowd with their choreography, music from the decades, and big smiles.

“This event was a great opportunity to bring an all-encompassing, all-ages summertime arts and music entertainment event to our Defence community,” said Christine Farrington, Special Events Coordinator, CFMWS.

• A fun, family-friendly drag performance by Kendall Gender, Vivian Vanderpuss and friends followed, dancing to top hits, and engaging with the audience. They even had members of the crowd join in on Lip-synch for your life, a RuPaul’s Drag Race staple.

The talented musical acts of the festival continued with an incredible performance by funky hip-hop soul group, The New Groovement, followed by a high-energy, dance-in-your-seat performance by hard-rocking dance band, The Fabulous B Sides.

As the day turned to dusk, B.C.-native headliner Yukon Blonde hit the stage for an intimate show sharing new music with the crowd, closing out with fan favourite, I wanna be your man, that had attendees running to the stage to dance it out one last time.

This event would not have been possible without the generous contributions by sponsors of the event: Seaspan, Babcock Canada, the City of Langford, and The Zone.

A big thank you goes out to all attendees, vendors, and all the units that supported this event:

• NPTG – PCC
• HMCS Calgary
• HMCS YellowKnife
• HMCS Brandon
• HMCS Nonsuch
• NFS (P)
• NDTC (P)
• BLog
• TEME
• RP Ops
• The 443

Anchors Aweigh!