Rina Garcia Chua “A Geography of (Un)Natural Hazards” Book Launch
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at Hello Darlin’! As part of our Say Anything/Something program stream, IWC is delighted to be hosting the launch of Rina Garcia Chua’s newest book, A Geography of (Un)Natural Hazards (Sampaguita Press, 2026), featuring local writer Cherie Hanson and a special Halloween Open Mic!
Although not required, Halloween-inspired performances are welcome and costumes encouraged! Come celebrate spooky season with IWC.
Entry is a $6 - $10 sliding scale. Doors and Open Mic sign up are at 6:30 pm. For this event, we will have 5 Open mic spots available. Typically, we have a line outside the door so if you’d like to participate, arrive promptly!
Copies of A Geography of (Un)Natural Hazards will be available to purchase at the event.
About the book: From swimming in raging floods, breathing in wildfire smoke, parenting despite distances, narrating in languages carried across oceans, this debut poetry collection imagines a country that resists the bordering of maps. A Geography of (Un)Natural Hazards by Rina Garcia Chua dissolves the line that divides nations and offers instead a terrain shaped by stories of arrivals and survivals:
“there is a taste that lingers; a tongue that retrieves
there is a dream that hosts the Pacific’s horizon; an answer
there is an end to be pursued; another home to be made.”
Drawing on the debris of the archives, social media, and lived experiences, these insurgent poems centre migrant and liminal cultures not as footnotes but as architects of new environments, asking the reader to reconsider where they stand and daring them to listen to the silences that simmer beneath their feet.
About Rina Garcia Chua: Rina Garcia Chua (she/her/siya) is a creative and critical scholar from the Philippines who is currently based in unceded tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (lands) of the syilx Okanagan peoples. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of Net awards, and have been previously published in many anthologies, magazines, and journals worldwide. She continues to write poetry that responds to social and environmental injustice in migrant and liminal cultures.
About Cherie Hanson: Cherie Hanson holds an MA in American Poetry, UBC, Vancouver: as well as, credits toward an MFA in Creative Writing from Western Washington University and Naropa University. In 2001 she attended the Sage Hill Writing Experience with Betsy Warland. Walking the Streets of Blood: Paris Attacks was accepted in 2019 for Vancouver Manuscript Intensive with Elee Kraljii Gardiner. Her writing has appeared in Canadian Women’s Studies; Love Poems for the Media Age, Ripple Effect Press; Erasure Anthology by Naropa University; The Pine Beetle Review; The Wine Country Writer’s Anthology.
Hanson won second place for nonfiction “Stan: Alone in the Attic” in 2021 and honorable mention for “Paris Attacks” 2022 from Wine Country Writers’ Festival. She also won honorable mention for the poem “I Was Standing Over” from the Word on the Lake Writing Contest 2022. In 2023, Black Mountain Press selected a poem for the magazine HerWords. In 2026 her writing appeared in the Anthology We Make the Village and is included in the forthcoming Roads to Renewal by Clipson Press. She has written for magazines; for online zines; for the Okanagan Jazz and Blues Society. She has written several plays and a musical which she has produced.
This venue is a honky tonk speakeasy found in BNA Brewing at the top of the stairs and through a convenience store’s pop vending machine. Both food and drink will be available from Hello Darlin’.
Accessibility Information: If you require use of the elevator, please enter BNA Brewing or BNA Burger when you arrive in person, and ask a staff member to help you access the elevator to get inside Hello Darlin’. To use the elevator again after the event, please ask a Hello Darlin’ staff member for assistance. If you require additional information or assistance, please call IWC at 250-808-6573 the day of the event.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Say Anything/Something is made possible by the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and Hello Darlin’.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Book description courtesy of Sampaguita Press.
“Dreaming of Marginalia”: A Writing Workshop with Dr. Rina Garcia Chua
In collaboration with the Okanagan Regional Library (Downtown Branch), and as part of our Say Anything/Something program stream, Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a poetry workshop led by local author Dr. Rina Garcia Chua!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
About the workshop: How can the structure of a poem communicate its content?
This workshop, “Dreaming of Marginalia: Writing and Centring the Margins in Shape Poetry,” invites participants to think beyond form, structure, and language by learning the history of concrete poetry and analyzing some examples. By unpacking concrete or shape poetry as both poetic and visual arts, the goal is to settle into the discomfort of unstructuring traditional forms of poetry to communicate an important social, cultural, or environmental issue by challenging what we could create on and advocate for with a blank page.
About Dr. Rina Garcia Chua: Rina Garcia Chua (she/her/siya) is a creative and critical scholar from the Philippines who is currently based in unceded tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (lands) of the syilx Okanagan peoples. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of Net awards, and have been previously published in many anthologies, magazines, and journals worldwide. She continues to write poetry that responds to social and environmental injustice in migrant and liminal cultures.
This workshop takes place at the Kelowna Downtown Library in Meeting Room #3 on the first floor (please ask a library staff member if you need help locating the room). This venue is wheelchair accessible and there is free weekend parking in the Library Parkade directly beside the library. There are both gendered stalled washrooms and all-gender/wheelchair accessible washrooms available.
Say Anything/Something is made possible by the Okanagan Regional Library, the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and Hello Darlin’.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Say Anything/Something with Glenna Turnbull and Johnny MacRae
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at Hello Darlin’! As part of our Say Anything/Something program stream, IWC is delighted to feature local author Glenna Turnbull and spoken word poet Johnny MacRae!
