Metro Vancouver Events

Next Event

Wed Nov 14 from 7 to 9 pm: 

Russ Froese — Getting the story out:
Anatomy of a Disaster—Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Russ Froese is an international award-winning Television Reporter, Anchor and Documentary maker with 35 years experience in domestic and international assignments. He now uses his communication and reporting skills to assist the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) fulfill its humanitarian mission.

As a Communications Delegate for the CRC, he was a spokesperson and communications specialist in the disaster zone of Banda Aceh, Indonesia after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.

“At the time, it was the biggest physical disaster in history. Aid poured in from all over the world. There is quite a story to be told about the realities of working in a war zone with major corruption issues,” says Froese.

The term Disaster Response can sound straight-forward. It is not. The complexities of trying to help people and getting aid to where it was needed, was the most challenging and compelling assignment of my career.”

Meeting Location: BC Alliance for Arts + Culture

Mon Dec 3 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm — Annual General Meeting and Holiday Social
Meeting Location: at Old Spaghetti Factory, 50 8th Street, New Westminster, right by the New West Station. Annual General Meeting notice will be sent to members by November 12. RSVPs required.

Wed Jan 9 from 7 to 9 pm –
Voice: Who should tell your story? with Patricia Sandberg

Using her own memories and the stories told to her by many who lived in her hometown in northern Saskatchewan, Patricia Sandberg has penned a dramatic illustrated work of narrative non-fiction. Sun Dogs and Yellowcake – Gunnar  Mines, a Canadian Story. This book dramatizes an era when raw uranium from was casually handled by adults and children, who were unaware of the dangers of radiation. Still, most residents said it was the best place they ever lived.

Patricia’s talk will be about the voice she used to tell the story and how that carries into the self-publishing decision she made. She will discuss how self-publishing can be a great option and sometimes the best option.

 
A former mining and securities lawyer, Patricia relied on her family’s history and interviews of over 150 people to write about the Cold War uranium mining town in Northern Canada that residents said was ‘the best place they ever lived’. She is now working on a novel. Sun Dogs and Yellowcake has won two international awards, was shortlisted for the Canadian Authors Fred Kerner award, and was finalist for Whistler Independent Book Awards 2017.