Wake the Giant kicking off in Thunder Bay
Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School (DFC) is welcoming new students to Thunder Bay with Wake the Giant.
The annual event culminates with a music festival open to all on Saturday, which is being headlined by the Black Eyed Peas.
The action is kicking off on Thursday with DFC’s Amazing Race.
The race is an opportunity for students to navigate Thunder Bay’s transit system while learning about the city’s layout, businesses and organizations.
“Our kids, they live all across town, some on Onion Lake Road, some on Arthur St, really far away, but they need to use public transit to get to DFC every day,” explained Organizer Sean Spenrath. “And so for us, teaching them how to use the public transit is like the number one thing we want to do with the orientation. That’s day one.”
“During that, they get to stop at all these awesome places, all these places that they need to utilize while they live here in Thunder Bay. And it’s important for them to know these places, while they’re here, and so they get to do these stops and challenges and they get to interact with the staff there and they get to feel like they’re part of the community of Thunder Bay.”
On Friday, the DFC Experience is taking place.
The event provides students with the opportunity to take part in a variety of workshops at DFC.
Students participate in learning sessions with band members that are performing at the Wake the Giant Music Festival, along with professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including cooking, art, dancing, technology and a variety of sports.
Wake the Giant is more than a festival, more so a significant student orientation event.
“I’d say about 80 per cent of students are from 24 First Nation communities that we service and and we’re super excited to have them,” said Spenrath. “Some as young as 13 years old, which we can all appreciate, leaving everything you know behind just to get an education is such a huge challenge and I think that’s the great part about Wake the Giant.
“We are trying to provide them those supports while they’re here and introduce them to the community of Thunder Bay, so they feel a little bit more welcome when they get off that plane.”
Tickets are still available and can be found by clicking here.
The construction of the roundabout at the intersection of Cumberland Street and North Water Street is not expected to impact the event.
“So that was never an entry and exit for people,” explained Spenrath. “That’s just for emergency vehicles anyway, so (attendees) have to enter from the other end (South Water Street and Pearl Street Intersection).”
Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School is a part of the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council.
Thunder Bay’s Economic Development Commission has supplied $50,000 to support the event.