ENVOI LITERARY FOUNDATION
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA
M AY 29 –
JU NE 05 / 201 5
ENVOIFOUND.COM
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I am a strong believer in regional conferences organized by regional
committees, but only if the conferences can open their agendas, and the
conference hotel doors, long enough for those attending to get to know
the place.
Otherwise, it’s best the conferences remain in Toronto, as a hotel conference
is pretty much the same anywhere in North America. I would, for example,
prefer the conference be held in any of the many downtown theatres,
supporting other arts organizations rather than hotel chains. This is why the
Envoi Poetry Festival is being held at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People
(MTYP) at the Forks.
The information below is gleaned from m y own personal experiences, having
lived in the Wolseley neighborhood and worked within walking distance
of Portage and Main since 1991. Finding life in downtown Winnipeg on the
weekend has been getting easier and our city’s festivals (including the Jazz
and Fringe Festivals later this summer) are part of the reason why.
-Victor Enns, Program Director
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P OWELCOMES
E T RYOU!Y F E S T I VA L
THE ENVOI LITERARY FOUNDATION
Welcome Manitobans, visitors, members and guests of the League of
Canadian Poets and the Writers’ Union of Canada. The Envoi Poetry Festival,
the hottest show in Winnipeg, will be occurring at the Shaw Performing Arts
Centre, better known as the Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP).
The majority of the festival will take place at MTYP but our Sunday night
celebration of poetry in music and performance is at the West End Cultural
Centre. We also have other events scattered around the city throughout
Manitoba Poetry Week (June 1 – 7).
The festival officially launches on Wednesday, May 27 at Le Musée de
Saint-Boniface Museum (St. Boniface is home to the largest concentration
of Francophones outside of Quebec). Gregory Scofield will be reading from
his collection Louis: The Heretic Poems. Gregory is also in town to deliver the
Anne Szumigalski Lecture on Thursday, May 28 at the Radisson Hotel as part
of the League of Canadian Poets’ annual conference.
If you are really interested in what’s happening in Manitoba poetry, make
a point of spending Friday, May 29 with us, where Manitoba’s burgeoning
Indigenous writing community will be showcased. David Macleod, of Native
Communications Inc., will be hosting the evening show. Winnipeg is also home
to the Aboriginal People Television network, Say! magazine, and the Winnipeg
Aboriginal Film Festival. There are many other Indigenous arts, culture, and
business organizations in Winnipeg that reflect our prominent and vigorous
Aboriginal population.
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I’ve also done my best to ensure Indigenous representation from other
western provinces. I’m looking forward to meeting, hearing, and watching
Janet Rogers read and perform. Randy Lundy and Rita Bouvier come from
Saskatchewan while Marilyn Dumont and Joan Crate join us from Alberta.
Winnipeg is also home to the largest concentration of Mennonites in North
America, as well as the Mennonite Literary Society (MLS). The MLS is the
independent secular publisher of Rhubarb magazine, launching at the end of
the festival and contributing a significant sponsorship. Envoi would also like
to thank the Winnipeg Arts Council, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Province
of Manitoba, and all of our other sponsors, donors, and friends who have
made this festival possible.
Winnipeg is where Envoi started, and where this festival is happening, but
Envoi intends to promote western Canadian literature to local, national, and
international audiences in all four provinces. This poetry and spoken word
program, organized by province, showcases how much we have to offer – to
each other and the rest of the country. If western Canadians don’t avidly
promote their voices then it’s unlikely anyone else will. I am so delighted by
how many writers and spoken word artists were eager to appear at this first
Envoi Poetry Festival.
-Victor Enns, Program Director
2015
ENVOI POETRY FESTIVAL PROGRAM,
MAY 27 – JUNE 5
ENVOI POETRY FESTIVAL LAUNCH
FREE ADMISSION
Wednesday
May 27
3:00 pm
Le Musée de
Saint-Boniface Museum
Envoi Poetry Festival
Media Launch
Manitoba Poetry Week
Proclamation and Official Welcome
Wednesday
May 27
4:00 pm
Le Musée de
Saint-Boniface Museum
Reading from Louis:
The Heretic Poems
Gregory Scofield
Host: Warren Cariou
TICKET ONE
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM $10.00
Friday
May 29
10:00 am
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Envoi Writing and
Publishing Trade Fair
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
Friday
May 29
10:00 am
MTYP Mainstage
Panel: Indigenous Poetry in
Western Canada
Warren Cariou & Randy Lundy
Moderator: Dennis Cooley
Friday
May 29
11:15 am
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Warren Cariou & Emma LaRocque
Host: Dennis Cooley
Friday
May 29
12:30 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Lunch Break
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
Friday
May 29
1:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Friday
May 29
3:00 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Surprise guests: “I’m not
from Manitoba, but….”
