First Intercultural Community Reading Festival planned in Edmonds, Burnaby
Many cultures celebrated with a common language
The Community Reading Festival organized by Culture Chats BC Association is planned for October 26, 27, 28 at the Tommy Douglas Branch of the Burnaby Public Library. The festival offers diverse events for different sections of the community including for families, adults with literary interests and also for newcomers who speak English as a second language.
Events include readings from an anthology of stories of immigrant women in Canada, reviews of books based set in cultures around the world, an intercultural story time event for children and parents as well as a word games to mark Canada at 150. An introductory workshop session on erasure poetry based on local literature is also planned.
Pre-events to celebrate Culture Days
On Thursday September 28th a pre-event was organized at the Edmonds Neighbourhood Resource Centre to offer an introductory session for immigrants and refugees learning English. Participants were introduced to the work and process of the award-winning Nisga’a poet and writer Jordan Abel. Attendees at these workshops will be invited to join at the main event on October 26th. Language based games, crosswords and puzzles on the theme of Canada 150 are also planned as part of the festival.
Asmita Lawrence from Culture Chats BC Association said “We are grateful for the support of wonderful coordinators from the LINC Community & Continuing Education program as well as Community Program Instructors from the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts who are working with us. The success of these events is attributed to their commitment to the goal of celebrating language and literature which can shape and connect diverse cultures together.
The next pre-event is planned for Wednesday October 4th at the Windsor Neighbourhood Learning Centre, 6907 Gilley Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5J 1G5 from 10:30 am to 12 noon
About Culture Chats BC Association
Culture Chats BC Association is a not for profit community based association promoting cultural diversity through engagement with literary and other arts among local communities.
With this community festival Culture Chats aims to create opportunities to participate in activities based in literary arts, language and cultural expressions. Participants and attendees are offered an immersive experience for learning and sharing. The festival is planned as a platform for community participation and interaction working in collaboration with our esteemed partners and sponsors including BIPT, Festivals Burnaby, Burnaby Neighbourhood House, Vancouver Foundation, Vancity and the Burnaby Public Library. More information at http://www.culturechats.org