Entry is a $6 - $10 sliding scale. Doors and Open Mic sign up are at 6:30 pm. For this event, we will have 5 Open mic spots available. Typically, we have a line outside the door so if you’d like to participate, arrive promptly!
About Glenna Turnbull: Glenna’s short fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories 2025, Prism International, Toronto Journal, Riddle Fence, The New Quarterly, Cliterature, Luna Station Quarterly and Room. Her debut novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found, which deals with domestic violence and its effects on mental health, was published by Breakwater Books in March 2026. Winner of the Jacob Zilber Fiction prize, she’s also been shortlisted with honourable mentions for both the Peter Hinchcliffe award and Event magazine’s speculative fiction contest. Her non-fiction has been featured in numerous publications and read on CBC radio. She graduated from UBC Okanagan at the age of 50, doing one course per semester as a self-employed single parent. Glenna’s weekly column Arts Seen that ran for more than a decade. She lives with her dogs on the unceded territory of the Sylix in Kelowna, BC.
About Johnny MacRae: Johnny MacRae (he/him) is a spoken word poet living on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. A winner of regional and national slam titles, he has toured widely as a featured performer at poetry series and arts festivals, both solo and with collaborative acts such as 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac, Travelin' Word Circus and The Dambassadors. In 2013, he was named Poet of Honour for the Victoria Spoken Word Festival, and in 2017, received the Zaccheus Jackson Nyce Memorial Award.
This venue is a honky tonk speakeasy found in BNA Brewing at the top of the stairs and through a convenience store’s pop vending machine. Both food and drink will be available from Hello Darlin’.
Accessibility Information: If you require use of the elevator, please enter BNA Brewing or BNA Burger when you arrive in person, and ask a staff member to help you access the elevator to get inside Hello Darlin’. To use the elevator again after the event, please ask a Hello Darlin’ staff member for assistance. If you require additional information or assistance, please call IWC at 250-808-6573 the day of the event.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Say Anything/Something is made possible by the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and Hello Darlin’.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
"Writing About Trauma": A Writing Workshop with Glenna Turnbull
As part of our Say Anything/Something program stream, a community-based performance and workshop series, Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a writing workshop led by local author Glenna Turnbull!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
About the workshop: Whether it's domestic violence, sexual, or physical abuse, writing about traumatic events is something that needs to be handled with care—not just for your own mental well-being but for that of potential readers. For those with lived experience, dredging up horrors from our past to put on the page may be cathartic but the effects of reliving those moments can take a serious toll. And all writers need to be cognizant of the possible effects your words can have on a reader.
Participants will work through writing exercises as a group but are welcome to bring a short piece of previously written work with them for this workshop.
In this workshop, we’ll look at the following:
The importance of trigger warnings.
Avoiding cliches when it comes to both abusers and victim.
The difference between private journaling and writing for an audience. How much do you tell your reader?
Techniques to write about episodes without using gratuitous violence.
A writing sprint will follow, along with the opportunity for students to share writing created in class or previously written work brought along with them from home.
About Glenna Turnbull: Glenna’s short fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories 2025, Prism International, Toronto Journal, Riddle Fence, The New Quarterly, Cliterature, Luna Station Quarterly and Room. Her debut novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found, which deals with domestic violence and its effects on mental health, was published by Breakwater Books in March 2026. Winner of the Jacob Zilber Fiction prize, she’s also been shortlisted with honourable mentions for both the Peter Hinchcliffe award and Event magazine’s speculative fiction contest. Her non-fiction has been featured in numerous publications and read on CBC radio. She graduated from UBC Okanagan at the age of 50, doing one course per semester as a self-employed single parent. Glenna’s weekly column Arts Seen that ran for more than a decade. She lives with her dogs on the unceded territory of the Sylix in Kelowna, BC.
The Alternator Centre is located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts and is wheelchair accessible. Bathrooms are gendered stalled washrooms, with a single, gender neutral and wheelchair accessible washroom available.
Say Anything/Something is made possible by the Alternator, the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and Hello Darlin’.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land
Ken’s Kings and Things Night 2nd Anniversary Showcase
Ken’s Kings and Things Night is celebrating its two-year anniversary with an incredible showcase of local drag talent plus an extra fabulous queer Open Mic presented by Inspired Word Café! This show will celebrate KENDONTCRY and the vibrant drag king and thing scene here in the Okanagan—a full night of gender-bending, ridiculous masculinity, and queer art.
This showcase will feature an 8-spot open mic with a focus on gender expression, plus drag performances by Bummer, Walter Wilcox, Other Nature, Jovian, Stud Sparkles, Catastrophe and KENDONTCRY. With extra special guest from Vancouver, nonbinary trans masc Korean Lesbian Drag King, SKIM!
Ticket pricing: $30 in advance and $35 at the door. This is a 19+ event.
Black Box Theatre is wheelchair accessible. The venue has an all-gender, accessible washroom.
Writing Workshop with Dr. Steven Taylor
In collaboration with the Okanagan Regional Library (Mission Branch), Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a writing workshop led by local writer Dr. Steven Taylor!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
About the workshop: Are you looking for friendly, encouraging, and insightful feedback on your writing? If so, IWC invites you to join our free writing workshop!