Friday
May 29
4:30 pm –
5:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
French Presentation (with
some translations projected)
Lise Gaboury-Diallo & Charles Leblanc
Introduction: Pierrette Requier
Friday
May 29
6:00 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Manitoba Book Launch
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
TICKET TWO
Marie (Annharte) Baker &
Duncan Mercredi
Host: Victor Enns
Pierrette Requier
(French/bilingual reading)
Introduction: Lise Gaboury-Diallo
6:00 PM – 10:30 PM $15.00
Friday
May 29
6:00 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Manitoba Book Launch
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
Friday
May 29
7:00 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Rosanna Deerchild, Katherena
Vermette & Janet Rogers (guest)
Host: David McLeod
Friday
May 29
8:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Musical Performance
isKwé muzik
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TICKET THREE
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM $10.00
Saturday
May 30
10:00 am
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Envoi Writing and
Publishing Trade Fair
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
Saturday
May 30
10:00 am
MTYP Mainstage
Panel: Poetry As Resistance
Emma LaRocque & Janet Rogers
Moderator: Joan Crate
Saturday
May 30
11:15 am
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Rita Bouvier & Randy Lundy, Host: Joan Crate
Saturday
May 30
12:30 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Break
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
Saturday
May 30
1:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Ted Dyck & Lynda Monahan, Host: Joan Crate
Saturday
May 30
3:00 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Dave Margoshes & dee Hobsbawn-Smith
Host: Victor Enns
Saturday
May 30
4:30 pm –
5:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Brenda Niskala & Anna Yin, Host: Victor Enns
Saturday
May 30
6:00 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Saskatchewan Book Launch Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
TICKET FOUR
Saturday
May 30
6:00 PM – 10:30 PM $15.00
6:00 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Saskatchewan Book Launch
Saturday
May 30
7:00 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Spoken Word Live, Set One
Saturday
May 30
8:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Spoken Word Live, Set Two
TICKET FIVE
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM $10.00
Sunday
May 31
10:00 am
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Envoi Writing and
Publishing Trade Fair
Sunday
May 31
10:00 am
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Sunday
May 31
11:00 am
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Sunday
May 31
12:15 pm
Richardson Hall (MTYP)
Alberta/British Columbia
Book Launch
Sunday
May 31
1:30 pm
MTYP Mainstage
Reading/Presentation
Sunday
May 31
Sunday
May 31
2:45 pm
MTYP Mainstage
4:00 pm –
MTYP Mainstage
5:00 pm
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
nathan dueck & Nikki Reimer
Host: Jonathan Ball
Joan Crate & Marilyn Dumont
Host: Ted Dyck
Envoi Pop-Up Book Shop
Presentation (with video)
Susan Andrews Grace & Susan Musgrave
Host: Robert Enright
Janet Rogers Introduction: Robert Enright
Presentation (with video)
DC Reid Introduction: Robert Enright
TICKET SIX
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM $15.00
Sunday
May 31
7:00 pm
Sunday
May 31
9:00 pm
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Richardson Hall
Shayna Stock, Daniel Zomparelli
Host: Robert Malo
Erin Dingle, Jillian Christmas,
Host: Robert Malo
(doors open)
West End Cultural Centre
(WECC)
West End Cultural Centre
(WECC)
Words, New Music, & New Music Theatre:
Violinmaker’s Lament, book by John
Weier, Music by Randolph Peters
Susan Musgrave reads, Sarah Kirsch sings
EMERADO performs, Host: Patrick Carrabré
Words, Music Improvisation, Patrick Friesen & Marilyn Lerner, Leann Zacharias
Debra Lynn Band, Host: PatrickCarrabré
& the Blues
MANITOBA POETRY WEEK BEGINS
TICKET SEVEN
Monday
FREE ADMISSION
June 1
7:00 pm
McNally Robinson
“An Evening of Poetry”
Lauren Carter, Ariel Gordon & Tracy Hamon
TICKET EIGHT
Monday
$10.00
8:30 pm–
11:30 pm
June 1
Yellow Dog Tavern
Missing Mennonite Cabaret
MANITOBA POETRY WEEK EVENT
Tuesday
June 2
7:30 pm
Sam’s Place
Di Brandt, nathan dueck, Ted Dyck, Joanne
Epp, Patrick Friesen, Nikki Reimer &
Angeline Schellenberg
FREE ADMISSION
Reading/Presentation
Di Brandt, Joanne Epp & Angeline Schellenberg
Host: Luann Hiebert
TICKET NINE
Wednesday
$10.00
June 3
7:00 pm
Cinematheque
(Artspace Building)
Geography of Words: Film
Poetry
June 3
7:30 pm
The Park Theatre
Winnipeg Poetry Slam
Curator: Cecelia Araneda
OR
Wednesday
TICKET TEN
Thursday
June 4
Featuring two time Underground Indies
Champion and current National Team Captain,
Andre Prefontaine
FREE ADMISSION
7:00 pm
McNally Robinson
Brick Books Launch
MANITOBA POETRY WEEK EVENT
Méira Cook with Naomi Guttman
& Carolyn Marie Souaid
FREE ADMISSION
Friday
June 5
12:00 pm
Millennium Library
World Environment
Day Reading
Kate Bitney & readings from Garth Martens’
Prologue for the Age of Consequence
Friday
June 5
7:00 pm
Winnipeg Free Press
Café
World Environment
Day Reading
Kate Bitney & readings from Garth Martens’
Prologue for the Age of Consequence
* “We’re not perfect, but we’re human.”
