New Westminster will be playing host to poets from the World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival.
The World Poetry New Westminster group is having a special gathering on Wednesday, May 23 at the New Westminster Public Library.
It will feature poets Richard Doiron, Stephan Gill, Doc PenPen and Yoshifumi Sakura.
The evening will be hosted by Heidi Mueller and Ariadne Sawyer, with a First Nations welcome by Sharel Wright, daughter of Qayqayt Chief Rhonda Larrabee.
There will also be an open mike session, book raffle, welcome cake and refreshments.
The fun is all free. For information, call Ariadne at 604-526-4729, email ariadnes@uniserve. com or see www.world poetry.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE
Another one for the poetry lovers.
Mark June 3 on your calendar for the next Poetic Justice event at the Heritage Grill.
The poetry reading session features three guest poets and an open mike.
Featured at this month's event is Vincent Gnitt, a New Westminster Secondary School student who's been making waves for his slam poetry. He has been featured at Lit Fest New West, Mouths of Fury, Pandora's Collective Summer Dreams Festival and Rivers Day.
He's also captured many cash prizes at Slam Central for his spoken word poetry. A press release describes his poems as "both tender and tough, with a seam of raw emotion stitched throughout."
Also featured is Eileen Kernaghan, whose speculative poetry collection Tales From the Holograph Woods draws themes from science fiction, myth and magic, dark fantasy and fairy tales.
She is also the author of eight historical fantasy novels and has been shortlisted for both the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic and the Sheila Egoff Prize for Children's Literature.
The third featured poet is Sue McIntyre, a founding member of Vancouver Poetry House and a director of Shoreline Writers' Society. She has been featured at Vancouver Poetry Slam, Poets' Corner at Word on the Street and Thundering Word, as well as in the CBC Poetry Face Off.
Want to hear from these three fine poets?
Pop in to the back room of the Heritage Grill at 447 Columbia St. Poetic Justice runs from 3 to 5 p.m.
ARTISAN MARKET
Are you in the market for unique hand-crafted items?
Don't forget to stop by the Arts Council of New Westminster's Artisans Spring Market on May 20 and 21.
The market runs in conjunction with the Hyack Festival, and it's open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Entrance to the market, which takes place at Centennial Lodge, is free.
And, of course, there's plenty going on in Queen's Park, with entertainment and an antique market also part of the Hyack Festival fun.
The arts council is also getting involved in the Hyack Festival celebrations at the Uptown Live! festivities the following weekend. After the parade on Saturday, May 26, the arts council will be running a henna booth on Belmont Street.
Check out www. artscouncilnewwest.org, or see the Hyack Festival website at www.hyack. bc.ca for more about the festival.
Incidentally, as of the writing of this, there were still a few tables left for artisans to take part in the spring market, at a rate of $50 for the two days.
Call 604-525-3244 or see www.artscouncilnewwest. org for details.
ARTISTIC MEMORIES
Art lovers, you still have some time to catch the latest exhibition at the Arts Council of New Westminster Gallery.
Memories, featuring the work of Cheryl Nordvik, is on at the gallery until May 26.
Cheryl - who was born in England and raised in Norway - is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, president of the Burnaby Artists Guild and founder of the Artfully Yours Art Group.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries internationally.
The exhibition at the arts council gallery includes works in oil, watercolour and acrylic, with inspiration drawn from nature.
Pop by the gallery to check it out for yourself.
The gallery is in Centennial Lodge at Queen's Park, and it's open Tuesday to Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
VISUAL VERSE 2
The New West Artists group is inviting everyone to Round 2 of its Visual Verse exhibition.
The event takes place tonight (Friday, May 18) at 7 p.m. at the Network Hub, upstairs at the River Market.
Visual Verse is an art exhibition in which 35 artists each took a poem and created 35 pictures based on it.
Poets will read their work, and artists will talk about how they transformed the poem into visual art.
Intrigued? Check out www.newwestartists.com for more, or pop by the Network Hub tonight to check it out for yourself.
Are you an artist with a story to share or an arts group looking for members? Do you have an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment ideas to Julie, jmaclellan@royalcityrecord. com. You can also follow her on Twitter, @juliemaclellan, or check out her blog at www.royalcityrecord.com.
