January 2014 - Revelstoke Community Social Development
Transcription
January 2014 - Revelstoke Community Social Development
1 All together now: Revelstoke as a diverse and welcoming mountain community January 2014 Resources, events and information about immigrant settlement and diversity appreciation in Revelstoke Photo above: Jim Smith paints calligraphy with Susy Huang at 2013 Carousel of Nations. Courtesy of Revelstoke Current, David Rooney Inside p. 2 p. 2 p. 3 p. 3 p. 4 p. 4 p. 5 p. 6 p. 6 Book review: Elegy for Iris – Kendra Runnalls, ORL community librarian Foods of the world celebrated in community multicultural potluck st The Carousel of Nations kicks off Spirit Fest on February 1 Carousel of Nations seeks travel artifacts – Lisa Moore Settlement news: Czechs no longer need visa Parent and grandparent sponsorships to re-open in New Year Where are the people – Michelle Cole Des nouvelles de la francophonie à Revelstoke – Caroline Grenier La piste de ski de fond pour chien est appréciée! - Julie Laverdière New, merged settlement & diversity newsletter January 1st New Year’s Day January 6th Epiphany (Christian) January 7th Orthodox Christmas January 14th Orthodox New Year January 14th Prophet Muhammed’s birthday (Muslim) January 15th Tu B’Shevat (Tu Bishvat) (Jewish) January 25th Robbie Burns Day (Scottish) January 31st Chinese New Year For a full list of Canadian holidays and celebrations see: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/2014 The Settlement Assistance and Embrace BC programs, based at Okanagan College, have merged our newsletters. Now, readers can find news and information about support for new immigrants and efforts to celebrate diversity and challenge prejudice and discrimination in Revelstoke all in one place. We also include articles in French because we value the growing francophone population in Revelstoke. We are always looking for news, stories and events. Tell us what you and your group are doing to welcome and support new immigrants or to make Revelstoke a welcoming place for all. Articles should be two to three paragraphs. Editorial contacts: Jill Pratt, Settlement Services (immigrant assistance): [email protected] 250-837-4235 x 6502 Laura Stovel, Embrace BC (Diversity program): [email protected] 2 Elegy for Iris by John Bayley reviewed by Kendra Rendall Community librarian Okanagan Regional Library Elegy for Iris describes the life, love and ultimate struggle with Alzheimer’s disease of the renowned Irish-born British writer. The book is written from the very personal perspective of Murdoch’s loving husband of 42 years: the eminent literary critic, John Bayley. No matter whether you have read Iris Murdoch’s celebrated novels or philosophical works, you will enjoy this absorbing biography. From the 1950s to the early 1990s, Iris and John's lives were immersed, separately and then as a couple, in the academic society of Oxford, England where they taught university. Without children, pets or any of the usual domestic comforts, they lived entirely for their academic work, with only each other and a few literary friends for support. In Elegy for Iris, John Bayley gives the reader a rare glimpse of the person that Iris Murdoch was beneath her writing persona. At the end of this beautifully written short book, I felt there was much more Mr. Bayley could have revealed about his fascinating wife, who died in February 1999, just before the biography was published. The book is divided into a mere two chapters: "Then" and "Now". "Then" lasts more than 200 pages; "Now" is only 54 pages. The reader is left feeling slightly abandoned, although for the best of reasons. John Bayley cared for Iris on his own, in their house, while in his early 70s. He had just turned 70 when Iris was diagnosed in 1995 at the age of 76. She had shown small signs of the disease over the previous year and deteriorated rapidly from 1995 until Christmas 1997. Bayley ends with a touching description of this last Christmas before he realized he could not care for Iris alone. He was finally convinced to place her in a care facility in 1998 – a year before her death. Bayley's love and admiration for Iris are apparent in every sentence of this work. By turns a diary, biography, and work of literary criticism, Elegy for Iris will appeal to readers who enjoy any of these genres. And if you have admired Iris Murdoch’s novels, as I have, this biography will be impossible to put down and will leave you wishing that John Bayley would write another volume. For more about Iris’s life we