Meet NextFest Team: Operation CanCon

As part of the NextFest competition, Operation CanCon is bringing forward a bold and thoughtful vision for celebrating Canadian identity. Led by team members Rebekah Waddell and James Shaheen, Operation CanCon presents The Boundless Arts & Culture Festival.

The Boundless Arts & Culture Festival is a space for attendees to learn, honour, and connect with Canada's rich natural and cultural diversity through song and screen. This unique, all ages music and arts event features the world premier of the 2026 You Shoot, We Score! short film project, along with performances by local, and national talents.

The festival aims to be a conduit for Canadian history, arts, and identity, providing the community with an accessible day of programming for attendants of all ages and abilities right here in our nation's capital.

Canada has a complex background and diverse natural and social landscape that can be difficult to experience and understand. Boundless aims to highlight all of the intricacies and differences using the common language of music and film. It will allow space for critical cultural education through workshops, as well as feature incredible musical and visual performances by Canadian artists, all with the intent of supporting a strong sense of national identity, grounded in fairness and understanding, and participation in the future of Canada.

You can find The Boundless Arts & Culture Festival on Instagram, @boundlessfestivalcanada or their email, boundlessfestivalcanada@gmail.com

Rebekah shares her thoughts on the NextFest experience thus far:

As an aspiring festival curator, NextFest has been a fantastic opportunity in learning the steps to build a community focused festival: from the initial creative brainstorming sessions all the way to the key areas of programming, budgeting, and safety planning to producing a successful event. I have been working in the local Ottawa festival scene for two years, but NextFest has provided the space and guidance to bring my own ideas to life alongside my amazing team. The weekly training sessions shared insight to integral areas of festival production and opened the floor to network with Ottawa's current event industry professionals. Thank you OFN for your support in bringing to life the ideas of Ottawa's young creators!

As Operation CanCon continues to develop The Boundless Arts & Culture Festival, stay connected to see more festival ideas from the NextFest's teams.