The Festival brochure is on its way to everyone on our mailing list, thanks to the loyal volunteers who come together each year to stuff, stamp and label 2,000 envelopes, all for a thank you and a cookie! Sunshine Coast folks can find the brochure in
Sechelt (Talewind Books, Sechelt Public Library, Sechelt Visitors Information Centre),
Madeira Park (EarthFair Store, Pender Harbour Reading Centre) and
Gibsons (Gibsons Public Library, Gibsons Visitors Information Centre). I will also be sending a bundle of brochures today to the
Powell River Public Library and dropping by the
Roberts Creek Reading Room this afternoon.
If there are any wonderful volunteers out there who would like to help with distribution on the Sunshine Coast, please send a note to jane@writersfestival.ca.
The Festival website is under renovation but you can find the Festival Planner (the schedule of events) and brief bios about all the writers
here. All 2017 content will be up soon. I'll write again to remind you about ticket sales
(May 31 at 8 a.m.)!
In other news ... We are really looking forward to welcoming two wonderful writers of books for children to the Sunshine Coast.
Mahtab Narsimhan will be visiting elementary schools on May 10 and 11 and
Margriet Ruurs will be here May 15 to 17.
Mahtab's visit to the Sunshine Coast is funded by The Canadian Children's Book Centre's TD Canada Children's Book Week and we are so grateful. Mahtab Narsimhan is the author of seven books for children that explore the themes of world cultures and diversity. She shares her own personal experiences and the challenges she faced as an immigrant to Canada.
Margriet Ruurs is also the author of several books for children (27, at last count!). Her latest book,
Stepping Stones, was inspired by the stone artwork of Syrian artist Nizar Ali Badr. The author was immediately impressed by the strong narrative quality of his work, and, using many of Mr. Badr’s already-created pieces, she created a story about the Syrian refugee crisis.
Regular Festival-goers will know that we pass the bucket at some of the evening events to collect your spare change. We raise between $2,500-$3,500 annually and all of this money goes to CABC (Celebration of Authors, Books and Community), our educational outreach program. We have YOU to thank for making these opportunities possible.
The Sechelt Public Library will present a public reading with Margriet Ruurs on Monday, May 15, 6:30 to 7:30 pm. All are welcome; please register in advance at 604-885-3260.
Margriet Ruurs will also be running a workshop for aspiring writers of books for children on Wednesday, May 17 from 6 pm to 8 pm. Details about the workshop are
here.
WordPlay in the Park - a free family-friendly festival for children, youth and families - will take place in the Pavilion and Rockwood Gardens on Sunday, June 25, from 11 am to 4 pm. This is the Festival of the Written Arts' 35th Anniversary gift to the community that has supported us all these years. We will have some wonderful artists
(Kung Jaadee, Rick Scott, Jillian Christmas, Ronnie Dean Harris) and some talented young musicians to entertain you. We thank the BC Arts Council (Youth Engagement Program) for their support of this event.
Our friends at the Sunshine Coast Arts Council will wrap up their Spring Reading Series on
Saturday, May 13 with Ujjal Dosanjh.
And that's all for now. I will leave you with this photo, taken this morning, of the magnolia tree in front of the Rockwood Lodge, in all its spring glory. It provides such welcome shade during those hot days in August.
