The Morrin Centre’s Imagination Writers’ Festival will be taking place April 9th – 14th this year!
Please visit the Morrin Centre website for information on events and ticket sales – Imagination Writers’ Festival 2024 – Morrin Centre
Tickets
Morrin Centre members receive 25% off all general public ticket prices, including the festival pass.
Morrin Centre members, students, and festival pass owners receive 25% off the ticket prices for the Books & Wine and Tea & Imagination activities.
Please note that the youth events are free.
Book Sale
We know that the Imagination book sale is always one of the most anticipated parts of the festival. We are pleased to announce that La Maison Anglaise, a vital partner of Imagination since its beginning, is once again the place to buy your books! This year again, 30% of the sales of the Imagination books will be given to the Morrin Centre and invested back into Imagination. Each event page (accessed by clicking on the event title below) also had an individual link to the appropriate book(s).
The books will be available at the Morrin Centre during the festival. You can also buy them, digitally or in person, at La Maison Anglaise through the link below.
VEQ is pleased to co-host an info session with two fantastic partner organizations!
Centre RIRE 2000 is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support young people and adults from immigrant and cultural communities in their socio-economic integration into Quebec society.
By attending, you’ll learn more about these programs and services:
- FREE French classes
- A language exchange program known as jumelage linguistique
- A job retention service
The Eastern Québec Learning Centre offers classes and programs for students wishing to:
- Earn a vocational studies diploma (DEP) or certificate (ASP)
- Complete their Secondary School Diploma
- OR study French or English as a second language
By attending, you’ll learn more about:
- How a SARCA* agent can help you with your career or training goals
- The benefits of getting your career and personal competencies officially recognized (RAC**)
- Available programs and training courses in English at EQLC
*SARCA = reception, referral, counselling, and support services **RAC = Recognition of Acquired Competencies
To register: https://forms.office.com/r/bdSwJErVvs
Don’t miss the return of VEQ Game Nights on Friday, April 26. Hosted at the Jeffery Hale Pavilion from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., you can join other members of the English-speaking community (newcomers or not) for a fun, social evening with light refreshments provided. Explore new board games or bring your own that you would like to share! Register below or contact Maria Castro at newcomers@veq.ca for more information:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=yvXCk1eqO0mBNupA7sm4BmDLD6bYd5JIgx_hsBzRlVlUMTJESzA4TkRDNFVHWUgzR1FORlRQWTdDOS4u
Although registration is NOT REQUIRED, it is strongly recommended, as it allows us to better plan for you!
How can we make sense of the world and maintain hope for the future? Come share your ideas, what you’re reading and writing, and how they help. Discover how Jean-Louis Trudel, a science fiction author and professor, and Michèle Thibeau, creative writer, sustain their own optimism. They will discuss creative non-fiction and science fiction, including hopepunk and solarpunk, that outline new courses of action in optimistic works.
If you believe good writing and surprising scenarios can help bridge the gap, preparing us for possible futures, join us at Morrin Centre on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 6 pm.
Jean-Louis Trudel has been writing science fiction since 1984, and he’s been following climate change for almost as long. While he’s been teaching university students about it for twenty years, he feels we need to propose kinder and brighter futures, both to science fiction audiences and to younger generations.
Save the date! More details to come
New to Quebec and eager to discover this beautiful city? We’ve got you covered!
Sign up for a FREE walking tour around Old Quebec. All you need is a bottle of water, your walking shoes, comfortable clothes (and an umbrella or rain jacket in case it rains), a camera if you wish to capture the beauty of this city, and sharp ears! We will walk around the centuries-old streets of Old Québec while learning about its history and cultural landmarks.
There will be two tours, one in the morning and the second one in the afternoon.
Space is LIMITED, so a reservation is required.
- To register for the morning tour (from 9:30 to 11:30 AM), click here
- To register for the afternoon tour (from 1:30 to 3:30 PM) click here.
Contact Newcomers Coordinator via phone (418) 683-2366 ext. 225 or by email at newcomers@veq.ca
Do you want to receive a monthly update notifying you of the upcoming events? Sign up here, it’s free!
Any way you read it…the novel is still able to instruct and delight.
–Borealis Press
Come learn about Canada’s first novel at our half-day symposium aimed to inform and delight. We ask: what value is there in reading Frances Brooke’s The History of Emily Montague today?
