Nomadic Tempest is Coming!

Mark your calendar for an exciting 4-night spectacle coming to the Comox Valley, June 28th through July 1st. The Caravan Stage Company is bringing Nomadic Tempest to town! Co-presented by Project Watershed and Elevate, Nomadic Tempest is an intense, beautiful, gritty and timely post-apocalyptic rock opera about climate refugees in a future drowned world complete with aerials, projections and original score.

Audiences gather on the shore and experience soaring vocals, aerial artistry and large scenic elements backed by spectacular lighting and sound effects combined to create the visual and auditory feast that has enthralled audiences across North America and Europe.

This provocative and unique theatrical presentation is specifically performed in areas most impacted by rising sea levels and the realities of flooding – and forced migration – due to climate change.

This after-dark show is performed on a 90-foot replica tall ship that will be docked on the Courtenay River at the Old Fields Sawmill (Kus Kus Sum) site. Comox Valley audiences will gather on site at 8 pm all 4 nights for pre-show concerts, food and beverage vendors and a unique perspective on the river, the estuary, the Valley and our place in it all. All the funds raised support Project Watershed’s historic purchase and restoration of the Kus Kus Sum site.

Tickets are $25 ($10 for 14 and under) and available on line

[su_button url=”https://projectwatershed.tickit.ca/events/4596-nomadic-tempest-at-kus-kus-sum” target=”blank” background=”#c2022c” size=”9″ wide=”no” center=”yes” icon=”icon: ticket”]Buy Tickets Now[/su_button]

Any Questions? Click below to see more.

[su_accordion][su_spoiler title=”Where is the Show?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

The audience will be seated on the cement at Kus-kus-sum (the old Field Sawmill site), 1901 Comox Road, south of the 17th Street Bridge. The Nomadic Tempest show will be performed on the replica tall ship moored along the Kus-kus-sum site in the Courtenay River. There will also be pre-show entertainment on the Kus-kus-sum site.

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[su_spoiler title=”How do I get there?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Please plan your transportation to the Nomadic Tempest in advance. Parking on Kus-kus-sum (the old Field Sawmill site) will be limited to vehicles with displayed accessibility permits and high occupancy vehicles (vehicles that are using all seat belts). You will be turned away if you do not fit into one of these categories.

We suggest choosing one of the following options:

Park & Walk: Park on the west side of the Courtenay River, walk over the 17th Street Bridge, onto Kus-kus-sum. We’ve created a special entrance “NORTH ENTRANCE” for people walking or biking to the site. This special entrance is next to the 17th Street Bridge.
Ride Your Bike: We will have bike parking on site. Enter at either NORTH or SOUTH entrance of Kus-kus-sum. Do not forget to bring lights for your ride home.
Park & Ride: We will have buses running from two locations – St Joseph’s Hospital Parking Lot in Comox & Driftwood Mall in Courtenay. Park your vehicle here and take our Bus to Kus-kus-sum. Buses leave from these locations at 8pm & 8:30pm each night. Buses will pick passengers up at the “SOUTH ENTRANCE” and return them to the parking lots after the Nomadic Tempest show.
Carpool & Fill Your Vehicle: Parking will be available at Kus-kus-sum for vehicles that are using all their seatbelts! I.E. If you have 5 seats in your car, you must have 5 passengers in your car to park at Kus-kus-sum. Enter the site at the “SOUTH ENTRANCE” by driving towards Comox from Courtenay so that you can make a right hand turn on to the site. If you live in Comox, this may mean using Back Road or Lewrick and getting on to Comox Road in West Courtenay. Left-hand turns into Kus-kus-sum will be difficult. Please plan to approach Kus-kus-sum from Courtenay.

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[su_spoiler title=”I’m walking, riding my bike, have an accessibility permit on my car or I’m bringing a totally full car – how do I get into the site?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Parking will be available at Kus-kus-sum for vehicles that are using all their seatbelts! I.E. If you have 5 seats in your car, you must have 5 passengers in your car to park at Kus-kus-sum. Enter the site at the “SOUTH ENTRANCE” by driving towards Comox from Courtenay so that you can make a right hand turn on to the site. If you live in Comox, this may mean using Back Road or Lewrick and getting on to Comox Road in West Courtenay. Left-hand turns into Kus-kus-sum will be difficult. Please plan to approach Kus-kus-sum from Courtenay.

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[su_spoiler title=”We’re coming by car, where should I park and ride?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

We will have buses running from two locations – St Joseph’s Hospital Parking Lot in Comox & Driftwood Mall in Courtenay. Park your vehicle here and take our Bus to Kus-kus-sum. Buses leave from these locations at 8pm & 8:30pm each night. Buses will pick passengers up at the “SOUTH ENTRANCE” and return them to the parking lots after the Nomadic Tempest show.

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[su_spoiler title=”What is the seating setup?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

For those of you with “festival” chairs – low riders, etc., there will be a section at the front of the audience cordoned off for low rider and ground seating (feel free to bring a cushion). Of course we will also have chairs and bleacher seating available. We will have ushers with flashlights to show you to and from your seat, however, we recommend you bring your own flashlight as well.

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[su_spoiler title=”What should I bring (and not bring) ?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Please DO NOT bring dogs (except service dogs), and glass containers of any kind.

Please DO bring cash for food and drink vendors, cameras, comfy chairs if you prefer them, cozy blanket or sweater and a flashlight.

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[su_spoiler title=”What if the weather is bad?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

The event will proceed under light rain and overcast weather conditions, however, if there is heavy rain, wind or lightening it may be necessary to cancel the show. Please monitor projectwatershed.ca or the facebook event if the weather appears problematic. If you have tickets for a night when the show is canceled you will be able to attend an alternate evening. If you cannot attend on an alternate evening, you can donate $25 to the project or provide your online ticket details and request a refund info@projectwatershed.ca.

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[su_spoiler title=”What about safety on the site?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Please note the Kus-kus-sum site has uneven ground, cement surfaces and is adjacent to a major waterway. Please consider these conditions while preparing to attend and while on site. Wear good shoes, bring a flashlight and ask for assistance if you need it. We will have first aid attendees on site. Please respect all fencing and delineation and stay away from the rivers edge. If you are walking or riding to the site please wear reflective clothing and obey all traffic rules.

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[su_spoiler title=”Is there food and drink?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Water will be freely available for filling up water bottles onsite. There will be food trucks on site offering a selection of food and dessert items and Project Watershed will be selling popcorn.

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[su_spoiler title=”Does the ship impact the environment?” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Environment was, of course, our top concern. The ship is a flat bottom barge. It will park in a location that has limited plant or animal life except for some small benthic species most of which will have time to move as the ship settles on the bottom at low tide. The few that may be damaged will be recover very quickly after the boat leaves. The boat will only be in the river for 10 to 11 days and will only sit on the bottom for a few hours/day. Both a Qualified Environmental Professional and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have signed off on there being no lasting environmental effects. It is interesting to note that this waterfront area was used for log booming and was dredged regularly, both of which were detrimental to the ecosystem. Ironically, those uses are still allowed. If the owners wished to, they could boom logs there tomorrow and someone could apply to dredge the area. Raising funds and awareness for our cause helps stop to these types of uses.

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“Nomadic Tempest is an incredible assembly of talent, technique, multi-media, and variety. It is beauty, fantasy, technology, complexity, eye-, ear- and mind-filling. And, in the beauty and the power of the performance is a powerful, graphic, sobering portent for our environment.” ~Dick Pierce, Professor, Eckerd College

This show is being made possible thanks to our incredible community sponsors