Guess Who’s Coming to David Suzuki’s 90th Birthday Party?

“It’s gonna be fun. A nice mixture of edgy, funny and serious. There will be some gods on that stage.”

George Stroumboulopoulos is thinking aloud about the star-studded birthday party for David Suzuki he’s set to MC on May 22 at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The two became friends back in the early 2000s when Strombo hosted shows on the MuchMusic channel and Suzuki would pop in to tell audiences about nature in all its magnificence and fragility. And later when Strombo hosted a talk show on CBC.

Among the “gods” slated to be onstage next month for “Legacy: A Celebration of David Suzuki at 90, in Concert with Vancity,” are Bruce Cockburn, Jane Fonda, Al Gore, Rick Hansen, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sarah McLachlan, Danny Michel, William Prince, Sam Roberts Band, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Tanya Tagaq and Tia Wood. Presiding and recognized as well will be Suzuki’s longtime partner, Tara Cullis. In 1990 the couple co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation — the charity for which the birthday bash is a fundraiser.

The high ratio of musical special guests is no accident, says Stroumboulopoulos. “Musicians feel very comfortable around David.” Especially ones who see a higher purpose to their art, he notes. “If you are not participating in the bigger picture, sure, you are famous, but how important can you be if you aren’t here for your people and your environment?”

As for Suzuki himself, he loves a party but is quick to say that his 90th birthday is “just another year.”

On one hand, that outlook does make some sense. The legendary environmental activist, scientist and academic has certainly seen — and accomplished — a lot over his lifetime.

He’s been on the frontlines of many environmental fights spanning the globe, from as nearby as the Stein Valley to as far away as Brazil.

He’s reached millions of Canadians through his iconic CBC show The Nature of Things, which he hosted for 44 years.

He’s galvanized hundreds of thousands of people into caring about the environment through the David Suzuki Foundation. So, sure, what’s one more year in nearly a century of them?

On the other hand, though, after witnessing his parents die younger — his mother at 75, his father at 85 — he sees time as a gift. “I’m delighted to have lived this long,” he acknowledges. “Every day I wake up in the morning and say, ‘Oh! I’m still alive. Great!’”

Suzuki is many things: whip-smart, passionate, realistic, inspirational. One thing he is not is egotistical, which might help explain why turning 90 — which he did in March — was met with a proverbial shrug. But those in his orbit knew it was a milestone they wanted to recognize in a big way.

“We’ve been celebrating all over the place,” says Pierre Iachetti, executive director of the David Suzuki Foundation. That so many prominent names eagerly agreed to join the May event is testament to past ties, says Iachetti.

“It’s really a continuation of David’s connection with musicians, celebrities and community leaders throughout his career. David’s legacy has always been intertwined with arts, culture, philanthropy and progressive social movements.”

For Suzuki’s part, he seems genuinely tickled that so many important figures have signed on to participate.

“Al Gore was invited to come, and I’m thrilled,” he says. “He’s a hero for me. We have worked together before, and I’m just honoured to have him.”

He also looks back fondly on his longtime friendship with actor and activist Jane Fonda, whom he met at the Actors for the Earth environmental conference in Malibu in 1990, where he gave a talk that impressed the Hollywood star. They’ve stayed in touch since then; just a few years ago, in fact, she taught him a valuable lesson. Reflecting on her activism work during the Vietnam War, Suzuki asked Fonda how she handled the pressures of being incessantly mocked and berated in the media.

“She said, ‘I never felt alone; I always felt that I was strongly supported by a broad band of people,’” he recalls. “And that was very, very instructive to me. No individual or small number of people should represent a movement. They may stand for the movement, but they are supported by a broad range of people. If you don’t have that, it’s not a movement.”

No one person is bigger than the cause, but known personalities willing to put their influence behind a movement certainly do help — and it’s often musicians who are quickest to join. “Whenever we’ve been on tours or had any kind of environmental event, musicians are always the first to jump in and volunteer to take part,” says Suzuki. “I think that’s significant.”

It’s why the David Suzuki Foundation has such a long and rich history of partnering with musical artists. Global Dreams, an educational fundraiser that took place at the House of Blues in 1996, brought together the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Anka, the Blues Brothers and Alan Thicke.

The cross-Canada Human Element tour of 2002, which promoted the importance of the four elements, included Nelly Furtado, Randy Bachman, Sam Roberts and k-os.

In 2012, Soupstock united chefs in culinary protest of a proposed Ontario mega-quarry and drew performances from Sarah Harmer, Ron Sexsmith and Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy and Jesse Cook.

And successfully advocating for the right to clean air and water in Canadian law, the Blue Dot tour of 2014 stopped in 21 cities in Canada and featured Neil Young, Feist, Grimes, Joel Plaskett and the Barenaked Ladies — along with Chantal Kreviazuk, Tanya Tagaq, Bruce Cockburn and Danny Michel, who will be performing at the upcoming 90th-birthday celebration.

“I hope people will come not because it’s my birthday, but because they’re going to see a lot of people who are a part of the movement — people who have some celebrity and are putting their celebrity behind the movement,” says Suzuki. “I’m just a figurehead. At my age, the important thing is the legacy. And my legacy is the movement.”

As Stroumboulopoulos poignantly observes, “David is not 21, even though he seems to have the energy of a young person. Still, when you are 90 it’s no longer in your hands. I’d much like to celebrate people when we still have them.”

Aside from honouring Suzuki’s lifetime of environmental activism, the May 22 event will also promote the tireless advocacy and education work that the David Suzuki Foundation has done since the ’90s and continues to this day.

“We categorize our work into three broad themes,” says Iachetti, who grew up watching The Nature of Things and counts Suzuki among his personal idols. “The main one is climate; the next one is nature; and the third one is sustainable communities. And of course, they’re all connected.” In practice, that means policy work at both the national and local levels, community engagement through campaigns and events, Indigenous allyship and land stewardship, and cross-industry collaboration, be it with organizations in health care or urban planning.

And while Suzuki himself is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the foundation, he often pops by the office (which Iachetti says still gives everyone on staff a quiet thrill). At 90, Suzuki may be slowing down ever so slightly, but he’s certainly not stopping. Mere days after his 90th birthday, he lost one of his good friends: beloved diplomat, humanitarian and politician Stephen Lewis. It solidified something for him.

“With the things that matter to you, you do the best you can,” he reflects. “People say, ‘At some point you’ve got to retire.’ How can you retire when you see what’s going on in the world and you have grandchildren? There’s no such thing as retiring. I think Stephen’s death was an affirmation to me that the measure of our effect, our legacy, is not that we succeed, but that we try.”

‘Legacy: A Celebration of David Suzuki at 90, in Concert with Vancity,’ takes place on May 22 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $272.99 and benefit the David Suzuki Foundation. Get them here.