First published in 1769 and set in what eventually became Quebec City, this epistolary novel gives an intimate glimpse of social life just after the British conquest of New France. It is inspired by the writer’s own experience.
Offering insights on relations among the English, the Canadiens, and the Huron-Wendat, the novel reveals both progressive views and racial prejudices of the period through interwoven love stories. It sheds light on a complicated colonial past whose legacy continues to challenge us. The invited speakers will help us address important facets of the novel: Donald Fyson (specialist in 18th–20th century Quebec history at Université Laval), Linda M. Morra (specialist in Canadian women’s literature at Bishop’s University), Jean-Philip Rochon Paul (Huron-Wendat Nation), Peter Sabor (Canada Research Chair in Eighteenth-Century Studies at McGill University), and Philip Sioui (Huron-Wendat Nation).
The talks will be accompanied by dramatic readings. A character actor and a touch of period music will add a flavour of the time. Whether you have read the novel or not, whether you are a member of the public or a specialist in the field, you are sure to come away with new perspectives on a novel which has continued to engage generations of readers.
More information about the presenters and their talks coming soon!
To register for this FREE event, click HERE.
For a complete list of The History of Emily Montague activities, please click HERE.
For more about the LHSQ200th activities, please click HERE.
This activity is in celebration of Frances Brooke’s 300th birthday as well as the LHSQ’s 200th anniversary. It is in partnership with the English literature program in the Département de littérature, théâtre et cinéma at Université Laval, the Huron-Wendat Nation, and CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence.
Thank you to the Government of Canada for their support.
Image 1: Frances Brooke by Catherine Read, Oil on canvas (c. 1771), Library and Archives Canada, 1981-88-1, e011154587
Image 2: Frances Brooke by James Hopwood Sr., Stipple engraving (1812), National Portrait Gallery, D14044
Save the date! More details to come.
Interested in discussing literature with other book lovers?
Missing connecting over books in the Library? Come join Pixels & Pages!
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Horse is available on OverDrive in e-book format as part of the Morrin Centre’s digital collections HERE.
Please note that this event will be hybrid: the book club will meet in the Library, but it is also possible to participate online via Zoom.
Please email library@morrin.org to learn more or to sign up!
This project is in partnership with La Maison Anglaise.
The CWL is hosting their Spring Community Breakfast on Sunday, May 26th from 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Pricing
Adults: $12
Children 6-12: $5
Children under 6: Free
VEQ is also offering free transportation from the Jeffery Hale Pavilion to the breakfast leaving at 9:30 a.m., and from McGreevy Manor leaving at 9:40 a.m.
Please contact Maria Hoyt at maria.hoyt@veq.ca or 418-683-2366 x221 to reserve a seat on the bus.
Join us on Thursday, May 30, 2024 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for our Annual General Meeting.
Connect with old friends, and meet new ones, as you get to know more about VEQ’s successes this past year, and plans for the year ahead! Appetizers and refreshments will be served, and parking is free.
Please RSVP by May 24 to Maria Hoyt:
E: info@veq.ca
T: (418) 683-2366 ext. 221
We cannot wait to see you there!
Don’t miss the return of VEQ Game Nights on Friday, May 31. Hosted at the Jeffery Hale Pavilion from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., you can join other members of the English-speaking community (newcomers or not) for a fun, social evening with light refreshments provided. Explore new board games or bring your own that you would like to share! Register below or contact info@veq.ca for more information:
Click here to register.
Knowing how many people we are expecting helps us plan ahead, in order to maximise our resources and create a better experience for you!
Although registration is NOT REQUIRED, it is strongly recommended, as it allows us to better plan for you!
This event is OPEN TO ALL, newcomers or not!
It already feels like summer, doesn’t it?!
To get the season started, we are hosting an outdoor picnic at Montmorency Falls, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. VEQ will provide transportation to the falls and back, free of charge. Registration to the bus is required, since there is a limited capacity. Click here to book your spot on the bus! You can also join us there.
What to expect:
- FREE bus transportation from our office venue, located at 1270 chemin Sainte-Foy, leaving at 10:30 a.m. and returning to the same address at 2:00 p.m.
- We will bring board games, as a way of facilitating breaking the ice and establishing new connections.