Please arrive with 10 printed copies of your work. Pieces should be 1-2 pages maximum; if your work is longer, please bring an excerpt. All genres are welcome—from prose, poetry, songs, speech, and more.
At the workshop, participants will have dedicated time to share their work and receive thoughtful feedback from the group. The writer will distribute the copies of their piece to the workshop leader and the other participants. Next, the writer is encouraged to read sections of their work aloud so that the group can hear the piece in the author’s voice. From here, each participant reads the work while writing down their thoughts, noting places where the writing already succeeds and areas that might be strengthened. The workshop host will then facilitate a short group discussion, giving the writer an opportunity to hear feedback in real time.
You do not need to be an experienced editor or writer to participate. We encourage everyone to approach each piece of writing with respect and curiosity. Spaces are limited, so please arrive promptly.
About Dr. Steven Taylor: Steven worked as an educator in the UK for 40 years as a teacher (working with students from kindergarten to Grade 12), a school principal and a school improvement adviser. Since retiring and moving to Canada, he has continued his involvement with education, studying creative writing at UBCO and facilitating writing workshops for the Society for Learning in Retirement. He writes his own poetry, comic fiction and creative non-fiction. He has recently joined the Board of IWC and enjoys performing his poetry at their Open Mic nights.
The Mission Branch of the ORL is located in MNP Place. This venue is wheelchair accessible and there is free on-site parking. Bathrooms are gendered stalled washrooms, with an all-gender and wheelchair accessible washroom available.
Our programming is made possible by the Okanagan Regional Library, the City of Kelowna, and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
October Open Mic and Open Slam
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at Hello Darlin’! IWC presents our Open Mic and Open Slam!
Entry is a $6 - $10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
We have 6 open mic spots and 6 open slam spots! Bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served.
Following our Open Mic, we’ll be hosting our ever-wonderful Open Slam! Have you ever wanted to compete for cash prizes with your poems? Look no further! 6 poets sign up and 5 judges are chosen from the crowd. 3 poets move on to read a second poem and compete for prizes! Bring three original poems for the Open Slam should you wish to enter—the third is needed in case of a tie breaker.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. Typically, we have a line outside the door so if you’d like to participate, arrive promptly!
This venue is a honky tonk speakeasy found in BNA Brewing at the top of the stairs and through a convenience store’s pop vending machine. Both food and drink will be available from Hello Darlin’.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible. Note: If you need to use the elevator to access this venue, please reach out directly to us through DM!
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and Hello Darlin’.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Season 17 Kickoff Classic Open Mic
We’re back! Join IWC as we kick off Season 17!
Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present our classic Open Mic! Come down for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at Hello Darlin’! Curious what type of material you can share? Music, poetry, dance, comedy—you name it, we welcome it! IWC offers an inclusive and encouraging environment for all skill levels.
We are delighted to be announcing the winners of the 2026 IWC Poetry Prize and launching the newest anthology during this event!
Entry is a $6 - $10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
This venue is a honky tonk speakeasy found in BNA Brewing at the top of the stairs and through a convenience store’s pop vending machine. How cool!
Doors are at 6:30 pm, and sign up begins promptly at 6:30 pm with our hosts. We have 10 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from Hello Darlin’.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible. Note: If you need to use the elevator to access this venue, please reach out directly to us through DM!
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and Hello Darlin’.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Image & Colour: Make Your Writing Tactile!: A Writing Workshop with jaz papadopoulos
As part of Say Anything/Something, a community-based performance and workshop series, Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a multi-modal workshop lead by writer jaz papadopoulos!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
About the workshop: We may read with our eyes, but we feel the text with our whole bodies. In this workshop, we will alternate between writing exercises, reading short excerpts of source material, and group discussion. The focus is how concrete visual imagery—especially colour—can bring abstract descriptions to life, and evoke senses beyond just the visual. Participants of all backgrounds (and all genres) are welcome! Feel free to bring a draft in progress, or nothing at all.
About jaz: jaz papadopoulos (they/them) is a queer diasporic interdisciplinary writer/artist/educator/party planner. A self-described emotionalist and avid Anne Carson fan, jaz likes talking about media, horticulture, lyricism, nervous systems, anti-Imperialism and erotics. Their debut poetry collection, I Feel That Way Too, is published with Nightwood Editions. They are currently working on their second collection, a chapbook on the sacred, in conjunction with the St. Boniface Hospital’s Spiritual Care Services and the Buhler Gallery in Winnipeg, MB. jaz lives in Canada on syilx land. Find them online at textualdealings.com.
The Alternator Centre is located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts and is wheelchair accessible. Bathrooms are gendered stalled washrooms, with a single, gender neutral and wheelchair accessible washroom available.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Artwork by Gold Bard
April Open Mic ft. Erin Scott and jaz papadopoulos
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! As part of our Say Anything/Something program stream, IWC is delighted to feature both Erin Scott and jaz papadopoulos!
Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. We have 8 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
About Erin: Erin Scott (she/they) is a time-based, interdisciplinary poet and artist who lives on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples (Kelowna, BC). Erin is a founding member of Inspired Word Café, a literary and performing arts non-profit. Their first chapbook, "Atrophy", won the John Lent Poetry Prose Award 2019 and was published by Kalamalka Press in 2020. to make it whole again, their second chapbook, was published in 2021 with broke press. Their award-winning performance work has been hosted on stages across Canada. Moving into digital modes of writing and performance, their recent work features in Metatron Press’s digital edition “Glyphoria”, as well as being presented at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in early 2024. Erin holds an MFA in performance and writing and is currently a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities at UBCO. Her research and artistic work focus on community art practice, land, identity, and language.
About jaz: jaz papadopoulos (they/them) is a queer, first-gen, interdisciplinary artist working in experimental writing, installation, and video. They are interested in horticulture, nervous systems, erotics, and romance. A graduate of the Cartae Open school, jaz is also a Lambda Literary fellow and an MFA graduate from the University of British Columbia. Follow their work here, or at vimeo.com/jazpapadopoulos.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, and BNA Brewing.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territories of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
PONY! Cabaret
Closing out the New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture is a festival favourite: the 10th annual PONY! Cabaret. Kelowna’s premier queer performance night, PONY! only comes once a year. Featuring the sexy and hysterical hosting of Mister Sister, aka Ms. Cookie LaWhore and Erin Scott, and a rogues’ gallery of queer and allied performers including the formidable post-noise-rock trio, Down the Lees; two-spirit tease drag artist Rez Daddy; Ottawa singer-songwriter Glenn Nuotio; queer Nisga’a writer and sound artist Jordan Abel; and San Francisco’s artist-activist performers Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens. Last year’s event sold out, so get your tickets now!
Tickets available through the Revelry website starting at $22.50 - $75 + Applicable Fees.
This event is 19+. Revelry is fully accessible on both floors.
The New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture 2026 is made possible by the support of the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Okanagan School of Education at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Espaces Francophone, and BNA Brewing Co.
We acknowledge our events take place on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples and that we are uninvited guests on their ancestral lands. We invite anyone who comes to our events to check out https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/ to learn about, connect with, and endeavour towards reconciliation within our community.
Nature is Weird: A Zine-Making Workshop
As part of our New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture, Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a zine-making workshop led by feminist writer and researcher Astrida Neimanis!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
How to enter the venue: This Space Belongs to You is located at 541 Bernard Ave, Unit 103. Please enter through the back alley on Bernard (accessible via the District Mall or the alleyway). This Space is located to the right of the House of Caribbean.
About the workshop: Come explore the weird and queer abundance of natural worlds and learn to make zines (small, handmade books)! All supplies will be provided. No experience required, all welcome!
About Astrida: Astrida Neimanis (she/they) is a feminist writer and researcher in Kelowna, BC. With a particular interest in waterways and weather, they explore how creativity and the arts can help us build more joyful and equitable responses to climate change. Astrida is also an Associate Professor at UBC Okanagan, and Director of The FEELed Lab – a feminist creative research lab located at UBC’s Woodhaven EcoCultural Centre in the Lower Mission, on unceded syilx territory.
As part of the Partnership Engagement Grant, Biodiversities of Gender is co-sponsoring and co-organizing this event.
The New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture 2026 is made possible by the support of the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Okanagan School of Education at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Espaces Francophone, and BNA Brewing Co.
We acknowledge our events take place on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples and that we are uninvited guests on their ancestral lands. We invite anyone who comes to our events to check out https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/ to learn about, connect with, and endeavour towards reconciliation within our community.
Photo courtesy of Astrida Neimanis.
Fire Ecologies: Film Screening Double Feature
As part of our New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture, IWC is thrilled to present “Fire Ecologies,” a double-feature film screening at the Innovation Centre downtown!
The first featured film is Mariel Belanger and Sienna Belanger-Lee’s Horse Woman sn̓kłca̓ʔsqáx̌aʔ tkłmílxʷ (32 minutes). This screening is followed by Playing with Fire (71 minutes), directed by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens.
Come down to the Innovation Centre for 5:30 pm for a chance to mingle and chat with the filmmakers and to grab some snacks! The film screening begins at 6:00 pm. Light catering and refreshments will be provided.
Entry is a $6 - $10 sliding scale. Tickets available at the door. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
About sn̓kłca̓ʔsqáx̌aʔ tkłmílxʷ Horse Woman: On syilx territory, sn̓kłca̓ʔsqáx̌aʔ tkłmílxʷ Horse Woman follows mother daughter duo, Mariel and Sienna as they navigate grief, care, and responsibility through their shared relationship with land and horses. As wildfire threatens their home, mother and daughter reveal parallel paths of healing, intuition, and Indigenous stewardship rooted in place.
About Mariel and Sienna: Mariel Belanger and Sienna Belanger-Lee are a mother–daughter creative team working within syilx/Okanagan territory. Their collaborations centre intergenerational knowledge, land-based practice, and Indigenous law as lived experience. Together, their work explores how story, responsibility, and resurgence are carried across generations—not as inheritance, but as ongoing practice.
About Playing with Fire: When lightning strikes ignite a firestorm in the redwood forests of Boulder Creek, CA, artist-activists, Beth and Annie—partners for 23 years—are forced to evacuate with their dog, Butch. They don’t just survive the CZU Fire—they are transformed by it.
