Name: Alaria and the Mountain - Prince George
Start: 2026-05-16T18:30:00-07:00
End: 2026-05-16T21:00:00-07:00
Location: Knox Performance Centre

The VYF present Alaria and the Mountain, a music story about a young fiddler seeking purpose and belonging in in an unfamiliar mountain town.
Alaria grew up on the shores of Lonely Lighthouse Island. She grew up strong like a sapling exposed to a bit of weather. But the years hurried along and Alaria was no longer a child. She was, in fact, a young adult. As with young adults of pretty much every kind, Alaria felt the need to roam—to leave Lonely Lighthouse Island—to go and see the world for herself. And, of course, she brought her fiddle.
So it was that Alaria found herself in an unfamiliar town set against a backdrop of towering snow-capped mountains. She soon discovers that the town harbours an owly shopkeeper and community of precocious young fiddlers that change her life’s trajectory.
Alaria and the Mountain is a musical story produced by Smithers-based Valley Youth Fiddlers under the direction of Leslie-Jean MacMillan.
The Valley Youth Fiddlers are a highly accomplished ensemble of more than 60 musicians from ages 5 to more than 55 that play fiddle, viola, piano, guitar, mandolin, bass, drums, accordion, saxophone, and trombone. The group combines musical performance with compelling storytelling by Patrick Williston and original illustrations by artist Emily Wilson.
Those who enjoyed Alaria’s Fiddle, a 2017 touring production by the Valley Youth Fiddlers, might remember the high-spirited young Alaria. Alaria was a child back then. Now in her twenties, she has landed a job high on a mountain keeping watch in a fire tower, a setting that reminds her of the lighthouse of her childhood home. But the high mountain realm is a very different place than the coast, and she has much to learn.
Alaria and the Mountain explores themes of self-discovery, of being a newcomer, of overcoming the fear of isolation in nature, and of community and connection through the sharing of music.
The performance features music rich with woven harmonies written and arranged for the Valley Youth Fiddlers by Canada’s leading contemporary fiddlers including North American Irish Fiddle Champion and Grand North American Old-Time Fiddle Champion Kyle Burghout, multiinstrumentalist and Juno-award winner Adrian Dolan, North Shore Celtic Ensemble director Gabriel Dubreil, Lea Kirstein of the celebrated Toronto folk band Medusa, BC fiddle tradition-bearer and multiple award winning teacher Daniel Lapp, Canadian Folk Music Award winners Jaron Freeman-Fox and Oliver Schroer, and Juno nominated multi-instrumentalist and master fiddler James Stephens.
Experience the magic of Northern BC’s very own Valley Youth Fiddlers and be prepared to be swept away by the spell-binding performance of Alaria and the Mountain.