Written By Fianna McKnight
We all know the last year has been a bit… well, interesting. Let’s close out 2020 and ring in the new year on a good note! Our Festival of Lights wrapped up on December 31st, and we’re incredibly happy with the turnout-- lots of you all around the community submitted wonderful decorations to both the hashtag and our form. Stay tuned on our Instagram (@arranelderslieyouth) and Facebook (Arran Elderslie Youth) to see if you’ve won our prize draw-- we have some very generous donations from the Chesley Kinsmen, Paisley Home Hardware and Chesley Home Hardware! Thank you so much to all our participants and the ever-amazing donors, we appreciate you and wish you all the best this new year!
We’re very excited to announce our collaboration with the Paisley Artscape Society on our first big event of 2021-- the Milne/Crawford Reboot. Join us in celebrating the lives of local artist David Milne and poet Isabelle Valency Crawford on February 13, whether you’re attending or watching the broadcast! The collective goal is to promote creativity and youth involvement all over Arran-Elderslie, all coming together in a fun afternoon complete with a multimedia presentation that encompasses the history of Milne and Crawford’s works. Check out PAS’ article for more info on the logistics and background-- we’re here to tell you how to get involved. If you’re a youth or you know a youth who loves art or poetry, you’re in luck! We want your contributions of paintings or spoken word poetry to display and present at the reboot. They’ll be presented at the event and then displayed on village social media, in local businesses, and even in the Advocate.
Don’t have the materials? Don’t know how? Fear not-- we’ve got you. Paint kits are available for you while supplies last, and further information is available on our social media. As well, virtual how-to videos will be made available shortly to give you the run-down on some painting techniques and the fine art of writing poetry (it’s trickier than you may think). We hope to see lots of your art and poetry this February-- your involvement will make the event!
One more thing to kick off this month: we’re bringing you some Youth Council book recommendations! Weekly on our instagram page we’ll be sharing some council member-approved books with a short summary and information-- and they’re all available at the library! It’s a great resolution to read more, and the Bruce County Library’s awesome selection means there really is something for everyone. As of next month, we’ll set aside one book that we felt especially resonates and share it in this very column.
As always, stay safe, stay tuned, and happy new year!