Thursday, November 11
Event # 1 – Opening Night
Canada Sings! Islanders Sing Songs of the Land
with:
- Bob Bossin, Gabriola Island
- Mae Moore, Pender Island
- Host: Evalyn Parry, Toronto
We wanted to open the festival with a special event that acknowledges the deep ties between literary performance and music. Poetry owes songwriting a debt of gratitude, and vice versa. While thinking of deep ties, we became acutely aware of the distinctive relationship between island artists and landscape. Poetry Gabriola decided to devote opening night to an evening of music by island-dwelling folk artists singing songs inspired by the land–and the sea.
Mingle! Wine Bar opens at 6:30 pm with cameo appearances by festival artists.
7:30 pm in the Great Room. $16
Friday, November 12
Event #2
Canada Speaks 1
The first of three consecutive evenings featuring 12 new literary performance works by Canadian artists. Tonight’s pieces are:
- To live in the age of melting by Evalyn Parry
- Every Sunday by Fortner Anderson
- It’s Yes by Drek Daa
- Embrace by bill bissett
Host: Hilary Peach
Mingle! Wine Bar opens at 6:30 pm with cameo appearances by festival artists.
7:30 pm in the Great Room. $16
Saturday November 13
Event #3
Writing Workshop: Empowering Fiction with Richard Van Camp
Richard Van Camp is a proud member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation from Fort Smith, NWT, and a nationally acclaimed storyteller and writer. This interactive, small class is a rare opportunity to work closely with Richard, exploring the notion of Empowering Fiction. Topics will include respect for life, having a positive influence, and the medicine power of animals.
Limit of 12 participants so register early at 247-7604.
$35/ by pre-registration. Light lunch included.
10 am – noon in the Lounge
Event #4
Knock-Knock, Who’s There?
Eleven artists invite the audience to share close encounters in tiny cabins. This FREE, site-specific, multi-artist installation celebrates the huge potential of the small performance. To be part of the most complex knock-knock joke ever, meet in the Foyer of the Dragon’s Lodge at 1:00 pm. The cast of characters will change on Sunday, so be sure to come back.
1 pm – 2:30 pm in the Foyer and on the grounds of the Dragon’s Lodge. FREE
Event #5
Gabriola New Works: Dictionary Of Snakes by Hilary Peach
This new suite of performance poems featuring Hilary Peach, Victor Anthony, and Alexander Varty, is ostensibly a discussion of the myths, magic, stories and little-discussed facts surrounding snakes. But it is also an exploration of memory, fear, and faith. Discussion with audience about spoken work in ensemble to follow the performance.
3 pm – 4 pm in the Lounge. $12
Event # 6
Performance Art Salon with David Bateman and Cheryl L’Hirondelle
A salon is “a meeting of intellectuals or other eminent people (especially writers and artists) at the invitation of a celebrity or socialite…often at the house of a woman prominent in high society.” On behalf of our hostesses, Métis celebrity Cheryl L’Hirondelle and socialite David Bateman, Poetry Gabriola would like to invite you into our drawing room for a fabulous investigation of performance art.
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm in the Lounge. $12
Event # 7
Canada Speaks 2
The second of three consecutive evenings featuring 12 new literary performance works by Canadian artists. Tonight’s pieces are:
- mocikitatan e nehiyaw pikiskwak: white and red by Cheryl L’Hirondelle
- 3 things I have been meaning to tell you . . . by David Bateman
- I Will Come For You by Sheri-D Wilson (appearing by video)
- Night Falls Fast by Richard Van Camp
Host: Ian Ferrier
Mingle! Wine Bar opens at 6:30 pm with cameo appearances by festival artists.
7:30 pm in the Great Room. $16
Sunday November 14
Event #8
Writing Workshop: Storytelling School with Ivan Coyote
A Gabriola favorite, Ivan Coyote is one of Canada’s most captivating storytellers. This small, interactive workshop offers a rare opportunity to work with Ivan on what makes a good story and how to craft that story into something worth telling.
Limit of 12 participants so register early at 247-7604.
10 am – noon in the Lounge
$35/ by pre-registration. Light lunch included.
Event #9
Knock-Knock, Who’s There?
Eleven MORE artists invite the audience to share close encounters in tiny cabins. This FREE, site-specific, multi-artist installation celebrates the huge potential of the small performance. To be part of the most complex knock-knock joke ever, meet in the Foyer of the Dragon’s Lodge at 1:00 pm.
1 pm – 2:30 pm in the Foyer and on the grounds of the Dragon’s Lodge. FREE
Event #10
Gabriola New Works: October Ferries To Gabriola: by Charlotte Cameron
In 1946, chased by bad luck and personal demons, Malcolm Lowry, the author of Under The Volcano, catches the ferry for Gabriola, searching for a place where he and his wife, Margerie, can live, love, and write. Now Edward Jones and Sarah Smith, a modern-day couple, obsessed with the Lowry story and experiencing similar troubles, follow in their wake, hoping to begin a new life.
With: Kathy McIntyre, Drew Staniland, Portia Boehm, Michael Armstrong
3 pm – 4 pm in the Lounge. $12
Event # 11
Panel Discussion: Genres of Literary Performance with Drek Daa, Ivan Coyote, Kaie Kellough, and bill bissett.
Four diverse literary performers discuss similarities and differences in artistic practice. Join Ivan Coyote (storytelling), bill bissett (sound, improvisation, channeling), Drek Daa (slam poetry), Kaie Kellough (contemporary orality and the blues).
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm in the Lounge. $12
Event # 12 – Closing Night!
Canada Speaks 3
The third of three consecutive evenings featuring 12 new literary performance works by Canadian artists. Tonight’s pieces are:
- Paterson Ewen Crayons Galaxies Across Your Bed by Ian Ferrier
- Rights Left by Robert Priest
- Goodbyes by Kaie Kellough
- Maiden Heart by Ivan Coyote
Host: Shelagh Rogers
Mingle! Wine Bar opens at 6:30pm with cameo appearances by festival artists.
7:30 pm in the Great Room. $16
Poetry Gabriola 