- A gift card will be raffled among the participants at the end of the event. The winner can choose from Tim Hortons, Chocolat Favoris, or La Maison Anglaise.
Important information:
- Meals and/or snacks are NOT included. We encourage you to pack (a basket with) your favorite treats and enjoy a leisurely picnic amidst the majestic beauty of this natural wonder.
- You can take a stroll along the scenic trails, spot the falls’ famous waterfalls, and make unforgettable memories with friends and family.
- You can bring a comfortable folding chair or blankets, and take in some most-needed vitamin D!
- Make sure you bring protection from the sun (hat, sunblock, umbrella, etc.
- Visit the Falls’ website to find out more about what they offer.
- Your smile!
You may get your ticket to the park in advance on the SÉPAQ’s reservation website.
Access to the park is free to the residents of Québec’s Metropolitan area* with proof of residence.**
*Québec’s Metropolitan area includes Lévis. For more information, please call the SÉPAQ.
** Proof of residence can be a health card, driver’s license, student ID, any photo ID (that confirms the person’s identity), and a document with the address in Québec’s Metropolitan area.
Interested in podcasting?
Join us on Saturday, June 8 from 10am – 3pm for this introductory workshop.
To register: https://forms.office.com/r/p97nSYZMhU
Bring your own lunch. Light refreshments provided.
Workshop description:
Interviewing guests is an essential podcasting skill.
How do we put our interviewees at ease even as we point a microphone at them? How can we structure our interview questions to provoke deeper reflections and help interviewees emotionally connect to their story? How do we ensure that our interview audio is clear and compelling and grabs listeners’ ears with nothing more than the phone in your pocket?
In this workshop, Glenn Patterson, an ethnographer and public-sector heritage worker, shares some of the secrets of oral history interviewing that he has learned firsthand over the last 15 years from veteran audio storytellers and radio producers.
This workshop is a partnership between Community Digital Arts Hub – CDAH and VEQ as part of the CDAH in the Regions project funded by the Government of Canada and supported by ELAN Quebec.
Come experience The Archive of Missing Things, part live performance and part contemplative game, in the Morrin Centre’s exquisite Victorian library. Equipped with an iPad and a headset, you’ll explore a maze-like archive in search of the secret at its centre, guided by clues in a live performance happening discreetly around you. Created by Halifax’s acclaimed Zuppa Theatre with award-winning writer Kate Cayley, this performance, alongside a digital book and game, presents a mystery that is beautiful, wistful… and sometimes even a little eerie.
This project is made possible thanks to the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Nova Scotia, and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
*Please visit the Morrin Centre Website for times and more information: https://www.morrin.org/en/archive-of-missing-things/?mc_cid=0712a66ce4&mc_eid=783d4e7481
BASEBALL GAME OPEN TO ALL!!!
A New(comers’) Experience—On June 26th, VEQ is taking Newcomers to a Les Capitales baseball game. Start warming up your throats and practicing your supporting chant for the home team!
To join in the fun:
Registrations are required, as we have 20 tickets that were donated by Les Capitales. If you can no longer participate, please let us know so someone else can take advantage of this generous donation.
We will meet outside the CANAC stadium, at 6:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact Maria Castro at newcomers@veq.ca or (418) 683-2366 ext. 225
Don’t miss the next VEQ Game Night on Friday, June 28. Hosted at the Jeffery Hale Pavilion from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., you can join other members of the English-speaking community (newcomers or not) for a fun, social evening with light refreshments provided. Explore new board games or bring your own that you would like to share! Register below or contact info@veq.ca for more information:
Click here to register.
Knowing how many people we are expecting helps us plan ahead, in order to maximise our resources and create a better experience for you!
Although registration is NOT REQUIRED, it is strongly recommended, as it allows us to better plan for you!
Tour some highlights from the LHSQ collection of books, all while learning about book history and culture in Quebec City.
In celebration of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec’s 200th anniversary, join library staff to explore a selection of books from our special collections. The materiality of books reveals much about the past: from how a book is bound to marginalia and various markings on a book.
To sign up for this workshop, please write to library@morrin.org
Here we go again!
We are thrilled to invite you to meet local community groups and businesses, while enjoying fun activities with your whole family—inflatable games, face painting, live performances by cultural groups, and much more are on the agenda!
See you Saturday, September 21st from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
More details to come!