Each year, after the closing of our contest in the spring, we host our annual MC Poetry Contest Showcase the following September, to celebrate the incredible submissions we have received throughout the years. Though we can only name 3 winners per year, there are always many videos that we believe deserve to be shared and this is our way of doing just that. In the setting of Vancouver Island University’s beautiful theatre at their Cowichan Campus, we invite the students and our community to enjoy a selection of our favourite video submissions, listen to some local live poetry, partake in tasty local refreshments, and participate in fundraising efforts for the next year’s contest.
Explore this page to see highlights from our showcase events and check out all the videos that were shown that night. We look forward to our next contest and subsequent showcase event!
…
So I’ll sing songs until my lungs burn and
I’ll make music until the strings that I play burst into flames and
I’ll dance with a fiery passion that leaves scorched footprints behind me and
I’ll make paintings that capture the sunlight in each stroke and
I’ll write.
Oh, I’ll write. I’ll write in my cage of twenty-six letters
carving sonnets in the walls of my cell.
Clawing haikus into my chains and
bleeding free-verse onto the floor.
I will write. I will create.
I will do everything I can for everyone to see the fire
Thank you to our event sponsors for making our first Showcase a success. Just Jake’s, Varga & Associates, Stonebridge Law, Loretta Hopkins, and VIU… We couldn’t have done it without you.
This year, we opened once again with young Michael Coleman, the grandson of the late Michael Coleman (our contest’s namesake), who read two of his grandfather’s poems and spoke from the heart about poetry and the arts. He also read some original poetry lamenting what it means to be both a human and a poet and the burden that may bring to those who feel so deeply – something many in the room could relate to.
We then watched our first round of video submission highlights, which was followed by a brief intermission where attendees enjoyed refreshments and entered our silent auction and 50-50 draws. Following the intermissions, we heard from our keynote speaker, Nanaimo’s Youth Poet Laureate, Paige Pierce, who shard her poetic writing journey and delivered a lovely speech exploring how self expression connects us all.
We then wrapped up with our finale videos, last year’s 3 winners and our current 3 winners. The event was a great success and we eagerly await next year’s poetry competition and subsequent showcase.
We opened with the grandson of Michael Coleman (our contest’s namesake), who read some original poetry and spoke about his grandfather and the weight of their shared name. He read two of his favourite MC poems that he felt encapsulated his view on life and poetry. After our first round of video highlights and a brief intermission, we heard from our keynote speaker, Victoria’s Poet Laureate, Marie Mataphor Specht, who performed some of her work and spoke about the beauty and importance of youth in poetry. We then wrapped up with our finale videos, the 6 winners from our two contests so far. The event was a great success and we eagerly await next year’s poetry competition and subsequent showcase.
Thank you to our event sponsors for making our first Showcase a success. Just Jake’s, Varga & Associates, Stonebridge Law, Loretta Hopkins, and VIU… We couldn’t have done it without you.