Multicultural Festival
On Saturday September 19, members of the WCYR attended the Aurora Multicultural Festival at Aurora Town Park for the fourth consecutive year. We had many eager and interested visitors to our booth, and some great conversations regarding the WCYR and all things writing. A number of people we talked to were extremely enthusiastic about the WCYR and what it offers the community, and we are sure they took with them a very positive view of the organization, as well as a more positive perspective on the writing process itself.
Inkwell Literary Festival
On Saturday October 3, members of the WCYR attended the Inkwell Literary Festival at the Vaughan Civic Centre Resource Library. Although we did not encounter a large number of visitors, we had some excellent conversations with would-be or budding writers, as well as a number of the other authors attending the event. Quite a few of the new writers we met were intrigued by the scope of what the WCYR offered, and were very interested in joining the community to help with their writing journey.
Fall N’ Love on Main
Fall N’ Love on Main, the Newmarket Public Library’s Romance Festival, in partnership with the WCYR, was a huge success!
Festivities began with a well-attended open-mic night on Friday, led by Erika McNeil. Many newcomers stepped forward to read their work. Live music accompanied the authors and poets between readings. WCYR thanks Erika for hosting this popular event.
The Romance Festival continued on Saturday morning with Elise Abram’s love-letter-writing workshop. Participants learned about the lost art of letter-writing, particularly love-letters, tracing its origins to the penny post and exploring how letters became a way to circumvent the strict rules of etiquette at the time. With coloured pens, paper, and fun stickers, the workshop culminated in a letter-folding activity—no envelopes needed!
Elise Abram and Elliott Wilde spent the afternoon at the library’s vendor market, spreading word about WCYR and selling copies of past anthologies, while romance author Sonya Singh spoke to a crowd of romance fans.
WCYR thanks Lisa Cunningham from the Newmarket Public Library and everyone who participated in the Romance Festival, whether as an organizer or a guest. We look forward to collaborating with Lisa and the library in the future.
See wcyork.ca/events for the latest events, and opportunities.