The concert of finalists in the Imagine a World Without Hate song and spoken word poetry contest, which had been scheduled for Aug. 27 in Courtenay, has been postponed.
It will now be held Sept. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Duncan Garage Showroom, at 201-330 Duncan St. in Duncan.
“It is disappointing to us,” said Bruce Curtis, manager of the project, “but we had considerably more entries than we were expecting.”
He explained that the contest’s success meant much more work for the professional judges' panel, and the turnaround between contest closing on late Tuesday and a concert on Saturday was just too short.
The quality of the entries is extremely high and the variety of approaches taken and messages developed will surprise and amaze when the poems and songs are performed at the finalists’ concert.
There will also be an opportunity for the audience present to have their input into the judges' final decisions.
The evening event and new venue in Duncan will allow for live streaming over the Internet when the concert occurs. Information will be printed as soon as arrangements have been confirmed.
“I want to thank all those who had co-operated to present the show here in the Comox Valley; it was a difficult decision,” said Curtis.
The contest is part of the Diversity Caravan project this summer. Caravan staff have been visiting community events and festivals throughout the Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast area, promoting a wider, more diverse and inclusive community.
The project is part of the Organizing Against Racism and Hate Regional Network. The network includes the seven communities in this region that have completed a Critical Incident Response Protocol and are continuing to engage in educational work around the issues of racism, homophobia and hate crime.
The Community Justice Centre is the lead agency for the network in the Comox Valley.
— Community Justice Centre