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FOOD
Thanks to Marion Warhaft, the long-standing
restaurant critic at the Winnipeg Free Press, you
have a list of restaurants that she has reviewed
positively. The pegcitygrub website is also worth
a look before heading out for a bite to eat. It’s new
and notable section includes Miss Brown’s, for hot
sandwiches (open weekdays only).
Marion has already referred to MAWS in the Exchange District and I heartily
agree with her recommendations of Peasant Cookery and Deer + Almond for a
moderately expensive “splurgy” meal within walking distance of the Radisson
Hotel. Reservations are recommended, though not as important when the
weather is fine.
Affinity Vegetarian Garden is the one good and inexpensive vegetarian
restaurant with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals on their menu. It’s a
bit spare, but the prices are within range of even the most luckless poet. The
food is good and it’s also within easy walking distance of the Radisson Hotel.
Winnipeg has the usual number of sushi restaurants, and I can recommend
Yuki-Sushi (on the main floor of the Main Street McLaren Hotel). The other
side of Main Street, known as the “East Exchange” is home to the classier
Blufin Sushi Restaurant and the expensive Hermano’s, whose tomato soup
and an order of samosas (including a vegetarian option) are worth the price.
The restaurant is best known for their South American take on cooking meat.
A trend followed up by Carnivale on Waterfront Drive, home also to the less
expensive and idiosyncratic Cibo’s (Chee bows), which I like for breakfast
eggs and its view of the river. Cibo’s is the restaurant serving the Mere Hotel
if you’re lucky enough to be staying there.
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The ubiquitous Stella’s Café are everywhere and worth stopping for a coffee
and bite to eat (the closest to the Radisson is at the corner of Portage and
Memorial). Another authentic Winnipeg experience is getting a SMOKE’N
BOB’S Hot Dog on Friday at the corner of Portage & Main. Smokin Bob, like
most of the weekday workers and food-carts on Broadway, disappears on the
weekend.
Walking south on Main, past Humphry’s (where a dozen Poetry Festival
performers are staying), you will come upon V.J.’s Drive Inn, open day time
and evenings for the cheeseburger and fries aficionados. Winnipeggers argue
about the virtues of burgers at V.J.’s or at Albert Street Burgers, aka
the White Star Diner. Albert Street Burgers also does a respectable pulled
pork sandwich.
The Forks, which is the location of our venue, is working to upgrade its
food choices. Tall Grass Prairie Bakery is still the best choice – eating their
very sticky cinnamon buns is another Winnipeg must. They are made from
stoneground whole-wheat flour, which never tasted so good when loaded with
cinnamon and brown sugar! They have a great pastry chef and the croissants
are excellent as well. Next, go grab a coffee at The Human Bean.
The new Neechi Commons, a meeting place that is home to an Indigenous food
co-op and gift shop, is another must-do. If you eat fish in Manitoba, pickerel
from our northern lakes are the best bet, and available frozen at Neechi and
on many restaurant menus. Neechi also carries bannock, bison, and elk. If you
walk up to Selkirk and turn left, you’re only a block away from fresh Winnipeg
bagels, cream cheese danishes, rugelach, and bread at Gunn’s Bakery.
DRINK, MUSIC
& ATTRACTIONS
There is a lot to do in Winnipeg’s downtown area, including a wide variety
of museums and art galleries. There is the Manitoba Museum, the
Children’s Museum, and the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights
(CMHR). The CMHR is not only a must-see for its displays but also for
the architecture. Walking the ramps with the alabaster lighting provides
a particular contemplative experience. We also have a variety of art
galleries, including the international contemporary Plug-in Art Gallery
and The Winnipeg Art Gallery (there is a large Greco-Roman show on at
the moment)! You might also want to check out The Millennium Library,
beautifully renovated to include a grand staircase (Winnipeggers just
love to get up above sea level).