This fiery documentary becomes a love letter to resilience, queerness, and the Earth. The couple navigates trauma, social fires, and climate crisis—honoring voices from formerly incarcerated firefighters to Indigenous elders to trans community. Albert, a wild, white peacock helps narrate the story, which ends with a Wedding to Fire. Can we learn to live with fire instead of fighting it? This mythopoetic doc film dares to imagine a future aflame with love.
About Beth and Annie: Beth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle have created multi-media art projects about love, sex, and queer ecologies together since 2002. Annie was a sex worker who morphed into a feminist performance artist. Since 1994 Beth has been a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz since 1994. They co-direct the nonprofit E.A.R.T.H. Lab SF. This dynamic duo makes printed matter, writes books, and has gallery exhibitions of their multimedia artworks. They also create performance art, walking tours, and produce eco-activist symposiums. Their book, Assuming the Ecosexual Position—the Earth as Lover, (U of Minnesota press) chronicles their epic love story and art/life adventures. A new feature film, Playing with Fire—An Ecosexual Emergency, is their third in a trilogy of feature films that explore environmental issues through an ecosexual lens.
As part of the Partnership Engagement Grant, Biodiversities of Gender is co-sponsoring and co-organizing this event.
The New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture 2026 is made possible by the support of the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Okanagan School of Education at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Espaces Francophone, and BNA Brewing Co.
We acknowledge our events take place on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples and that we are uninvited guests on their ancestral lands. We invite anyone who comes to our events to check out https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/ to learn about, connect with, and endeavour towards reconciliation within our community.
Photo courtesy of Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens.
Many Tongues: Multilingual Open Mic
Join Inspired Word Café at UBC Okanagan for a plurilingual afternoon of music, storytelling, and poetry! At the Many Tongues Open Mic, all languages and art forms are welcome. As part of our New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture, Many Tongues is an event co-organized by Espaces francophones and will be hosted in multiple languages. Though English is welcome, priority for the Open Mic will be given to speakers of languages other than English.
This event is free to attend. Light catering and refreshments will be provided.
Many Tongues will be held in EME 1123 (Engineering, Management and Education Building) at UBC Okanagan. This classroom is right near the bus loop.
The New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture 2026 is made possible by the support of the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Okanagan School of Education at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Espaces Francophones, and BNA Brewing Co.
We acknowledge our events take place on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples and that we are uninvited guests on their ancestral lands. We invite anyone who comes to our events to check out https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/ to learn about, connect with, and endeavour towards reconciliation within our community.
Inspired Word Café s’invite à UBC Okanagan pour une après-midi de spoken word, de poésie et de musique. Venez assister ou participer à ce micro ouvert où toutes les langues sont les bienvenues! L’activité est une collaboration d’Espaces francophones dans le cadre de la programmation du Festival New Leaves des Arts de la Culture 2026. Bien que la langue anglaise soit aussi la bienvenue, la priorité au micro sera accordée aux autres langues.
C’est un événement gratuit. Breuvages et goûter léger offerts.
Many Tongues est présenté dans la salle EME 1123 (bâtiment Engineering, Management and Education) à UBC Okanagan. C’est juste à côté de la boucle d’autobus.
Le Festival New Leaves des Arts de la Culture 2026 est rendu possible grâce au soutien des partenaires suivants: City of Kelowna, la Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, l’Okanagan School of Education de UBC Okanagan, la Province de la Colombie-Britannique, le Gouvernement du Canada, le Conseil des Arts de la Colombie-Britannique, le Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Humaines du Canada, Espaces Francophones et BNA Brewing Co.
Nous reconnaissons que nos événements se déroulent sur les territoires non cédés des Syilx Okanagan et que nous vivons sur ces terres ancestrales sans y avoir été invité·es. Nous invitons le public à consulter https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/ pour en apprendre davantage et pour développer des liens communautaires menant à la réconciliation.
Spoken Word Sesh feat. shayna-adjowa jones
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at Hello Darlin’! As part of our New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture, IWC is delighted to feature shayna-adjowa jones!
This venue is a honky tonk speakeasy found in BNA Brewing at the top of the stairs and through a convenience store’s pop vending machine. How cool!
Tickets are $15, flat rate, and available at the door. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. We have 10 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
About shayna-adjowa: shayna-adjowa jones (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary, professional spoken word artist specializing in the traditional oral storytelling of African and Afro-diasporic folklore. As an award winning actor, a spoken word poet, folklorist and playwright, shayna-adjowa has written and performed for theatre companies, festivals and schools across Canada. Learn more about her work online at www.wearestoryfolk.com or on Instagram @wearestoryfolk.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible. *For Hello Darlin’, if you need to use the elevator to access this venue, please reach out directly to us through DM.
The New Leaves Festival of Arts and Culture 2026 is made possible by the support of the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and the Okanagan School of Education at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Espaces Francophone, and BNA Brewing Co.
We acknowledge our events take place on the unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples and that we are uninvited guests on their ancestral lands. We invite anyone who comes to our events to check out https://www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/ to learn about, connect with, and endeavour towards reconciliation within our community.
Photography by Aubrey Burke
February Open Mic and Open Slam
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! IWC presents our Open Mic and Open Slam!
Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
We have 6 open mic spots and 6 open slam spots! Bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
Following our Open Mic, we’ll be hosting our ever-wonderful Open Slam! Have you ever wanted to compete for cash prizes with your poems? Look no further! 6 poets sign up and 5 judges are chosen from the crowd. 3 poets move on to read a second poem and compete for prizes! Bring three original poems for the Open Slam should you wish to enter—the third is needed in case of a tie breaker.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. Typically, we have a line outside the door so if you’d like to participate, arrive promptly!
