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Wake the Giant nominated for international impact award

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Wake the Giant is getting international recognition.

Thunder Bay’s annual music festival has been nominated for a Music Cities Award for Music Community Impact, thanks to its role in connecting the city with its Indigenous community. Wake the Giant is meant to welcome Indigenous youth coming to the city from remote communities for schooling.

“Wake the Giant has always been so much more than a music festival,” said Sean Spenrath, co-founder & organizer of the festival. “It’s brought communities and people together, put a spotlight on Indigenous culture, and has created opportunities to help inspire Indigenous youth to see what’s possible for themselves.”

The Music Cities Awards Ceremony will be held in Kingston upon Hull, UK on June 11. The award show was created to spotlight the organizations, public bodies, cultural leaders, and artists who are redefining how music can drive social, economic, and cultural impact around the world. 

“Being recognized by the Music Cities Awards is such an incredible moment for Northern Nishnawbe Education Council and Wake the Giant. To be celebrated on a global stage for something that started as a grassroots idea and has grown into such a huge movement and event, is so meaningful,” Spenrath said.

Wake the Giant’s 2026 lineup will be announced on Friday. The festival will be held in September.

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Incoming Dennis Franklin Cromarty students participate in Amazing Race

Wake the Giant is underway in Thunder Bay.

The three-day event is an orientation for incoming students attending Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School (DFC) from 24 remote First Nation communities, who travel to Thunder Bay for school.

“Yeah, so it’s a huge leap, right?” explained DFC Transition Coordinator Matthew Tilbury. “Some of these communities are very small, fly-in only.”

“For some of them, it’s their first time living in a bigger city, so we just want to make sure that they’re safe, they’re supported, and they feel like this is their home away from home while they’re pursuing their education.”

The Amazing Race took place on Thursday ahead of the DFC Experience on Friday, and Wake the Giant Music Festival on Saturday.

“We have all of our DFC students travelling throughout Thunder Bay learning the city, learning how to utilize the transit system in a safe, supervised environment with the staff,” explained Tilbury.

“They get to meet their fellow students, and they get to visit places around town that we want them to know about.”

The student population at the school is roughly 150.

The event is a full-day initiative that saw students making stops at the Youth Wellness Hub on Roland Street, the Nishnawbe Education Council, Cinema 5 Skatepark, Roots Community Food Centre, Intercity Shopping Centre and Marina Park.

At Marina Park, YES Employment, CAA, TbayTel, and BMO were set up to provide information to the new students.

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Wake the Giant kicking off in Thunder Bay

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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.”

The music festival wrapping up the event is taking place on Saturday and is getting underway at 11:00 a.m.

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.