Public Material Processing Session: Natural Materials for Permacarnival
August 11
6:00 to 8:00 pm
Gyro Park | Nelson, BC
All ages and experience levels welcome
West Kootenay Fibreshed is partnering with Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society on Permacarnival, a summer project exploring natural materials, costume-making, and sustainable design through the spirit of Carnival.
From August 17 to 21, Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society will host Toronto-based Trinidadian artists Michael Lee Poy and Xica Dieffenthaller-Lee Poy for a week of hands-on costume-making workshops inspired by the traditions of Trinidadian Carnival. In preparation for the workshops, community members are invited to join us for an evening of hands-on raw material processing at Gyro Park.
Together, we will help prepare nettle, day lily, grasses, and other locally sourced materials for use in the Permacarnival workshops. This session is a chance to learn more about natural materials, experiment with plant fibres, and contribute to a collaborative costume-making project rooted in celebration, creativity, and ecological care.
Carnival costumes are often expressive, temporary, and full of movement, which makes them a rich place to explore how natural and locally gathered materials can be used in bold and playful ways. Through this project, Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society and West Kootenay Fibreshed are asking what sustainable costume design can look like when beauty, celebration, and compostability are considered together.
No experience is necessary. This will be a relaxed community processing session for anyone curious about fibre, plants, costume-making, sustainable art practices, or the upcoming Permacarnival workshops.
Participants are also welcome to bring natural materials they would like to contribute, including feathers, grasses, leaves, willow, plant-dyed fabrics, natural fibres, or other materials that could be used creatively.
West Kootenay Fibreshed members who donate materials for the Permacarnival project will receive free access to the August 17 to 21 carnival workshops. If you would like to donate materials and participate in the workshops, contact Myra polkadotdragonarts@gmail.com
Register for the Permacarnival workshops here
For more information, visit polkadotdragon.ca or contact Myra at polkadotdragonarts@gmail.com.