By the end of the 2026 Sunshine Coast Ocean Festival, many of us were running on sea air, adrenaline, and gratitude.
This year, SCOF brought together a broad wave of ocean celebration, learning, stewardship, and community action across the lower Sunshine Coast.
Dozens of people gave their time, energy, creativity, labour, and heart to make it all happen.
First, we want to thank our partner, Billie Carroll, through her non-profit Society, Rhizome Up! Media, for helping make SCOF 2026 a reality. Billie created the SCOF website and graphics and curated all of the films for the festival. She coordinated three live film screenings and community conversations for Turtle Walker, Salmon Secrets, and End Ocean Plastic Pollution.
We also owe special thanks to Heather Conn, Alexandra Morton, and Oceanne Burke for leading post-screening discussions, turning these evenings into incredibly valuable spaces for learning and connection.
We are very grateful to this year’s NEMO Talk presenters, Shelly Kemp, Chris Neufeld, Greig Oldford, Benny Pierre Jr., Gavin Joe, and Eden Luymes. Through talks and shared conversations, they helped deepen our community’s understanding of the Salish Sea, marine stewardship, and the urgent work of protecting the coast.
We also want to thank the SCCA team, who helped carry SCOF 2026 from an idea into a living, breathing festival. Izabella Drogosiewicz coordinated participant recruitment and communications, helping connect the festival with the wider community. Sully Messner coordinated Celebration Day logistics and helped hold the day together on the ground. Gina Hallensleben ran the SCCA booth at Celebration Day, creating a welcoming space for conversation and connection. Hannah Ack coordinated the SCOF planning group, organized the NEMO Talks, and supported Celebration Day activities. Ian Hunt did the quiet, essential behind-the-scenes work that keeps the festival — and the SCCA — going. And Suzanne Senger guided the festival’s overall vision, planning, and delivery, emceed NEMO Talks and events, and held the week’s many moving parts together.
Our SCCA directors and volunteers were just as essential. Robyn Schell gathered raffle prizes, and Theressa Logan helped spread the word and encouraged Sechelt businesses to go blue for Ocean Week. Karen, Dawn, Michael, Richard, Rick, and Denise gave their time on Celebration Day to help everything run smoothly on the ground. Maggie Guzzi was there helping at what felt like every event, and Holly Neate made lunch for the canoe family on Celebration Day. A special word of gratitude to Cameron Briggs, who crafted a beautiful animation inspired by one of last year’s NEMO Talks to get folks excited about SCOF26 and curious about the worlds beneath the ocean’s surface. Watch the animated short here: https://youtu.be/hvyXFXi-I00.
The June 14th Celebration Day was also a remarkable expression of collaboration.
We are very grateful to Chief Warren Paul and the shíshálh Nation Council for their support of the Sunshine Coast Ocean Festival.
We were deeply honoured by Elder Calvin Craigan, Alfonso Salinas, and the S-yewens lhems sila (Spirit of our Grandmothers) canoe family for the gift of the canoe welcome and ceremony. The arrival of the S-yewens lhems sila and Yenke Dene canoes, along with traditional protocol and a welcome, created a powerful connection to culture and history; relationship with the lands, waters, and one another. It was a moving, joyful, and humbling experience.
We want to thank all of the amazing groups who took time out of their already overfull schedules to host booths at the Celebration Day – sharing knowledge, hosting activities, sparking curiosity, building relationships, and helping create a space where ocean celebration and stewardship sit side by side.
THANK YOU: Sunshine Coast Friends of Forage Fish, BlueAct Marine Society, Sunshine Coast Seniors for Climate Action, BC Wildfire Service, the Coastal Response Program, Sunshine Coast Arts Council, Seabirds and Science: Pigeon Guillemot Survey, My Sea to Sky Society, Ocean Legacy Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, CPAWS BC, and Pacific Wild!
We are also grateful to Halfmoon Sea Kayaks and Tidepools for hosting beach cleanups; to PODS and the Sunshine Coast Friends of Forage Fish for their citizen science and shoreline education activities.
Thank you as well to Dhyana Bartkow for Community Hula, to DJ Buzy B for carrying the day with music and joy, and to the fabulous SunDogs for helping keep people fed and gathered through the afternoon.
We are equally grateful to the local businesses and community supporters who donated raffle prizes and experiences, including Pastimes Toy Store, Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club, Strait Coffee, Gourmet Girl Café + Catering, Davis Bay Tea Co., Persephone Brewing Company, and Lighthouse Marine. Your generosity added joy, excitement, and a real sense of community to the festival.
We also want to thank the funders, sponsors, and partners who helped make SCOF 2026 possible. With gratitude, we acknowledge the District of Sechelt, Sunshine Coast Credit Union, Ocean Week Canada, Sechelt Arts Centre, Sitka Foundation, BC gaming funding, and Canada Summer Jobs for helping make this celebration of ocean stewardship, learning, and community possible.
And finally, thank you to everyone who attended a film, joined a NEMO Talk, visited a booth, brought children to an activity, watched an online short, bought a raffle ticket, came to the beach, shared our posts, invited a friend, or simply showed up with curiosity and care. You are why we do this!
The Sunshine Coast Ocean Festival exists to deepen our relationship with the sea and one another. This year’s festival reminded us once again that our work is deeply collective and joyful.
And we’re not done. Planning for SCOF 2027 is already underway, and your feedback on this year’s program will help us improve it. If this year’s festival moved you, inspired you, or left you wanting to be part of what comes next, we would love to hear from you.
Thank you so much for being part of SCOF 2026; we can’t wait to do it again next year.