Tag: open mic

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…

First Words on Fire Open Mic!

On By Anna EastlandIn Arts and Entertainment, Poetry, WritingLeave a comment

Hi Everyone,

I’m so excited to announce the inaugural Words on Fire Open Mic and Social for writers starting this Thursday, January 30th from 6-7:30 pm! I’ll be hosting this event on behalf of the Delta Literary Arts Society, at the Douglas J. Husband Discovery Centre in Ladner.

My friend Rosemary and I were brainstorming about ways we could make more community-building events for writers, we we could all feel more connected and encouraged in our creative work. We thought a spoken word open mic would be perfect! All forms of writing are welcome, from poetry and fiction to memoir and essay—the mic is yours for five minutes!

This event is free for anyone to share their writing and connect with other local writers. Speakers can register at the door. Listeners are also most welcome! We will have time for snacks and socializing after the performances so we can have a chance to chat.

I’ve been reading poetry at the North Delta Centre for the Arts Open Mic for about two years and it’s been such a wonderful and confidence-building experience. I’m so happy to now be able to encourage others to share their creative writing! The world is a more beautiful place with all our voices in it!

Free Poetry and Literature Festival Next Weekend

On By Anna EastlandIn Friendship, Poetry, Writing4 Comments
Come join us!

Who would think that a poster could change someone’s life? Aren’t posters simply antiquated in today’s multimedia world? Not at all! You never know how someone will be affected by what they see…and how a simple poster can be the catalyst for all sorts of adventures.

Just over a year ago, when I moved to Delta, I happened to see a poster for a local poetry contest at the coffee shop near my house. I was so excited and decided to submit a poem. Since submissions were cheaper for members, I decided to join the Delta Literary Arts Society .

I didn’t win the poetry contest, but I won the lottery of literary friends and opportunities. I met Angela Rebrec, the president of the DLAS, at an InkwellTold event of local authors being interviewed. We got along well and since that time I’ve gotten increasingly involved in various DLAS events. Besides attending more InkwellTolds, I have:

~read my poetry at the local monthly open mic at the North Delta Centre for the Arts, where we also host our annual writing festival

~attended last year’s poetry festival, where I took lovely poetry workshops by Jude Neale and Taslim Jaffer, and got amazingly helpful free editing advice by Tara Avery. The poem she helped me edit, “Kootenay Glacier Crush,” was featured on Jonathon Roger’s podcast, The Habit, and is now one is the poems in DLAS’s new poetry anthology, Composed. It will be for sale as a fundraiser at our literary festival next weekend, to help us continue to offer free events in our community.

~been a guest at one and done my own poetry reading with Angela Rebrec and Kedrick James. It was so fun—they are both amazing.

~hosted an InkwellTold and interviewed two local authors, Taslim Jaffer and Natalie Virginia Lang

~started leading a free, monthly writer’s circle at the George Mackie Library.

So much fun from one poster!! Here’s a poster with the breakdown of events this coming Saturday, April 20th:

You can register for any of the workshops online at Eventbrite. I’ll be teaching a children’s poetry workshop at noon. Hope to see you there!

For those who want to just drop in and wander around, there will be live music, poetry readings, food trucks, literary art installations, and various vendors such as local bookstores and authors with their work for sale.

I hope to see you there! Let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like me to save you a copy of Composed, our new local poetry anthology!