Atlin Arts and Music Festival

Two hours south of Whitehorse, in the very northwest corner of British Columbia, an historic gold-rush town swells from 400 people to 2, 500 for just three three days of the year, as the picturesque town of Atlin holds its annual arts and music festival.

The Yukon News has called the Atlin Arts & Music Festival “a bursting jambuster of sights and sounds.” Tanya Tagaq, Gord Downie, the Sadies, David Fancey, Colin Linden, Danny Michel, Dave Bidini, David Lindly, Stephen Fearing, Tom Jackson and David Grisman have performed to enthusiastic audiences in recent years. The musical lineup is always diverse, and has included Inuit throat singers, jazz, First Nations singers, traditional Quebecois music, bluegrass, zydeco, blues, folk, gospel, world-tech funk, and even heavy metal. Poets, dancers, storytellers, filmmakers, and visual artists are a major feature of the weekend’s festivities. This diversity of artistic presentations makes Atlin stand out from a multitude of music festivals.