There are two single user, gender-neutral washrooms available and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, and BNA Brewing.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territories of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Branches of Memories: A Writing Workshop with Mackenzie Ground
As part of Say Anything/Something, a community-based performance and workshop series, Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a prose workshop lead by writer Mackenzie Ground!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
About the workshop: In this workshop, we will consider our connection to place with memories and trees. We will free write and will then try various methods of combining and editing our writing to blend memory and place. This workshop contemplates ideas of where we are, have been, may be, and the ways we see ourselves t/here.
This workshop will feature accessible and welcoming writing exercises for all levels, with opportunities to share your work and receive feedback from Mackenzie and the group on your in-session writing. If you wish to bring a sample of up to one page of existing writing, you are also welcome to workshop that as time allows. This workshop is open to multiple genres. We look forward to a supportive and inspiring event!
About Mackenzie: Mackenzie Ground is a writer and nehiyawiskwew from Enoch maskekosihk Cree Nation and amiskwacîwâskahikanihk Edmonton, Alberta in Treaty Six territory.
She is a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University in the Department of English. She attended the University of Alberta for her MA and BA. Her writing has appeared most recently in The Capilano Review, The Denver Quarterly, and C Magazine. She is a member of the Writing Revolution in Place research collective, and she is an alumni of the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity’s Literary Arts 2023 Winter Writers Retreat and the Indigenous Arts 2021 Write Over Here — Open Rezidency.
She is a language learner of nehiyawewin (the Plains Cree language) which informs and guides her writing and thinking along with her walks and outdoor running. Her work considers the relationships of identity and place, to the land and to cities, and to the more-than-human beings who live on there. She often works with writing, story, images, inks and drawing, and collage.
The Alternator Centre is located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts and is wheelchair accessible. Bathrooms are gendered stalled washrooms, with a single, gender neutral and wheelchair accessible washroom available.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Photo credit: Jared Davies
January Open Mic ft. Mackenzie Ground
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! As part of our Say Anything/Something program stream, IWC is delighted to feature Mackenzie Ground!
Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. We have 10 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
About Mackenzie: Mackenzie Ground is a writer and nehiyawiskwew from Enoch maskekosihk Cree Nation and amiskwacîwâskahikanihk Edmonton, Alberta in Treaty Six territory.
She is a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University in the Department of English. She attended the University of Alberta for her MA and BA. Her writing has appeared most recently in The Capilano Review, The Denver Quarterly, and C Magazine. She is a member of the Writing Revolution in Place research collective, and she is an alumni of the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity’s Literary Arts 2023 Winter Writers Retreat and the Indigenous Arts 2021 Write Over Here — Open Rezidency.
She is a language learner of nehiyawewin (the Plains Cree language) which informs and guides her writing and thinking along with her walks and outdoor running. Her work considers the relationships of identity and place, to the land and to cities, and to the more-than-human beings who live on there. She often works with writing, story, images, inks and drawing, and collage.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, and BNA Brewing.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territories of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
January Open Mic
Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present our Open Mic! Come down for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members.
Curious what type of material you can share? Music, poetry, dance, comedy—you name it, we welcome it! IWC offers an inclusive and encouraging environment for all skill levels.
Doors are at 6:30 pm, and sign up begins promptly at 6:30 pm with our hosts. We have 12 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
There are two single user, gender-neutral washrooms available and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and BNA Brewery.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Writing Workshop with Joanna Cockerline
As part of Say Anything/Something, a community-based performance and workshop series, Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present a writing workshop led by university professor and local author Joanna Cockerline!
This workshop invites writers at all stages and experience levels to engage in a learning and sharing environment.
No registration necessary—spots are first come, first served. This event is free to attend.
About the workshop: This workshop will feature accessible and welcoming writing exercises for all levels, with opportunities to share your work and receive feedback from Joanna and the group on your in-session writing. If you wish to bring a sample of up to one page of existing writing, you are also welcome to workshop that as time allows. We look forward to a supportive and inspiring event!
About Joanna: Joanna has published in national and international journals and magazines such as Room, The Fiddlehead, En Route, and International Human Rights Arts. She co-authored the short story collection Seeing Our Sisters in 2024. Beyond being a prizewinner in the CBC Literary Awards, Joanna's writing has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Still was longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize and was named a 2025 Fall Read by CBC and Chatelaine magazine.
Joanna earned her BA and MA in Literature at the University of Guelph and completed the Graduate Program at the Humber School for Writers with Booker Prize winner Peter Carey.
Joanna lives with her family in the ancestral, unceded Syilx Okanagan Territory of Kelowna, BC, where she has co-founded a street outreach. She teaches literature and creative writing at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan.
The Alternator Centre is located in the Rotary Centre for the Arts and is wheelchair accessible. Bathrooms are gendered stalled washrooms, with a single, gender neutral and wheelchair accessible washroom available.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Open Mic ft. Joanna Cockerline
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! IWC is delighted to be presenting Joanna Cockerline and her debut novel, Still, as part of our Say Anything/Something program stream. This event will also feature a 5-spot open mic. As always, doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. Early bird gets the worm!
Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale.
Copies of Still will be available to purchase at the event. Still has been longlisted for the prestigious Giller Prize!
About the book: Still is the story of Kayla, who lives and works on the streets of Kelowna, Canada, and of Little Zoe, a woman working in the sex trade who is missing. Set in a vibrant and diverse community of people living unhoused, the novel explores sex work, street life, the opioid crisis, what it means to survive, and what it means to find a home—especially in one’s self.
As Kayla—whose past is darker than she tells—searches for her missing friend, she also uncovers much about her own life. The novel delves into both the pain and resiliency of childhood, with flashbacks to Kayla's past with horses and how she came to be on the streets. Kayla also becomes friends with an outreach volunteer struggling with postpartum depression, alcohol abuse, and bipolar—yet who yearns to rekindle her passion for photography and share it with Kayla.
The book considers what home means, how picture-perfect lives are not always what they seem, how different forms of community are possible, and how we can tell the stories that are ourselves. It asks what it means to be missing and what we can—and cannot—go back to. Ultimately, Still is a story of community, friendship, resilience, and hope.
About the author: Joanna has published in national and international journals and magazines such as Room, The Fiddlehead, En Route, and International Human Rights Arts. She co-authored the short story collection Seeing Our Sisters in 2024. Beyond being a prizewinner in the CBC Literary Awards, Joanna's writing has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Still was longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize and was named a 2025 Fall Read by CBC and Chatelaine magazine.
Joanna earned her BA and MA in Literature at the University of Guelph and completed the Graduate Program at the Humber School for Writers with Booker Prize winner Peter Carey.
Joanna lives with her family in the ancestral, unceded Syilx Okanagan Territory of Kelowna, BC, where she has co-founded a street outreach. She teaches literature and creative writing at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan.
Doors are at 6:30 pm, and sign up for the open mic begins promptly at 6:30 pm with our hosts. We have 5 open mic spots available and are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
There are two single user, gender-neutral washrooms available and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, and BNA Burger.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territories of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Photo credit: Trevor Walker. Book description courtesy of Gordon Hill Press & The Porcupine's Quill.
November Open Mic and Open Slam
Join us for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! IWC presents our Open Mic and Open Slam!
Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
We have 6 open mic spots and 6 open slam spots! Bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
Following our Open Mic, we’ll be hosting our ever-wonderful Open Slam! Have you ever wanted to compete for cash prizes with your poems? Look no further! 6 poets sign up and 5 judges are chosen from the crowd. 3 poets move on to read a second poem and compete for prizes! Bring three original poems for the Open Slam should you wish to enter—the third is needed in case of a tie breaker.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. Typically, we have a line outside the door so if you’d like to participate, arrive promptly!
There are two single user, gender-neutral washrooms available and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, and BNA Brewing.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territories of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Michael V. Smith "Soundtrack" Book Launch
Join us for an evening of poetry and karaoke as we celebrate Michael V. Smith’s latest release at the Black Box Theatre! IWC is thrilled to be hosting the launch of Michael V. Smith’s newest book, Soundtrack: A Lyric Memoir (Book*hug Press, 2025).
Admission is free and this event is open to all ages. Copies of Soundtrack will be available to purchase at the event.
About the book: From award-winning writer Michael V. Smith comes a poetic memoir about growing up gay in the shadow of AIDS. Embodying an elusive part of queer history, these song and album-inspired poems capture the last three decades of the millennium and reveal how music has an uncanny ability to remind us not just where we were at a given moment in time but who we were.
With his signature humour and tenderness, and guided by the music of the era, Smith catalogues social prejudices, court rulings, and medical breakthroughs, alongside personal devastations, triumphs, and the search for community. From a first crush toting a Michael Jackson Thriller cassette, to falling in love to the music of Jane Siberry, to dancing at a gay bar to “Groove Is in the Heart,” Soundtrack is a moving personal record of a man who survived the lost generation and a vital document of queer joy.
About the author: Michael V. Smith is a writer, performer, and filmmaker. His poetry has been shortlisted for the ReLit Award, his fiction has been shortlisted for the Journey Prize and Amazon Canada First Novel Award, and his queer memoir My Body Is Yours was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. Smith is the winner of a Western Magazine Award, numerous film awards, and the inaugural Dayne Ogilvie Prize from the Writers’ Trust of Canada. He is currently a professor in Kelowna, BC, where he lives with his husband on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan people.
Doors are at 6:30 pm. There will be (limited) karaoke spots for those who wish to participate!
There are two single user, gender-neutral washrooms available and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and BNA Brewery.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Photo credit: Lise Guyot. Book description courtesy of Book*hug Press.
Halloween Open Mic
Monsters, ghouls, and ghosts delight! Witches and wizards come out with a fright! IWC is the place to be, if you like spooky stuff and poetry.
Join us for a special Halloween Open Mic at Hello Darlin’! This venue is a honky tonk speakeasy found in BNA Brewing at the top of the stairs and through a convenience store’s pop vending machine. How cool!
Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members. Become a member and support the IWC programming by checking out our Membership page.
Although not required, Halloween-inspired performances are welcome and costumes encouraged! Come celebrate spooky season with IWC.
