Women’s Arts Festival presented by Live Bait Theatre

Inaugural “Women’s Arts Festival” to be Presented by Live Bait Theatre June 8, 9

Live Bait Theatre is proud to present their first annual Women’s Arts Festival to be held on June 8 and 9 in Sackville. The Festival features a variety of arts related activities for women and girls, presented by accomplished local and regional artists and workshop leaders. “The idea came up last fall”, said Live Bait Chair Cynthia Spurles. “We were looking at booking performances of a touring dance piece called “A Record of Us”. And we started to talk about how we could turn those performances into something bigger, and the idea of doing an arts festival aimed specifically at women was developed. And now we’re very pleased with what we have assembled for these two days. We’ve chosen as the Festival slogan for this year Engage, Express, Inspire.”

As noted, the Festival includes two performances of the movement/dance piece “A Record of Us” presented by Solo Chicken Productions. “A Record of Us” was created using the text of celebrated New Brunswick author David Adams Richards as the catalyst, resulting in a physical theatre performance that evokes the raw beauty, enduring humour, and hardscrabble realities of life in this province. The piece celebrates the work of a new generation of NB artists who are now making a resounding impact in their field. Performances of “A Record of Us” will be held on Friday, June 8 and Saturday June 9 at 8 pm at Brunton Auditorium. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for others and are available at Tidewater Books or at www.livebaittheatre.com (please note is it suggested for ages 14+).

Other Festival events include: an exhibit at the Owens Art Gallery called The Matter at Hand: Paintings and Hand-painted China by Ethel Ogden (1869-1902); play reading and discussion of “Shape of A Girl” by Joan McLeod; a Poetry Panel with Marilyn Lerch, Shoshanna Wingate and Elizabeth Copeland, facilitated by Andrea Beverley; a Women and the Aging Voice (45+) workshop with Sherry Smith; Music by the students of Dr. Jeff Martin during the Sackville Farmers Market; a Reading by author KV Johansen; a Workshop at the Owens Art Gallery; a Girl Empowerment Pop-Up: We Rise by Lifting Others workshop for girls ages 12 – 15 presented by Iris Community Counseling and Consulting; a Creative Writing Workshop with Shoshanna Wingate; a reading by author Meghan Rose Allen from her new book Enid Strange; and a reading of the play “Bearing Witness” by Elizabeth Copeland. Other events will be added as well.  Live Bait Theatre and the Festival are sponsored by the Government of Canada, Province of New Brunswick, the Town of Sackville, and R and B Self Storage.

Many of the Festival events are free or by donation. For more information on the Festival, including ticket information, please visit www.livebaittheatre.com or phone 536-2248.