Joy Drop: NAIG and all their wonders are upon us

Hello everyone! We’re heading straight into summer and great events are happening all over Canada.

The North American Native Games will be held from July 15 to 23 in the territory of Mi’kmaq (Nova Scotia). More than 5,000 athletes will compete and their stories are incredible and important to highlight.

“The importance of the games is that it brings together the people, our culture, athletes, volunteers and much more,” said Kacey Young, a paddler from Manitoba, explaining why sport is crucial in Indigenous communities.

Sports plus community creating joy is my favorite thing so I love everything and look forward to hearing from the NAIG.

I found another good story about water in The Narwhal — a brilliant Canadian publication on climate and nature. Perry King wrote a story about Jacky Beckfrord Henriques, an Olympic coach, who teaches black, indigenous and colored women to swim.

Henriques, the former coach of the Jamaica swim team, is now head coach at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. It is incredible to use her skill and expertise to provide the wider community with a life-saving skill for free with college volunteer swim teachers. The piece describes why swimming was not always accessible to racialized people and that this skill is important for everyone.

Because the world needs more happiness, here’s an adorable video of a young boy learning how to ride a bike from his friends nearby. Sometimes we forget how much a group of kids can lift their friends’ spirits and encourage them to try new things.

This weekend it is Proud weekend inOntario. I wanted to bring to your attention this amazing video from the PHF of Metropolitan Riveters captain Madison Packer. Her video is about protecting trans children and it is an important and necessary message given the brutal legislation that attacks children and the rhetoric surrounding it.

Speaking of celebrating, I’m still reeling from the Stevie Nicks concert earlier this week. Nicks is one of the artists I admire the most. Her voice and her songwriting have moved millions of people. I’ve been a Fleetwood Mac fan for a long time and hearing her deep and powerful voice was a highlight for me. She sang many of my favorite songs and last week a special release of a collection of her music was announced. She paid a heartfelt tribute to her dear friend, Tom Petty, and the last song in the set was the famous one Landslide. The photos projected in the back were from Christine McVie, her bandmate and best friend, who passed away last December. Of course I cried. Nicks celebrating her friendships with her music was beautiful.

I hope your weekend will be full of partying with friends and fun.

I love this version of my favorite Fleetwood Mac song Everywhere from a live performance in 1997. To enjoy!