It is the migratory season for many animals, humans included. This year Literacy in Action is celebrating the theme of migration with a creative cultural literary festival in English. Community art, emerging artists, storytellers, live music and food are part of the three-pronged event.
And the festival is migrating to Bury on October 15, after a day in Richmond, and before one in Stanstead.
Leading up to the event is a series of Arts & Scraps workshops that LIA organized in collaboration with local community organizations such as the Bury Historical and Heritage Society and the Community Learning Centre at the Pope Memorial school. Meghan Dove, new Bury resident, is the Bury-Community-Artist-in-Residence for this project.
“Art has such an amazing way of exploring and expressing pieces of our journeys, especially when words don’t easily come to us,” wrote Yolanda Weeks of LIA. She is organizing the workshops and festival.
“So, what does this have to do with literacy?” you may ask.
Joanna Bateman, executive director of LIA replies. “We often say literacy skills help us navigate the world around us, but it is also that literacy skills help us communicate with each other, to imagine and create the world we want to be part of.”
She distinguishes between two types of literacy: cultural and core. Core literacy has to do with the three Rs – “reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic.” But these skills are intertwined with cultural literacy, understanding the world in which we live and communicating with others. Cultural literacy is what makes the three Rs so important, and so rewarding.
During the festival, Roy MacLaren and Marie Marceau will be making music. Art will be on exhibit, exploring the theme of migration, especially as it relates to the English-speaking community in the Townships. Yummy treats, with dairy- and gluten-free options will be on the menu. And the event will be in English, with French translation available for festival goers.
LIA’s Migratory Community Arts Festival in Bury will be on Saturday, October 15. It begins at the Bury Municipal Library, 569 Main Street, from 1 to 2 p.m., and migrates to the Bury Armoury, 563 Main Street, from 2 to 4 p.m.
TOWNSHIPS YOUNG VOICES
Keep your antennae up for news about the Townships Sun’s new project offering $750 in awards to under-30 creatives who enjoy art, photography, or writing, whether poetry, fiction or non-fiction. A series of online workshops will be offered in October and November, leading up to the awards deadline, December 1st. For more information, visit the Young Voices page on the townshipssun.ca website!
TRANS OR NON-BINARY LOVED ONE
Mental Health Estrie is offering a free workshop in English on Zoom on how to accompany a trans or non-binary loved one on their journey. The workshop will offer information about gender identity and transness, understanding what a transition entails, and practical tools to become a better ally to trans and non-binary people. The presenter is Séré Beauchesne Lévesque, intervener and educator at TransEstrie, and the date is Wednesday, September 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Info or registration: 819-565-2388, or outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com.
BULLYING: HELP FOR CHILDREN
A two-part series of workshops in English is planned for parents and caregivers, offering tools to help children when faced with bullying, via Zoom. The presenters are Rebecca and Jade from Bulle & Balluchon, and the dates are Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 20, from noon to 1 p.m. Info or registration: Vanessa at va@townshippers.org.
HEALTH DECISIONS
The Basics on How to Plan when making health care decisions is the topic of a Zoom workshop presented in English by Educaloi on Thursday, October 20, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The workshop offers information about the rules on consent to health care, and the various legal tools for planning health care in advance, including protection mandates, advance medical directives, and living wills. Info or registration: Vanessa at va@townshippers.org.
AGEISM AT A GLANCE
The Observatory on Aging Society is offering a Zoom workshop in English, discussing how ageism has been observed in many areas of our society, including family, education, work, health, media, and politics. The speaker is Daphne Nahmiash, PhD, and the date is Tuesday, October 25, from noon to 1 p.m. Info or to register: Vanessa, va@townshippers.org.
FREE LEGAL INFO
Townshippers’ Association offers free, confidential access to legal information in English, in partnership with the Université de Sherbrooke. The Legal Info Clinic is staffed by a student from the Law Faculty one day a week, who can answer legal questions by phone, email, or in person by appointment. Although students are not permitted to give advice or opinions, they can give information, refer you to practising lawyers, or services such as Educaloi. The Clinic is open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. until April 2023. Info: 819-566-2182 or legalinfo@townshippers.org.
ART, CULTURE, MUSEUM
Visit the art exhibit at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery in Victoria Hall, 125 Principale West, Cookshire, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Info: galeriecookshireeaton@gmail.com.
See the John-Henry-Pope exhibit at the Maison de la Culture John-Henry-Pope, 25 Principale West, Cookshire, open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Thanksgiving weekend.
Stop by the Eaton Corner Museum at 374 Route 253, Eaton Corner, on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., until the end of September. Info: 819-875-5256.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. For a schedule of services, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca. Note that October 3 is the 200th anniversary of St. George’s Anglican Church in Lennoxville, with a service at 11 a.m.
United. Regular services are at Trinity United, Cookshire, at 9:30 a.m., and Sawyerville United, 11 a.m. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by October 3 for publication October 12 and by October 17 for October 26.