St. Brigid’s Festival Vancouver

St. Brigid’s Festival Vancouver is a week-long online free festival featuring academic, cultural and wellness sessions dedicated to celebrating women through the medium of Ireland’s mythical matriarchal figure Brigid. Despite Brigid’s origins in mythology and religion, this festival is non-religious. All are welcome. Festival Director Maura De Freitas said, “St. Brigid’s Festival Vancouver is an opportunity to celebrate and cherish the legacy of women everywhere, to learn from each other and share ideas.” The expansive program of events will include a presentation from award-winning Irish- Canadian novelist, playwright and screenwriter Emma Donoghue. Well known for her novel “Room”, shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and adopted into an Academy Award-winning film. Donoghue will present the photographs that inspired her latest bestselling novel “The Pull of the Stars” set during the 1918 flu pandemic. With a strong emphasis on wellness and mental health, the St. Brigid’s Festival includes a panel discussion on suicide prevention and recovery during COVID 19, hosted by Darkness into Light Vancouver. Women’s rights activist Ailbhe Smith, once listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People will also host a presentation on the impact COVID 19 has on women. Proudly supported by the Irish Embassy, the Consulate General of Ireland in Vancouver will host a talk by academic, peace activist, former politician Monica Williams on her documentary “Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs”. Additionally, the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce will lead a panel discussion on the topic of “Women Leading Change”, and Emer O’Toole, Associate Professor of Irish Performance Studies at Concordia University, Montreal will present on the topic “Irish Feminism: A Love Story”. Cultural workshops include a performance reading of “Letters from the Diaspora” with Dr. Dara Culhane, Professor of Anthropology at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, as well as a storytelling session focused on the “Legends & Mythology of Brigid” with Irish and Canadian storytellers. Coinciding with the traditional festival of St. Brigid’s Day, this comprehensive series of events will be presented online throughout the week of January 31 to February 7, 2021. Admission to all sessions of the St. Brigid’s Festival is free and attendees can register for individual sessions at https://www.brigidfestivalvancouver.com/