MEDIA RELEASE FROM SARNIA, ONTARIO

Spoken Word’s 2012-2013 Season Stirs Seven Emotions

SARNIA, ONTARIO (September 15, 2012) – Be it anger, fear, joy, disgust, sadness, contempt, or surprise, share your emotional tales during the official kick-off of Sarnia’s 2012-2013 Spoken Word season, Friday, September 28, from 8 to 10 p.m., at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, 127 Christina Street South, with spotlighted guest Melissa Upfold and her exhibit “Pathos (Woman, Fragmented).”
This FREE informal evening includes storytelling, humour, and poetry readings by local poets and storytellers. No pre-registration required.
            “We’re excited about our 13th season and our opening performance,” say Spoken Word co-hosts and local writers Debbie Okun Hill (president, The Ontario Poetry Society) and Ryan Gibbs (English professor, Lambton College). “Melissa stretches boundaries in her photography, writing, and art. We’re expecting her performance to explode with emotion.”
            As a former Sarnia resident now living in London, Upfold was a driving force behind numerous cultural activities including the local open mic AMP event and her own poetry e-zine variations which included contributors from across Canada.
Inspired by theme nights, new optional themes have also been scheduled for the rest of the season. As always, members of the public are invited to share their own works, read the works of a favorite writer, or just sit back and enjoy this open mic on the last Friday of every month, except July, August, and December. The March date has been moved up a week since Good Friday will fall on the last Friday of the month.  
Optional themes for the 2012-2013 season include
*Friday, September 28, 2012: The Seven Emotions: Anger, Fear, Joy, Disgust, Sadness,
 Contempt, and Surprise
*Friday, October 26, 2012: Ghastly Tales of Ghosts and Ghouls (Halloween costumes
optional)
*Friday, November 30, 2012: Stepping into the Past: Historical People and Places
*Friday, January 25, 2013: A Winter Wonderland of Snowflakes and Toboggan Rides
*Friday, February 22, 2013: Petals and Hearts: Words of Romance
*Friday, March 22, 2013: Rainbows of Multi-colours and Multi-cultures
*Friday, April 26, 2013: Poetic Surprises – April is Poetry Month
*Friday, May 31, 2013: Exploring the Animal Kingdom
*Friday, June 28, 2013: How I Plan to Spend My Summer Vacation
Spoken Word was first introduced by veteran writers Peggy Fletcher and Hope Morritt and later hosted by Susan Chamberlain (The Book Keeper), Ena Forbes (storyteller and past president of Sarnia Toastmasters), and Lois Nantais (local poet and adjunct professor of social science at Lambton College). Debbie Okun Hill has co-hosted the event for the past seven years, and Ryan Gibbs starts his sixth season.
This year’s seasonal kick-off is being held in conjunction with “Culture Days 2012,” the nation’s largest free weekend-long arts and culture celebration.
For further information about Sarnia’s Spoken Word, e-mail spoken-w@hotmail.com or call (519) 337-0507.

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