Literary types – and lovers of literature – are embraced at LitFest New West.
The Arts Council of New Westminster, the Royal City Literary Arts Society, Douglas College and the New Westminster Public Library have joined forces for the past five years to put on LitFest New West – a celebration of readers and writers.
“In a nutshell, it’s a celebration of the literary arts,” said James Felton, a member of the LitFest New West committee. “That obviously means putting a spotlight on the writers in our community, but I think more than that it also helps to put a spotlight on those who love the literary arts, in other words, the fans of the writing.”
Writers, notes Felton, don’t operate in isolation.
“They excel when there is an audience, and they are going to excel even more the larger the audience,” he said. “Not everyone can be a Margaret Atwood, but it starts somewhere. We believe that we are giving writers a grassroots opportunity for exposure and for growth.”
LitFest includes writers’ workshops, poetry readings, a singer/songwriter panel, a reading series and much more.
“On Saturday we are having a dozen workshops, they are all geared to actual writers, but the rest of the events throughout our six days is really split between a writer and a literary fan,” Felton said. “If we only cater to the writing community, LitFest becomes a bit of a private boys’ or girls’ club, in my view. That’s not what we want and that’s not what the community wants.”
The theme of this year’s festival is Diverse/City, with organizers aiming to increase diversity on a number of fronts, including the ages of attendees.
“We are making a concerted and conscientious effort to change the demographic appeal,” Felton said. “It normally would have appealed to let’s say a more senior person and a young buck who is aspiring to be a writer, but this year we are trying to fill in that spectrum gap by going to the age groups in between.”
This year’s festival features a (sold-out) kick-off event at the library: Royal City Craft Beer Revolution, featuring Stephen Quinn and Joe Wiebe, Steel & Oak, Four Winds and Dageraad Brewing.
“The nice thing about beer is it’s universal. It can appeal to any demographic,” Felton said. “People may challenge us and we may get some eyebrows being raised. The purists may say what the hell does beer have to do with literature? What we say to that, first and foremost, it’s about bringing the literary community together. If we can do it through a vehicle such as a libation, why not?”
While traditional venues like Douglas College and the New Westminster Public Library are still on the circuit, LitFest is aiming to increase the diversity of locales by holding events at the Gallery at Queen’s Park in Centennial Lodge, the New Media Gallery, Boston Pizza, Century House, Anvil Centre and the Old Crow Coffee Company.
“It’s our way of saying we want to be as inclusive as possible in the community,” Felton said. “It was done very deliberately, very consciously.”
“We’ve got six days of activities and events. Certainly the opening night will be a wonderful kickoff. It has been sold out. The songwriter’s panel on Saturday night is going to be big. When you look at the lineup there, it is definitely aimed very, very deliberately and very, very conscientiously at trying to appeal across the age groups in the community.”
LitFest’s literary lineup
* Thursday, May 12: LitFest New West at the Royal City Farmers Market. Local authors have been invited to display and sell books at the farmers’ market, which runs from 3 to 7 p.m. in Tipperary Park.
* Friday, May 13: Royal City Craft Beer Revolution, a sold-out kickoff event, featuring Stephen Quinn and Joe Wiebe, Steel & Oak, Four Winds and Dageraad Brewing.
* Saturday, May 14: A jam-packed day at Douglas College including writers workshops/marketplace (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.); Diverse/City – multilingual poetry readings (2 to 4 p.m.); reading by former premier Ujjal Dosanjh, author of Journey After Midnight, (4:30 to 5:30 p.m.); reading by Grant Lawrence, author of Adventures in Solitude, and The Lonely End of the Rink, (5:30 to 6:30 p.m.) and LitFest New West singer/songwriter panel (7 p.m.)
* Sunday, May 15: New West Writers critiquing workshop (12 to 3 p.m.), a multimedia talk on the imagination with Kathleen Forsythe (2 to 3 p.m.) and a New West Writer and Kathleen Forsythe wine and cheese reception (3 to 5 p.m.), all at the Gallery in Queen’s Park.
* Sunday, May 15: Action Response, Germinal Exhibition, featuring Kevin Spenst, 12 to 12:30 p.m. at the New Media Gallery, 777 Columbia St.
* Sunday, May 15: Poetic Justice, featuring Betsy Warland, Kevin Spenst and Jane Byers, 3 to 5 p.m. at Boston Pizza.
* Tuesday, May 17: In Their Words: A Royal City Reading Series, featuring Mayor Jonathan Cote and other guests, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., New Westminster Public Library.
* Tuesday, May 17: Write On! Contest winners read their prize-winning submissions, 7 p.m., Old Crow Coffee Company.
* Wednesday, May 18: Cross-cultural communication workshop, 6 to 8:30 p.m., Century House.
* Thursday, May 19: Diverse/City and LitFest New West closing party includes poetry readings by exhibiting artists and a musical performance by Eden Fine Day, 5 to 7 p.m., Anvil Centre.
For a full schedule and event details, visit www.artscouncilnewwest.ort/litfest/
