Tag Archive for: Workshop

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Tunisian Crochet

Tunisian Crochet uses the technique of knitting and crocheting to create a fabric that is dense and squishy with a beautiful texture. Make a coaster using medium weight yarn and 7 mm size regular crochet hook or Tunisian Crochet hook. Learn foundation row, forward row, return row, basic Tunisian simple stitch (TSS), bind off and the slip stitch. Crochet hook and yarn will be provided.

This is suitable for ages 6+ but those under the age of 10 must attend with an adult.

 

If class is full, please send an email to askus@nwpl.ca to be put on the waitlist.

How to Save Your Darlings

Sometimes we must sacrifice words for the benefit of a story. But what if our darlings—characters, scenes, quotes, plot threads, or turns of phrase that we hold dear—don’t really need to be killed? This interactive workshop will discuss how to recognize which elements of a story are worth saving and how to make them count. We’ll explore how literary devices like metaphors, motifs, backstory, and world-building can be used to breathe life into our literary darlings. And we’ll take inspiration from iconic darlings (books and film) that were narrowly saved from the cutting room floor.

 

Advance prep for attendees:

Think of something from one of your own stories—fiction or nonfiction—that is precious to you, but which doesn’t quite belong in the story you’re trying to tell. Come ready to fight for it—to make it worth saving—through a series of thought-provoking exercises. (But be warned: just as not all stories have a happy ending, not all darlings can be saved!)

 

Takeaways you can expect from this workshop:

* How to weave a seemingly unimportant element deeper into a story

* How to differentiate between valuable and extraneous content

* The story-enriching value of iterative editing

* Getting the ideas in your head to shine on the page

* Knowing when to let go (RIP)

 

Mark Cameron, Workshop Leader:

Mark Cameron is an author, poet, and musician who writes across a broad range of genres and forms. He has self-published two novels and is currently working on two book-length projects: a Young Adult speculative fiction novel and a creative nonfiction book about navigating modern overwhelm. A resident of New Westminster, BC, Mark recently earned a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. An aspiring writing instructor, he also co-chairs the Wine Country Writers’ Festival in Penticton, volunteers with Pulp Literature magazine and the Creative Nonfiction Collective, and occasionally blogs at markofwords.com.

Mark Cameron photo in Gibsons, BC

 

A purple and grey logo reading Royal City Literary Arts Society RCLAS

Gardening: Planning for Your Seed Garden

If you want to collect seeds from your garden, you should do a bit of planning before the growing season starts. But what kind of things do you need to plan or track? What’s the best way to grow your garden in order to both enjoy the produce and get some seeds?  Siri van Gruen will help demystify some of the planning that goes into producing seed, either to keep for yourself or to donate (to the NWPL Seed Library!). Join us to help plan for your seed garden!

 

This event will take place in person at the NWPL Main Branch, and streamed live via Zoom. All registered attendees will receive the Zoom link. The presentation will not be recorded.

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Joy At the End of the World: A Writing Workshop

The climate crisis is becoming more urgent every year, but it’s so big and scary that we often struggle with where to start. In this hands-on writing session, we’ll make space for our feelings and work toward achievable individual and collective ideas for healing ourselves and our planet. With a mix of small group discussion, journalling, meditation, and resources from the Climate Wayfinding program, come discover that joy is possible as we engage our imaginations to create a better, fairer, sustainable world for everyone to live in.

 

Please bring a notebook and pen.

 

Julianne Harvey is an author, innovator, and nurturer in South Surrey, BC, the traditional unceded territories of the Semiahmoo First Nation and the Coast Salish Peoples. She’s the author of six books and wrote film reviews for a weekly newspaper for four years. Her work has appeared in pulp Magazine, WestWord, Freelance, and UPPERCASE Magazine.

Julianne holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC, a BA in Creative Writing from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and a certificate in Counselling Skills from Vancouver Community College.

Julianne runs Ruby Finch Books and speaks at large conferences to thousands of writers and teachers on writing, resilience, risk, and creative practices. Her newest book, a post-apocalyptic climate novel called Post Civ, is available now. She loves to wrestle through the messy areas of life with those who long to dive below the surface chatter.

 

This event is part of BC Library Association’s Climate Action Week, a province-wide initiative to highlight the ways communities and libraries are taking action in the climate crisis. Check out all the climate action events at the New Westminster Public Library from November 1-7! nwpl.ca/climate

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Tunisian Crochet

Tunisian Crochet uses the technique of knitting and crocheting to create a fabric that is dense and squishy with a beautiful texture. Make a coaster using medium weight yarn and 7 mm size regular crochet hook or Tunisian Crochet hook. Learn foundation row, forward row, return row, basic Tunisian simple stitch (TSS), bind off and the slip stitch. Crochet hook and yarn will be provided.

This is suitable for ages 6+ but those under the age of 10 must attend with an adult.

 

If class is full, please send an email to askus@nwpl.ca to be put on the waitlist.

Meneka Repka Art Workshop (Ages 8-12)

Join this year’s Summer Reading Club artist for a fun and interactive online workshop. We will learn about being a book illustrator, and read Meneka’s upcoming book “The Mango Monster”. We will also make our own monster bookmarks! Registration required; register below. If the event is full, please email youth@nwpl.ca to be added to the waitlist.

Let’s Make Seed Balls! (Ages 5-10)

Join Gardens4Kids for a fun activity where we will make seed balls to take home and plant in our gardens – or anywhere else! Children age 8 and under must have an adult participate with them. Registration required; register below. If the event is full, please email youth@nwpl.ca to be added to the waitlist.

Astronomy on the Go (ages 7-12)

Presented by the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre! Participants will learn about the Moon’s unique environment and develop their own moon rover concept using Ozobot coding robots. Children age 8 and under must have an adult participate with them. Registration required; register below. If the event is full, please email youth@nwpl.ca to be added to the waitlist.

How to Draw Manga (Ages 12-18)

Join local artist Janice from Young Artists Place for an interactive step-by-step workshop on how to draw manga faces! Registration required; register below. If the event is full, please email youth@nwpl.ca to be added to the waitlist.

Spirit Stone Workshop with Ernie Cardinal (Ages 7-12)

Join Ernie Cardinal, nêhiyawak (Cree) knowledge keeper and program manager at the Spirit of the Children Society, as he shares medicine wheel teachings with sage, cedar, sweet grass, tobacco, and willow fungus. Children will then put these teachings to use in a hands-on spirit stone activity. Children age 8 and under must have an adult participate with them. Registration required; register below. If the event is full, please email youth@nwpl.ca to be added to the waitlist.