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 is a spoken word (aka. slam) poet living on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. Johnny's a versatile artist whose work ranges from a rap about public transit to quiet reflections on grief, and from evolutionary creation stories to a history of west coast maritime disasters. Since 2010, he has been a featured performer at dozens of poetry series and arts festivals across Turtle Island, 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. Having led numerous school residencies, performed dozens of assembly showcases, and given hundreds of classroom workshops, Johnny has the experience and skill to engage even those students who think they hate poetry!
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 BNA.
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 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.