will have to content ourselves with the critically praised biography written by the couple’s closest friend, Peter Conradi; the reviews of Conradi’s Iris Murdoch: a life promise to provide us with the richly detailed but also objective description of Iris’s life from the point of view of someone who, by all accounts, was the second most intimately beloved person in Iris’s life, and I cannot wait to read it! Foods of the world celebrated in community multicultural potluck More than 35 people from diverse ethnic backgrounds shared their ethnic foods at a multicultural Christmas potluck at the United Church hall on December 8th. New immigrants, other newcomers and old-time Revelstokians contributed a wide array of world foods, including kimchi, a Korean dish made with fermented vegetables, Scottish shortbread and an Ecuadorian plantain and meat dish. Holiday tunes and festive decorations set the mood. The event was organized by Revelstoke Settlement Services and the ESLSAP program at Okanagan College, the Revelstoke Multicultural Society and the Revelstoke Museum and Archives. 3 Carousel of Nations 2014, February 1 Yuko Fujimura demonstrates origami, 2012 Carousel of Nations. Photo: David Rooney, Revelstoke Current The Carousel of Nations kicks off Spirit Fest on February 1st Revelstoke’s annual multicultural festival , the Carousel of Nations, will kick off Spirit Fest, which runs from February 1st to 9th this year. The main family event takes place at the Revelstoke Community Centre from 4-7 pm with other entertainment extending into the evening. The event features food samples from all over the world, this year including Jamaica, China, Korea, Italy, Aboriginal and French Canadian, and Eastern Europe, among others. There will also be exhibits from the Revelstoke Museum and Archives and a special exhibit of cultural and travel artifacts. The Revelstoke Childcare Society provides cultural activities for children throughout the event. Those interested in volunteering for the event should contact Jill Pratt at [email protected] Carousel of Nations seeks travel artifacts by Lisa Moore Do you have an interesting item from your travels or culture that you would like to display? The Carousel of Nations organizers are planning a special exhibit as part of our intercultural event. You could share items brought back from travels, homemade cultural items, or family heirlooms. We will have a separate, locked room, with someone in attendance to make sure everything is safe. We would also like to know a little about the item - if there is a story, that would be fabulous! Or possibly a note about where it is from or how it got to Revelstoke. Organizer Lisa Moore is happy to speak with people to write down their stories, or to gather their notes. Please contact her at [email protected]. 4 Settlement news New Settlement Services drop-in hours for 2014: Monday, Wednesday & Thursday 10am to 2pm Articles presented here are taken from Canadianimmigrant.ca Czechs no longer need visa Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced in November that, effective immediately, Czech nationals no longer require a temporary resident visa to visit Canada. Czech nationals can now stay in Canada for up to six months visa-free, which is consistent with all other visa-exempt nationals. For more information see: http://canadianimmigrant.ca/news-andviews/czechs-no-longer-need-visitor-visa Revelstoke Settlement Services Okanagan College 1401 West 1st Street 250-837-4235 ext 6502 [email protected] Parent and grandparent sponsorships to re-open in New Year Federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced on December 19th that the parent and grandparent (PGP) category of family reunification will reopen as of Jan. 2, 2014. Application forms, guides and information on how to apply to the new PGP program will be made available online on Dec. 31, 2013. The program was paused in 2011, after the backlog of applications was getting out of control. Instead, the immigration department focused on processing the applications already in the system and introduced the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa for longterm visits. The new program will re-open with tighter admission criteria and a cap on applications, which Alexander says will continue to reduce the backlog. “The Super Visa will remain an option for parents and grandparents who want to spend longer periods of time with their families in Canada without becoming permanent residents. To date, approximately 28,000 Super Visas have been issued