Evening Extravaganzas at the 2011 Frye Festival
Margaret Atwood (Photo by: George Whiteside)
The 2011 Frye Festival's Evening Extravaganzas are not to be missed: it's your opportunity to get up close and personal with some of contemporary literature's biggest names and experience the uniqueness of the Frye Festival as we combine literature and music on stage. Soirée Frye (Thursday, April 28), An Evening with Jean-Christophe Rufin (Friday, April 29) and the Antonine Maillet-Northrop Frye Lecture with Margaret Atwood (Saturday, April 30) will be, for many festival-goers, the highlights of the 2011 Festival!
"The Frye Festival Evening Extravaganzas are always the setting for the creation of unique moments that will inspire, engage and feed imaginations," says Dawn Arnold, Frye Festival Chair. "It's not every day that Atlantic Canadians get to meet their favourite authors, and the Frye Festival is proud to create these special moments and memories."
Soirée Frye
Considered to be the gala event of the Frye Festival, Soirée Frye offers great literature, music, awards and of course, a chance to meet the authors at the reception. On stage: a succession of readings by authors such as Margaret Atwood, Dyane Léger, Gilles Leroy and Shandi Mitchell; an awards presentation for the winners of the Great-West Life and London Life Writing Contest for New Brunswick high school students; and performances by singer-songwriters Marie-Jo Thério and Joe Grass, both originally from Moncton. The event will take place on Thursday, April 28 at 8 pm at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton. A community reception will follow in the lobby. Tickets are on sale at $20 and $10 for students. All authors will read in the language in which they write.
An evening with Jean-Christophe Rufin
A relaxed and intimate opportunity to get to know the person behind the book! On Friday, April 29, you are invited to take part in a conversation between Prix Goncourt recipient Jean-Christophe Rufin and radio literary journalist Jean Fugère. Doctor, activist, writer, and diplomat, Rufin is also known for his dedication to large organizations such as Doctors without Borders and Red Cross. In 2008, he was elected to the Académie française. He will share his views on writing and how his life experience influences his literary work on Friday, April 29, at 8 pm at the Empress Theatre. Tickets are on sale at $20. This event will take place in French.
Antonine Maillet-Northrop Frye Lecture
Canada's most famous author, poet, essayist and public thinker, Margaret Atwood, will present a lecture entitled "Mythology and Me: The Late 1950s at Victoria College" as the 2011 Antonine Maillet – Northrop Frye Lecture. It's a personal account of her undergraduate days at the University of Toronto, where she was a student of Northrop Frye. Hosted by Rhonda Whittaker, the event will take place on Saturday, April 30 at 8 pm at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton. The lecture will be followed by a reception as well as a book signing. Tickets on sale at $25 and $15 for students. The lecture will be given in English.
Tickets to various Frye Festival events are on sale at www.tickets.moncton.ca or by calling 506.857.4100. For more information about the 12th edition of the Frye Festival and to view the complete program, visit www.frye.ca.