The Cold Lake Public Library is encouraging residents to share stories about their culture or past.
The Creative Expressions project IS ASKING locals TO send in poems, short stories, sculptures, pottery, and textiles as a way of showing the diversity in Cold Lake.
”We’re asking people to submit items that represent their culture, where they grew up, or memories,” explained Melissa Haines, project organizer. “We found that people are very excited to share that information with each other, and we’re hoping to put together a community display and a book so we can show that we have these wonderful differences in our life but we’re the same.”
Submissions are open to all ages, and there’s no limitations on the method someone chooses to tell their story.
Leslie Price, director of the Cold Lake Library, said they kept the rules open in order to ensure everyone felt welcome to participate.
”Not everybody is a writer. A lot of people express themselves through drawing, sculpting, or song. It’s kind of limiting if we just have the written word.”
There’s also an option for those who aren’t so creative.
The library is also accepting family recipes.
Haines added, “For people who want to participate by sharing a part of themselves, their culture, or their family, if they feel that they’re not creative at all that’s why we put in that we’re also accepting recipes.”
The deadline for submissions is May 10. Once all of the projects are collected, the library will put them in a book and have them on display, which will be available at their north and south locations.
”It’s going to be a bestseller,” Price said.
They’re hoping to have the book ready for check out around Canada Day.
The project was created as part of the library board’s priority to celebrate diversity and cultural awareness in the city.
”Our job as a library is to meet the needs of everybody in our community, and in order for us to do that, we have to get to know our community. Then (we can) supply some of the needs they have, and highlight and celebrate different cultures and languages,” expressed Price.
If there’s enough interest, Price hopes to continue with Creative Expressions in the future.
”It would show that the community wants to express themselves, then we want to be able to give them that venue where they can do it. It’s not every day you can get your work published. I know it’s a smaller project, but it’s just an opportunity to have their work published that they might not otherwise get.”
Submissions can be dropped off at either library locations in Cold Lake, or through email at [email protected].
