Make your way to Queen’s Park and listen to poems until dark — whether you like to rhyme your sentences or not, here’s a free event series that could be your new midweek pick-me-up.
The 12th edition of the annual Poetry in the Park is back.
Just like its previous editions, the event, organized by the non-profit Royal City Literary Arts Society (RCLAS), will include a total of nine sessions every Wednesday, July 5 to Aug. 30, this year.
Each session will feature two poets and an open mic, as Janet Kvammen, a founding member and president of RCLAS, said in an email.
Poetry in the Park a.k.a PIP, presented by the literary society in partnership with Arts New West and the City of New Westminster, has been following the same format since it was first launched in 2012, Kvammen told the Record in an interview. It has been one of their “longest standing and most popular programs,” she said.
Each edition features a new lineup of diverse voices from within New West and beyond.
This year, poets Aidan Chafe, SheLa Nefertiti Morrison, Jessica Lee McMillan, Alan Hill, Jónína Kirton and Catherine Lewis will take turns to host the poetry sessions.
The opening night on Wednesday, July 5, will see a poetry reading by Candice James, the founder of PIP and New Westminster poet laureate emerita in 2011, and Alan Hill, New Westminster poet laureate (2017-2020), besides a dance performance by dancer, poet, writer and educator Celeste Snowber.
This poetry and dance mashup will mark the beginning of a two month-long celebration of poetry — just as how it has been done the last dozen years.
Join the PIP nights every Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., from July 5 to Aug. 30, at the Queen’s Park Bandshell. Check out the Royal City Literary Arts Society website for details.
Who’s performing?
July 5: Candice James and Alan Hill; Dance by Celeste Snowber
July 12: Jane Munro and Jude Neale
July 19: 2023 Write on Contest winners Tolu Oloruntoba and Hannah Siden
July 26: Elee Kraljii Gardiner and Hari Alluri
Aug. 2: Wanda John-Kehewin and H.W. Bryce
Aug. 9: Kim Trainor and Elliott Slinn (poet laureate)
Aug. 16: David Ly and Jen Currin
Aug. 23: Evelyn Lau and Jenny Boychuk
Aug. 30: Joseph Dandurand and Chantal Gibson
