Building Community

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to build community lately. I don’t know if it has been the stories about the anonymity of social media or the collapse of the UK’s pub culture that has got me thinking!

During the Festival’s recent Strategic Planning Process I started thinking a lot about what the Frye Festival means. What would happen if it disappeared tomorrow, who would care? There were all the obvious answers such as the more than 10,000 kids who are impacted, the teachers who see a child suddenly appreciate the value and fun of reading by meeting a word expert in their classroom, the booklovers from all over the region who take a week off work so that they don’t miss a single event, the local authors who get the chance to shine on an international literary stage, the aspiring authors who are inspired through workshops and encounters with bestsellers, the volunteers who get to know the behind the scenes excitement of the Festival and who get the opportunity to really get to know an author, the administrative and creative professionals who are hired to produce the Festival, and the list goes on.

But what about an even more intangible outcome of the Festival, the building of community? The Festival has always had as one of its key values the idea of bringing the two linguistic communities together in a meaningful way, but what about even going beyond that?

We are so lucky in Greater Moncton to live in such a hospitable and friendly town, but as the snow mountains grow and our opportunities for social interaction are somewhat diminished by weekly snow storms, the need to interact socially seems to increase. I’m a huge reader and normally, there isn’t much that can drag me away from a cozy chair and a great book, but even bookworms need outings!

This week I had some amazing opportunities to get out in the community and share a passion for the written word and the beautiful, wonderful, extraordinary experience of the book.

My first opportunity was with a new book club (and I mean new…this was their first meeting!). I arrived with my book bag and had the opportunity to meet a great group of passionate readers who had met through an ad on Kijiji! Chatting with these women about the authors who are coming to the Festival, demystifying some of the events, and getting them excited about the Festival was so much fun…and I think I may have recruited a few volunteers in the process! I’ve got four more book club meetings set-up for the next week and I look forward to meeting people who value the time that they get to spend with a book and who enjoy the opportunity of discussing the experience with others. Let me know if you would like me to drop by your book club – I usually have a great door prize!

My next opportunity took place on Wednesday night at Frye Academy. There were 13 high incredible school students taking part in the final battle of the books to choose the 2011 winner of the Frye Academy Award. Besides the students and moderator there was an interested audience and a few members of the media…all on a miserable, grey, slushy February night! To see the enthusiasm, excitement and pure passion of the kids as they discussed and debated the books was truly awe-inspiring. Of course, for me, the best part of all was to speak with one of the students who participated last year too and to get her feedback on how incredible she had found the experience and to have her tell me how much she would like to be a member of the selection jury next year when she is in university. Frye Academy has had a big impact on her life.

And finally, last night during our annual Preview Party for Frye Fans (if you didn’t get an invitation just sign up for our newsletter and you will get one every year along with all the latest Festival happenings) more than 100 people braved an ice storm to have a sneak peek at the Festival’s 2011 roster. Meeting fellow human beings face-to-face, chatting about a shared passion, lamenting the weather and sharing laughs and a sip of wine was simply the perfect antidote to February.

The Frye Festival provides so many opportunities to get out, mingle with fellow book lovers, discuss new ideas and feed your imagination and to be inspired. I’m not sure how to measure the impact of this, performance indicators, anyone? But I do know that the Frye Festival has made an indelible mark on New Brunswick. It has inspired change and hope and brought our communities together like no other event. As Canada’s only bilingual international literary Festival and Atlantic Canada’s largest literary event, the Frye Festival is firmly established in the psyche of the province and will continue to grow, improve and inspire future generations to see the power of the imagination.  What’s the value of that?

Meeting Margaret Atwood

In January 2010, I met Margaret Atwood. I was at the Toronto International Airport, lining up to have my fingertips dusted for bomb residue by Transportation Canada when my friend let out a little shriek and we both turned around and exclaimed “It’s Margaret Atwood!” I took a few deep nervous breaths, fumbled for my business card, and awkwardly presented myself to her. There was absolutely no mistaking the curly hair and distinct features. Canada’s preeminent author, poet, novelist, essayist, op-ed writer and Twitter-er was standing in front of me, diminutive in a large winter coat. I thrust my card at her and mumbled something about inviting her to the Festival, year after year. She looked down at my card and graciously told me that she had heard good things about the Frye Festival. “Will you come?” I asked.  “Yes” she said, “not this year but next…follow up with my office”. Well, of course I did as soon as I landed and I am so thrilled that this April Margaret Atwood will attend the Frye Festival.

There will be two main opportunities for you to hear Margaret Atwood. The first will be at Soirée Frye, the Festival’s annual “literary smorgasbord” – one-hour, four authors, two musicians, writing contest winners, all followed by an open reception in Greater Moncton’s beautiful Capitol Theatre.

The second opportunity takes place on Saturday (April 30^th) again at the Capitol Theatre, as Atwood delivers the 2011 Antonine Maillet-Northrop Frye Lecture. Following this historic lecture
(that we hope to live-stream, available to all 126,000 Atwood followers on Twitter!), Atwood will have an on-stage discussion. And then for the groupies, Margaret has agreed to sign some books, in person (no long-pen!).

Of course, if you are lucky there will be another very special opportunity to have lunch with Margaret and raise funds for the Frye Festival’s Foundation at the same time. There will only be 25 tickets available at a cost of $200 each (a $150 tax receipt will be available) and each will include a beautiful lunch at Dieppe’s gourmet restaurant, L’Idylle.

If you haven’t read a lot of Atwood, I would personally recommend my favourite novel, the near-future dystopian Oryx and Crake. (It is so difficult to choose! I also loved The Robber Bride and of course, The Handmaid’s Tale.) Atwood calls Oryx and Crake:  “a joke-filled, fun-packed rollicking adventure story about the downfall of the human race.” Here is a great reading/lecture by Atwood about Oryx and Crake at MIT: http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/196 . (It is funny to note that the only reason that she made it to MIT was that a student passed her an invitation during the Giller Awards!)

I truly can’t believe that we will finally have the great honour have having Northrop Frye’s former student, “Oracle Atwood” in our midst this April. Tickets go on sale at http://www.tickets.moncton.ca/ on February 21^st, 2011. For all the details visit: http://www.frye.ca/.