Manitou Beach’s own literary festival is set to make a return on Friday and Saturday. This year’s edition of Wonder of Words (WOW) sees another great lineup of writers and reading performances, along with some special guests and the always popular evening musical entertainment.
This year, the host Little Manitou Art Gallery and its owner Sarah McKen have a special start to the event thanks to the support of another Manitou Beach enterprise.
“This year, we are collaborating with Manitou Waters, a neighbouring business,” explains McKen, “And we have quite a program ready to go. It starts on Friday and a herbology walk with Dr. Glen Nagel, a visiting naturopathic doctor that Manitous Waters has booked in.”
The walk kicks off the Saturday lineup of writers and performers with Manitou Beach mainstay entertainer Brian Paul DG handling the MC duties.
“It steps in to many of our poets and authors coming on stage and sharing a bit of their work. That goes from noon until about 8 o’clock in the evening when we step into music.”
Among those taking the stage in the early afternoon will be Ave Riddler, Johnny Marcland, Chenise Puchallo and Candis Kirkpatrick.
Later in the afternoon, there is a special pair of book launches, featuring a quartet of young writers (Connor, Ryker and Reign Jones and Cohen Bojda) introducing their enchanting book, The Amazing Adventures of the Gallumphing Gobbler. Early versions of that work appeared at the last Watrous Winterfest.
Also making its debut at the launch event is Healing X 3 by author Chantel Hilts.
The afternoon “Steeped and Brewed” readings will feature another round of readers followed by the return of Dr. Glen Nagel for a special refreshing session.
“He is offering a mixology presentation where he takes some of the herbs collected on the Friday night tour and shows how to mix those into beverages, some alcohol based and some non-alcohol based, and just really making it a fun way to explore herbs.
Around 8 pm, the focus shifts to music with folk songwriter Brian Paul DG returning in his musical guise, along with his bandmates, for an evening of original tunes and sing-along standards.
To register for the Friday night walking tour with Dr. Glen Nagel, contact the Little Manitou Art Gallery at (306) 400-2544. Entertainment at the WOW event on Saturday is open to the public by donation at the gate.