All posts by Annie Smith

Arts, Cost of Climate Change

Reading the Climate: Personal, Political, and Planetary Perspectives

An Interview with John Vaillant, Zoe Grams, and Ian Gill

What exactly is a Climate Readers Retreat?  At first, I thought is was a Climate Writers’ Retreat, and even though I’m a neophyte I was intrigued that the writer Hollyhock was featuring was John Vaillant – the author of The Golden Spruce, which I had just read, and Fire Weather, which I hadn’t. I decided I would like to go to this retreat so I hightailed it to the Campbell River library and Fire Weather was on the shelf.  It must be a sign!  The second sign was that Hollyhock has scholarships that I could apply for.  This would make attending more feasible.  I pled my case and received a generous scholarship.  Then I proceeded to do my homework and read Fire Weather.  This non-fiction book full of disturbing information focused on the Fort McMurray fire in 2016 gallops like a wild fire at a towering pace. I had been living in north-west Alberta at the time of the fire and the realities of the oil patch economy were a determining social and economic factor in Grande Prairie on the other side of the province.

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Arts, Politics

The Creative Force of Green

April 4 was a special date for two related events at Comox United Church.  The first event was a recital, in the sanctuary, by NIPR Federal Green Party candidate, Jessica Wegg. Soirée de l’Oiseau Rebelle (Evening of the Rebel Bird), featured twelve arias from the 17th to 20th Centuries. Jessica was accompanied by Comox Valley pianist, Sean Mooney, and joined by her voice instructor, Carol Anne Parkinson, in the lyrical duet, “Sous le dôme epais” by Delibes.  Jessica’s powerful mezzo-soprano voice was a surprise to most of us in the audience, and showed us an accomplished artist as well as lawyer, mother, partner, environmentalist and politician. 

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Arts, Indigenous Nations History

Public Launch in Campbell River of Homalco First Nation’s Graphic Novel

Xwémalhkwh Hero Stories, was publicly launched at a reception at the Museum at Campbell River on February 27, 2025.  Homalco’s Community Launch was held in November, 2024, at the Discovery Inn.  Xwémalhkwh Hero Stories is the latest outcome of a journey of rediscovery and preservation of Xwémalhkwh history, culture, language, and traditions that began in the early 1990’s with recordings of the stories of the elders.  

At the gathering on February 27, the Project Manager and Editor of the Graphic Novel, Tchadas Leo, explained how the novel came into being as an outgrowth of Homalco’s radio station, The Raven, 100.7 FM’s podcast series, that used a portion from the recordings of the Elders to produce 12 episodes entitled, Remember – Recordings of the Elders Explored, available on Spotify. The gathering was treated to segment of one of the recordings with the voices of Elders speaking their language and translation.  This introduction provided the context for the graphic novel which tells three traditional stories.

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