Sleeping Giant Writers Festival

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Aboriginal Women on the Move –

Cross Canada Cycle Tour 2006 to Reach St. John’s, NFLD on August 11th  

Aboriginal women on the move try to find locally based solutions to end violence against women

There is still time for you to join in this effort!

On July 17th, three extraordinary women rode into Ottawa after bicycling over 4000 kilometres since early June from Vancouver, British Columbia.  Along the way, they have encountered blistering heat, violent winds and rain, highway traffic at breakneck speeds, and occasionally curious wildlife.

These three women, Sheila Swasson, Chi Metallic-Larocque and Donna Martin-Metallic, are Mi'gmaq First Nation and mothers. They are cycling across Canada to raise awareness and bring attention to family violence in Aboriginal communities and violence against Aboriginal women.

To find out if these fabulous women will stop in a community near you, please visit: http://www.aboriginalwomenonthemove.org/TourDates.html.  If so, we encourage you to welcome them and learn from their journey.  You can also demonstrate your support by sending emails and/or letters, visiting the Aboriginal Women on the Move website, sharing this information and/or by making a donation to your local women’s shelter.  

The Hard Facts: Violence against Women in Canada

• 51% of women in Canada have experienced at least one violence incident as defined by the criminal code.
• 1 in 10 women are victims of violence
• Women between the ages of 25-34 have the highest rate of spousal abuse.
• 1 in 4 women seeking care in the emergency room for any reason is a victim of violence (Source: Canadian Women's Foundation: www.cdnwomen.org)

E-Mail: (until  August 15 )

 AWOTM can be reached at mimigeus@hotmail.com    Cellular Phone # : (Starting May 15)  506-789-3369

Sheila Swasson  sheila_swasson@globetrotter.net      Donna Metallic   metallicdv@globetrotter.net    Chi Metallic-Larocque    chi_metallic-larocque@globetrotter.net

Or if you'd like to contact us by snail mail, send comments and question to:

 Cycling to End Family Violence - Haven House - P.O. Box 99 - Listuguj, Quebec G0C 2R0 - Attention: Sheila Swasson

http://www.aboriginalwomenonthemove.org/ContactUs.html

 How To Get Involved

 There are various ways in which people can get involved:

• Visit Aboriginal Women On the Move website at  http://www.aboriginalwomenonthemove.org
• Circulate this release within your networks
• Participate in the tour’s welcoming activities in the community closest to your area
• Look at the tour dates and communities and organize a welcoming or take-off activity in your community
• Tell your friends and contacts about "Aboriginal Women on the Move"
•  Download and post our flyer in your community
• Support "AWOTM" through a donation or Sponsor a Kilometer

Thank you for your interest in the Cycle Tour 2006.

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Each year Canada ’s music festivals involve approximately 230 local music festivals, 696,000 participants, 900 adjudicators, 18,000 volunteers and tens of thousands of audience members.  This country-wide activity peaks with the National Music Festival held every August since 1972.  More than 70 young competitors from all 10 provinces meet for 3 days of competition and workshops with 7 internationally renowned adjudicators.  The culmination is the Grand Award Competition Concert.  There are seven divisions open to participants: Voice, Piano, Strings, Classical Guitar, Brass, Woodwind and Chamber music group.

The National Music Festival is unique in Canada and attracts the best non-professional emerging Classical young musicians from every province.  It encourages the development of classical music in Canada through competition, education, workshop style adjudication and scholarships.  Many students of the music festivals in Canada have gone on to successful careers as performers, teachers and adjudicators.  Alumni of the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals include: Leona Boyd, Glenn Gould, Diana Krall, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and Anne Murray.

The Lakehead Festival of Music and the Arts, a non-profit Charitable organization has been awarded the honour of hosting the 2006 Federation of Canadian Music Festivals competition.  This is a one time monumental project for us. This event will take place at Lakehead University and the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium August 4-6, 2006.  The competitions at Lakehead University  run August 4, and 5 beginning  at 9 am and run throughout the afternoon and evening.  Admission tickets ($5) can be purchased in the Music Deptartment front lobby on the day of competition.  The Grand Award Competition will be held at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Sunday August 6^th beginning at 7:30 pm.  Tickets are on sale at the Auditorium Box Office ($25 for adults, $20 for students).
These performances will be the best Canada has to offer in Classical music.

We will be promoting tourism destinations such as Fort William Historical Park , the Amethyst mines, Lake Superior tours and parks, Kakabeka Falls , our new Charity Casino, as well as use of local hotels and restaurants.  We will attract many visitors from outside the Province of Ontario to the event as well as prominent Canadian politicians.

Sincerely,                                                                                             
Kathy Schmidt

Coordinator, Lakehead Festival of Music and the Arts

Planning Committee Chair, Federation of Canadian Music Festival        

(807)577-6999