Meet NextFest Team: BlokJam

As part of the NextFest competition, BlokJam, led by team members Julien Fontaine-Carbonneau, Scarlet Torraka, Jacob McGuire, Frédéric Doiron and Breanna Smith, is bringing forward a powerful celebration of hip-hop culture in the National Capital Region.

Raw beats, live paint, and elite breaks. One day of pure hip-hop culture on the block: BlokJam is an outdoor festival that showcases Canada's local hip-hop scene in the heart of the National Capital Region.

BlokJam is inspired by Ottawa's emerging local hip-hop scene. A unique scene marked by its pluralistic identity and linguistic diversity, reflecting the colors of Canada, but struggling to find its place in the broader musical ecosystem. BlokJam aims to bring together the different communities that make up this region's urban scene, with the goal of uniting their voices and creating a movement.

With this festival, they hope to create a stronger sense of belonging to the National Capital Region by creating a space where young creative minds can express themselves and be inspired by other like-minded creatives. BlokJam hopes to bridge the gap between generations and communities (Francophone-Anglophone).

You can find BlokJam on Instagram, @Blokjam , as they continue to develop their festival, stay connected to see more festival ideas from the NextFest's teams.