with an approval rate of almost 85%. For more information see: http://canadianimmigrant.ca/news-andviews/parent-and-grandparent-sponsorshipsto-re-open-in-new-year 5 Where are the people? by Michelle Cole Nipissing, Wendat and Haudenosaunee Where are the people? Identifying our Aboriginal community members in Revelstoke is as hard as finding those who are two spirited (third gender; LGBT). Our 111 students of Aboriginal ancestry in School District 19 confirm that we are here. If you count grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, aunties, uncles, and older and younger brothers and sisters, we are close to 500 people in Revelstoke, maybe more. Who’s your granny? Today, we are actively sharing our culture and the stories of those who have gone before us. New Year’s Day 2013 a small gathering spoke to the spirit of the land, the river and the people in Revelstoke’s Idle No More Gathering. Since then: We have participated in the Carousel of Nations. Elders have spoken in the dark of winter at the Monashee Mandala and the bright sun of Canada Day. This summer at the Revelstoke Museum and Archives, archaeologists presented findings of Aboriginal habitation south of Revelstoke that dates back thousands of years. Their findings support the history so well told in The geography of memory: Recovering stories of a landscape’s First People by Eileen Delehanty Pearkes. This fall, John Ralston Saul, author of A fair country: Telling truths about Canada, spoke of our country’s need to acknowledge aboriginal perspectives and philosophies. Mountain harvest: Revelstoke’s senior gardeners share their secrets, a newly published book, included an interview of Sinixt Elder Marilyn James. http://canadianimmigrant.ca/news-andAboriginal educator, Jannica Hoskins, shared aboriginal knowledge with school children at the top of Mount Revelstoke. Courtesy of David Rooney, Revelstoke Current, 2010. 2014 holds more. The Revelstoke Museum and Archives is preparing a new Aboriginal exhibit highlighting its recent research. As the days begin their longer reach we move towards Aboriginal Day and dreaming all that is possible for our community. I would especially like to thank Embrace BC for bringing Kathy Camilleri and her workshop “The Village,” exploring the impact of residential schools, to Revelstoke’s service providers and educators. In closing, I offer up the words of Joseph Boyden from The Orenda which speaks to me of my ancestry, “The past and the future are present.” 6 En français á Revelstoke Des nouvelles de la francophonie à Revelstoke Caroline Grenier L’école des Glaciers a bien débuté l’année scolaire 2013-2014 en ajoutant une deuxième classe à son actif et en souhaitant la bienvenue à la nouvelle enseignante Madame Joëlle. L’école compte maintenant 21 élèves de la maternelle à la 3e année. En novembre, nous avons présenté l’évènement A French Movie à Revelstoke en présentant le film « La Grande Séduction » au Okanagan College. En décembre, parents, élèves, personnels de l’école des Glaciers et la communauté francophone et francophile de Revelstoke ont participé à un souper « pot luck » de Noël rassemblant plus de 110 convives. Ce fut un grand succès et près d’une quarantaine d’enfants présents ont pu rencontrer le Père Noël! Madame Joëlle et Monsieur Philippe en ont profité pour nous jouer un p’tit air d‘accordéon et violon! Les parents des élèves, sous la supervision du chef Dominic Paquin, ont organisé une levée de fond en confectionnant plus de 150 tourtières. Elles étaient succulentes! Puis, les élèves ont terminé l’école avant les vacances de Noël en faisant et décorant des biscuits de Noël, en participant à un petit déjeuner en pyjama, et en participant au concert de Noël de l’école Arrow Heights. D’autres évènements suivront en 2014… Le Carrousel des Nations, La Cabane à Sucre… gardez l’œil ouvert! Bonne Année 2014! La piste de ski de fond pour chien est appréciée! Julie Laverdière Depuis quelques année, nous avons l’avantage ici à Revelstoke d’avoir officiellement une boucle que nous pouvons skier avec notre chien. En autant que les propriétaires soient responsables, la piste est très agréable et sociable. Je fais aussi du ski touring quelques fois par année, mais je n’enmène pas mon chien, car il deviendrait une vraie boule de neige. Le ski de fond avec mon chien me permait d’aller à la même vitesse que lui et c`est vraiment spécial. De plus mes deux filles aiment beaucoup mieux aller en ski, quand nous amenons Milou. J’espère continuer ce sport avec mon chien pour très longtemps.