Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Planet Earth: Two Perspectives
We’re delighted to have Bob McDonald and Sylvia Olsen headlining our last fundraiser for the Oct. 2-4 Literary Festival. During this memorable evening you’ll hear two unique perspectives on life here on our beautiful planet. Bob McDonald will take us to space for an appreciation of Earth from afar and the challenges of dealing with an alien setting. Sylvia’s viewpoint is Earth-centred: our connections with our cultures, our history and our stories. Together, they will give us a better appreciation of home and our relationships with each other.
Friday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m.
Shoal Centre Auditorium, 10030 Resthaven Dr., Sidney, BC
Tickets: $15 (includes refreshments). The authors’ books will be on sale during this event.

Bob McDonald

Bob’s illustrated presentation will take a colourful look at the only three Canadians to don space suits and step outside into the void 400 km above the Earth. Chris Hadfield, Steve MacLean and Dave Williams all took part in the construction of the International Space Station. In their own words they describe the difficulty of working in a bulky space suit, handling large objects in zero-G, the disorientation that comes with living in a place where up and down no longer exist, all the while gazing out at the most jaw dropping view of the Earth imaginable. Bob has had the rare opportunity to experience some of the equipment used to train astronauts, such as a zero-G airplane ride, virtual reality lab and spinning human centrifuges. He says, “Altogether, it is the ultimate high adventure.”
Canadian Spacewalkers (Douglas & McIntyre, 2014) is his most recent book.
Sylvia Olsen

Sylvia is an award-winning author of over twelve children’s and adult books including Working with Wool, a history of the Cowichan sweater, which won the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing in 2010. Sylvia has spent most of her life living in Tsartlip First Nation, where her children and grandchildren now live. Because she is non native and her children are of mixed heritage, most of her stories are about the place—the time—the experience of where different sorts of people come together. Her books include a historical fiction set in the Gulf Islands called Counting on Hope (Sono Nis, Fall 2009) and A Different Game (Orca Books, Spring 2010). Sylvia believes the best way for budding writers to develop their skill is to pay attention to all their senses. She says, “The details of my writing come from the tiny things I observe—the flick of someone’s hair, the slump of their shoulder, the whistle of the wind…”