Doors and sign up are at 6:30 pm. We have 12 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
There are gender neutral and shared, multi-stall washrooms and the space is wheelchair accessible. *For Hello Darlin’, if you need to use the elevator to access this venue, please reach out directly to us through DM.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, and BNA Brewing.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territories of the syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Open Flow Night
Join IWC as we partner with the Okanagan Centre for Spiritual Living to offer an Open Flow/Open Mic event!
Open Flow Night is not your typical open mic. No noisy bar. No distractions. Just a peaceful, supportive space where every voice and art form is celebrated. Share your music, poetry, comedy, dance, or any artistic expression.
Sober, inclusive, and community-centered. Everyone is welcome — whether you perform or simply soak it all in.
Drop-in by donation. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be available for purchase.
This event is part of a recurring series! Check out the Okanagan Centre for Spiritual Living page for full details.
Accessibility information: this venue has two stairs into the building with no ramp. There is a wheelchair accessible bathroom, and two gendered, multi-stall bathrooms.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, the Province of British Columbia, and the British Columbia Arts Council.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Many Tongues at Nuit Blanche
Join Inspired Word Café at Studio On Water for a plurilingual night of music, storytelling, and poetry! This year’s Nuit Blanche theme is “Of the Nature of Things,” which is an invitation to explore the interconnections between humanity, nature, and transformation through diverse artistic lenses. At the Many Tongues Open Mic, all languages are welcome!
Many Tongues will be hosted in French and feature local writers and musicians who will read and perform works in a variety of different languages, including Tamil, French, Swiss-German, and more! Priority for the Open Mic will be given to French and other bilingual speakers.
Organized by the Centre Culturel Francophone de l’Okanagan (CCFO) since 2013, Nuit Blanche transforms the city into a true artistic laboratory. Cultural venues, shop windows, parking lots, alleyways, empty spaces, and local businesses all become unexpected stages for temporary art and public engagement.
Most Nuit Blanche events are free and open to all, encouraging spontaneous discovery and participation from a broad audience. Read more about Nuit Blanche here.
This event is held in collaboration with Nuit Blanche, Centre culturel francophone de l'Okanagan, and Espaces francophones UBCO. Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Stones and Slipstreams: A Writing Workshop with Joshua Whitehead
Please join Inspired Word Café and Dr. Astrida Neimanis and Michael V. Smith (Co-Directors of the Biodiversities of Gender project) for an online writing workshop facilitated by author Joshua Whitehead.
Biodiversities of Gender investigates the intersections of gender, climate crisis, and place, with a particular grounding here on Syilx lands, in Kelowna, BC. Fostering a sense of abundance, BOG encourages creative process as an opening to more dynamic considerations around gender and climate equity. Overall, BOG will meaningfully contribute to a safer local community where new gender, climate and anticolonial cultural abundance can flourish through research-creation.
Registration is required. Register by clicking here! Please come with a pen/pencil and paper. This online event is free to attend.
Stones and Slipstreams: In this workshop, Whitehead is interested in exploring the epistemologies of stones. Within Anishinaabeg and nêhiyawak worldviews, stones are animate beings: from the miniscule pebble to grandfather rocks in our ceremonies to the mountains that sleep beside us through to the titans we call planets. Take, for example, manitou asinîy, or Creator's Stone, a 145kg iron meteorite that fell in the Iron Creek area bordering what is now known as Alberta and Saskatchewan. A meteorite used for ceremonial purposes, which also goes by the name awâsis kôhtakocihk kîsikohk (the child who fell from the sky) and was stolen from the land in 1866 and is, for now, housed in the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. Here, Whitehead will ask: how does the stone act as a slipstream? What do stones tell us of Indigenous and/or queer futurities through their histories? And how might stones function as creative sites rich for writing and storytelling?
Joshua Whitehead is a Two-Spirit, Oji-Cree member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer, Jonny Appleseed, Making Love with the Land, and Indigiqueerness: a Conversation About Storytelling. He is also the editor of Love after the End: an Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction. Currently, Whitehead is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies.
Joshua prefers to write about Indigeneity, and more specifically, 2SQ (Two-Spirit, queer Indigeneity). His poetic style is usually lyrical, experimental, and intertextual, he likes to use repetition and anaphora to help structure his poems, along with a multitude of voices to help his speakers sing.
This event takes place in the Engineering, Management, and Education (EME) building foyer (ground level) at UBC Okanagan Campus. All-gender, accessible washrooms are available.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art. The Biodiversities of Gender project in partnership with Dr. Astrida Neimanis and Michael V. Smith. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.
Photo provided by Joshua Whitehead.
Season 16 Kickoff Open Mic
We’re back! Join IWC as we kick off Season 16!
Inspired Word Café is thrilled to present our Open Mic! Come down for an evening of poetry, prose, and music at BNA Burger! Entry is a $6-$10 sliding scale, and $5 for members.
Curious what type of material you can share? Music, poetry, dance, comedy—you name it, we welcome it! IWC offers an inclusive and encouraging environment for all skill levels.
Doors are at 6:30 pm, and sign up begins promptly at 6:30 pm with our hosts. We have 10 open mic spots, so bring your stories, poems, and music! Spots are first come, first served. Both food and drink will be available from BNA.
There are two single user, gender-neutral washrooms available and the space is wheelchair accessible.
Our programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and BNA Brewery.
We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work in the unceded, ancestral territory of the Syilx people. It is a privilege to be able to put on events as uninvited guests on their land.