Tag: local events

Free Literary Festival Starts Tomorrow!! 😎

On By Anna EastlandIn Arts and Entertainment, Poetry, Writing2 Comments

Celebrate Story and Short Films with us at
the COMPOSED Festival of Writing and Film this Thursday, Friday and Saturday! June 26–28, 2025

 

Join us for a vibrant weekend of literary and cinematic celebration at the 2025 COMPOSED Festival of Writing and Film. Saturday offers workshops in the daytime and the evening the COMPOSED Short Film Festival both at the beautiful North Delta Centre for the Arts.

Angela Rebrec, fantastic president of the Delta Literary Arts Society, and her faithful sidekick, me, the V.P.

 

This three-day community festival offers something for everyone—and all events are completely free! I’ll be teaching a poetry workshop, and my son Isidore has a stop-motion short film in the festival Saturday evening! Come see! Register for workshops and the film festival at http://www.dlas.ca.

 

Thursday, June 26 — Words on Fire: Festival Edition

My lovely friend Tiffany braving the mic to share a new poem!

6:00 PM | Douglas J. Husband Discovery Centre, Ladner

We launch the festival with a special edition of our beloved open mic series, Words on Fire. Enjoy refreshments and conversation following the readings.

 

Friday, June 27 — Poetry Slam Competition

The fabulous Kagan Goh

6:00 PM | Douglas J. Husband Discovery Centre, Ladner

Hosted by Delta’s own spoken word artist Linden Chow

 

Saturday, June 28 DAYTIME — Workshops

All events at North Delta Centre for the Arts (11425 84 Ave.)

Register at www.dlas.ca to secure your spot—workshop spaces are filling up

 

11 AM

Choosing Your Book Publishing Path  11am
with Debra Purdy-Kong

A Journey Of Identity: reconnecting to your roots, culture, and heritage 
with Ladonna Hindmarch

12pm
Songwriting 101  
with Shelley Stevens

Writing Under Pressure: finding poetry in your messy, crazy life. 12pm
with Anna Eastland

1 PM

Secrets of the 7-Day Screenplay  
with Jordan Stratford

Discovering Poetry  
with Marc Perez

Microphone Technique for Spoken Word  
with Lory White

2 PM

The Social Aspect of Writing and Performing  
with Marlo Browne

The Flaw: writing toward your light 
with Jude Neale

3 PM

Painting Words with Light and Shadow  3pm
with Steven Kirby-Schwartz

Historical Fiction Hacks  
with Jordan Stratford

 

Live Performances – Saturday Afternoon

12:00 PM – The Boy Who Faked Kung Fu
A bold, theatrical solo performance by Kagan Goh—this autobiographical tale is full of humour, pathos, and punch.

1:00 PM – Water Forgets Its Own Name
Poet Jude Neale shares her poetic responses to the paintings of Nicholas Jennings, drawn from their collaboration exploring the beauty of Bowen Island. An immersive, interactive event.

2:30 PM – Spoken Word + Comedy with Kagan Goh
Kagan returns for a spoken word performance of Disco Ball Mandala, followed by two stand-up comedy sets that explore mental health, identity, and resilience with humour and insight.

 

7:00 PM — COMPOSED Short Film Festival Screening

Some of the judges pre-screening films to make our selections. My son Isidore was not allowed to vote—as he has a film being shown! Congrats, honey!

Cap off the festival with an evening of poetic and literary short films—each under 10 minutes. Vote for the audience favourite! Red Carpet photos, free popcorn, cash bar and concession.

Reserve your free seats now at www.dlas.ca or via Eventbrite—seating is limited.

 

Thank you to our generous sponsors and volunteers!

Don’t miss this popular yearly literary event!!! Hope to see you there! Bring a friend or two…

Take Your Mama to the Theatre!

On By Anna EastlandIn Arts and Entertainment, motherhood2 Comments

As Mother’s Day approaches, I’d like to recommend a lovely alternative to flowers and scented bath bombs, nice as those things are. For me, as a busy multitasking mom, the best gift is to escape all the swirling chaos and to just focus on one thing: namely a live performance. It could be a play, a musical, an opera, a symphony, or a concert. There’s something so special about spending a few hours totally present to the scene in front of you, without being pulled away by your phone, planning, cooking, cleaning etc. Also, watching other people express themselves creatively is just magical… especially if one of those people are your children!

So I’m really excited to go see my daughter perform in the funny and fantastic musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat with Smash Theatre. I saw it for the first time last weekend and was so impressed. It was a colourful kaleidoscope of song and dance, with great sets and impressive costumes, right down to the sparkly golden sneakers! Now I want some…

If you live in the lower mainland of BC, hope to see you there! Shows are this Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening, and the finale is a Sunday matinee.

Tickets can be found here: https://www.simpletix.com/e/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamco-tickets-164404.

For $30 for adults or $25 for kids, you are getting way more than your money’s worth for this very energetic, professional and enjoyable show! So come on, y’all, take your mama to the theatre!