MARION WARHAFT’S
DOWNTOWN & EXCHANGE DISTRICT
RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS
Sorrento's, 529 Ellice, Italian
Homer's, 520 Ellice, Greek
Mercadito Latino, 570 Sargent, Salvadoran-Guatamalan
Great Maharaja, 510 Sargent, Indian (buffet and a la carte)
GOHE, 533 Sargent, Ethiopan
King and Bannatyne, 199 King, meat sandwiches
Maw's Eatery, 111 Princes, pub ambiance
And of course, don’t forget to check out the historic Exchange District
that boasts tons of lovely boutiques and restaurants. You may want to
see what is playing at Cinematheque in the Artspace Building, Canada’s
best alternate movie theatre (part of the renowned Winnipeg Film
Group that is currently celebrating it’s 40th anniversary). The Duke of
Kent Legion is another unique feature of the Exchange District. Sign
in as a guest and on Thursday and Friday you can get a beer and a real
homemade sandwich for under $10.00.
DELI’S
The Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club at the corner of St.
Mary and Main is home to Big Dave McLean, blues jams, and musicians
travelling through town. It’s a small place with shows usually starting
at 10:00 pm (you have to get there early). The Pyramid Cabaret is the
closest rock venue, featuring alternative music in a pretty healthy mix
of whoever needs a touring gig in Winnipeg. You can also check out
the newest venue for Manitoba music in Winnipeg – The Good Will
Social Club.
Sam Po, 277 Rupert, dim sum all day plus full Chinese menu
The Yellow Dog Tavern is my favourite watering hole. It’s located behind
the Burton Cummings Theatre at 386 Donald, just north of Ellice. It’s
smaller (and grittier) than the Kingshead Pub up the street. The Yellow
Dog is home to the Missing Mennonite Cabaret on Monday, June 1. This
event follows the free Manitoba Poetry Week event at McNally Robinson,
featuring Ariel Gordon (winner of the Landsdowne Poetry prize for her
book Stowaways at this year’s Manitoba Book Awards).
The gay and lesbian scene has changed a lot since Glen Murray was
elected as Winnipeg’s first openly gay mayor. The famous Ms. Purdy’s
and Gio’s are gone, but there is Fame at 279 Garry Street (a young
crowd) and Club 200 at 190 Garry Street.
Ira’s Deli, downstairs at 111 Lombard
Oscar's Deli, 175 Hargrave
Kay's Deli, 339 William
Underground Cafe, 70 Arthur
White Star Diner, 59 Albert
FOR CHINESE FOOD:
Logan Corner, 247 Logan, huge menu and open late
FOR SPECIAL MEALS, MODERATELY EXPENSIVE:
Peasant Cookery, 283 Bannatyne, mostly French
Deer and Almond, 85 Princess, small plates
Famena, 295 Garry, counter service only for Caribbean food
Taste of Sri Lanka, Forks food court
SPECIAL TIP:
Great $19 buffet brunch at the Fort Garry Hotel,
222 Broadway, until 11 am on weekdays and noon on weekends
- Marion Warhaft ©2015
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ENVOI POP-UP BOOK SHOP
TIM BRANDT, BOOKSELLER
Richardson Hall, MTYP
HOURS: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm (Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30)
10:00 am – 4:00 pm (Sunday, May 31)
CURRENT VENDORS
A la Page Bookstore: librairiealapage.ca
Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia: books.bc.ca
Association of Manitoba Book Publishers: ambp.ca
Book Publishers Association of Alberta: bookpublishers.ab.ca
Junto Local 114 and friends: juntolibrary.wordpress.com
Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association: manitobamagazines.ca
Peanut Butter Press: peanutbutterpress.ca
Poetry Is Dead: poetryisdead.ca
GARRY ENNS & ASSOCIATES
proud sponsors of the 2015 Envoi Book Fair
POETRY
Rhubarb magazine: rhubarbmag.com
Saskatchewan Publishers Group: skbooks.com
Screamin’ Skull Press: screamingskullpress.blogspot.ca
Turnstone Press: turnstonepress.com
Plus gently used relevant stock from Winnipeg stores:
Black Books, Bison Books, Book Fair, Dog-Eared Books,
Plato’s Cave, Sam’s Place and The Neighbourhood
GAIL ASPER
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ANNO UN CIN G
MANITOBA
POETRY
WEEK
JUNE
1–7
2015
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