The Weather Fairies woke up in a bad mood on May 29 - Festival day! - but no one was daunted. Not our five wonderful authors - J.M. Frey, Dietrich Kalteis, Douglas Gibson, Pamela Mordecai and Terry Fallis - and certainly not the nearly 100 book-lovers who joined us at Aboyne Hall for Festival 2016.
As 1 p.m. approached, and Aboyne Hall started to fill up, the authors took a pre-Festival break in the Green Room (also known as the Board Room at the Wellington County Museum & Archives) to swap stories and warm up for their readings. (And just so you know, what happens in the Green Room, stays in the Green Room.....)
And all of sudden - we were underway! Mistress of Ceremonies Roxanne Beale welcomed everyone to Aboyne Hall and made a point of thanking some of our sponsors, including the Writers Union of Canada and the Wellington County Community Foundation.
The rest of the afternoon passed in an exciting montage of words, stories, laughs, moments of drama, moments of hilarity, food, drink, and a little interactive fun as well. Take a look:
J.M. Frey had us on the edge of our seats. Dragons. Yup.
Things got a little, um, spicy with Vancouver's Dietrich Kalteis. "You never think when you write this stuff that you're going to be reading it out loud. Am I turning red?" (The crowd loved it!)
Doug told us some amazing stories about well-known CanLit heros such as Alice Munro (and why she stuck with writing short stories. Thanks, Doug. CanLit definitely owes you!), Margaret Laurence (long dresses to hide fear-trembling knees), and Lucy Maud Montgomery (a little note in a long-ago notebook about a story idea involving an elderly couple who want to adopt a boy to help on the farm and get a girl instead....) Magic.
And then, Intermission!
It's thirsty work listening to all those great stories. Time for some hydration, thanks to Wellington Brewery (with a little help from the LCBO...)
And thanks to Fergus's Fountainhead Café, we didn't go hungry!
Intermission was a busy time because, of course, there were books to be bought at the Roxanne's Reflections mini-bookstore.
And of course, the authors were available to visit and sign books....
...and schmooze with fans!
And out in the garden, Tammy Gilbert and friends enjoyed some fresh air in preparation for the start of the second half - beginning with the presentation of First Prize to Tammy in the EWF Short Story Contest. No wonder she's celebrating!
Terry Fallis made us laugh (of course!) and....
... Pam Mordecai made Terry laugh, during the final session of the afternoon, a Q&A with questions from the audience, moderated by EWF committee member Dave Beynon. Pam also gets the prize for Best Cliffhanger Of The Day.
And suddenly, it was over!
A huge thank-you to everyone who joined us at Aboyne Hall on Sunday, May 29. Thanks for your enthusiasm, your participation and your much-valued feedback.
Thanks also to our wonderful sponsors:
Elora Arts Council
Wellington County Community Foundation
Writers' Union of Canada
Wellington Brewery
Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington
Fergus-Elora News Express
Dr. Radka Novak
LittleTree Garden Market
Grand 101.1FM
Roxanne's Reflections Book & Card Shop
Wellington Country Museum & Archives
... as well as the many local businesses who donated to our gift basket raffle.
And a BIG thank-you to J.M. Frey, Dietrich Kalteis, Douglas Gibson, Pamela Mordecai and Terry Fallis. We couldn't have done this without you.
Stay tuned for news about Festival 2017. We can't wait!
The EWF Organizing Committee:
Roxanne Beale
Dave Beynon
Marilyn Kleiber
Francis Baker
Nada Small
Suzanne Sutton-Curry
Jean Mills
 | |
| Thunderstorms? Not allowed on Festival day! |
 | |
| (Left to right) Terry Fallis, Douglas Gibson, J.M. Frey, Pamela Mordecai (and her husband, Martin), and Dietrich Kalteis |
 |
| Roxanne Beale: Best. MC. Ever. |
 |
| J.M. Frey - Photo by Francis Baker |
J.M. Frey had us on the edge of our seats. Dragons. Yup.
 |
| Dietrich Kalteis |
 |
| Douglas Gibson |
Doug told us some amazing stories about well-known CanLit heros such as Alice Munro (and why she stuck with writing short stories. Thanks, Doug. CanLit definitely owes you!), Margaret Laurence (long dresses to hide fear-trembling knees), and Lucy Maud Montgomery (a little note in a long-ago notebook about a story idea involving an elderly couple who want to adopt a boy to help on the farm and get a girl instead....) Magic.
And then, Intermission!
 |
| Debbie and Suzanne on the refreshments |
It's thirsty work listening to all those great stories. Time for some hydration, thanks to Wellington Brewery (with a little help from the LCBO...)
 |
| Snacks! |
 |
| Kim, of Roxanne's Reflections, hard at work during intermission. |
Intermission was a busy time because, of course, there were books to be bought at the Roxanne's Reflections mini-bookstore.
 |
| Douglas Gibson, a fan, and a bemused Terry Fallis |
And of course, the authors were available to visit and sign books....
 |
| (Left) Pamela Mordecai |
...and schmooze with fans!
 |
| Tammy Gilbert (left) and friends |
And out in the garden, Tammy Gilbert and friends enjoyed some fresh air in preparation for the start of the second half - beginning with the presentation of First Prize to Tammy in the EWF Short Story Contest. No wonder she's celebrating!
 |
| Terry Fallis |
Terry Fallis made us laugh (of course!) and....
 |
| Author Q&A |
... Pam Mordecai made Terry laugh, during the final session of the afternoon, a Q&A with questions from the audience, moderated by EWF committee member Dave Beynon. Pam also gets the prize for Best Cliffhanger Of The Day.
And suddenly, it was over!
A huge thank-you to everyone who joined us at Aboyne Hall on Sunday, May 29. Thanks for your enthusiasm, your participation and your much-valued feedback.
Thanks also to our wonderful sponsors:
Elora Arts Council
Wellington County Community Foundation
Writers' Union of Canada
Wellington Brewery
Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington
Fergus-Elora News Express
Dr. Radka Novak
LittleTree Garden Market
Grand 101.1FM
Roxanne's Reflections Book & Card Shop
Wellington Country Museum & Archives
... as well as the many local businesses who donated to our gift basket raffle.
Stay tuned for news about Festival 2017. We can't wait!
The EWF Organizing Committee:
Roxanne Beale
Dave Beynon
Marilyn Kleiber
Francis Baker
Nada Small
Suzanne Sutton-Curry
Jean Mills
 |
| The end of a PERFECT day! |
such kind of festivals make mind so fresh and it gives a new essayleaks direction to festivals.a great discussion happen in it i enjoyed reading it.
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The reading do sound like they went incredibly.
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