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Festival calls on Northern Sunshine Coast community

Writers and visual artists matched together
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QATHET CALLOUT: President and founder of the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Cathalynn Labonté-Smith is opening up the third annual Art and Words festival to qathet artists and writers.

Author and president of the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society (SCWES) Cathalynn Labonté-Smith is opening up the third annual Art and Words Festival to qathet residents.

The lower Sunshine Coast festival happens from August 22 to August 25, 2024, at Gibsons Public Market. As of now, Labonté-Smith is looking for submissions from writers, photographers and visual artists, and hoping to find some from the qathet region this year. 

"We match writers with an artist from a random draw," said Labonté-Smith. "Except with Powell River artists, it would be great if they [writers] could find someone locally to pair with." 

But Labonté-Smith is willing to help facilitate the process and encourages writers and artists from qathet to attend the public event in August.

SCWES publishes an anthology of the work presented at the festival called Arts and Words.

In some ways the Art and Word Festival, plus the published anthology, is a counter-action, and a way to give local artists and authors from the Sunshine Coast a chance to be represented and show their work, according to Labonté-Smith. Ironically but not uncommon for a festival, the well-known Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts does not have a huge local representation on its roster.

Writers are to submit one page of writing while artists send their art in digital form. To find out more about submitting writing/artwork or being matched with a fellow artist/writer, email Labonté-Smith at [email protected] or call 604.724.3534.

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