It's so cool how quickly a seed of an idea can germinate and sprout. On Saturday morning, I was doing my usual routine of writing (and avoiding writing by doing writing-adjacent social media-type things) when I saw a friend's post about a contest she participated in in Winnipeg. The selected poems were frozen into ice and displayed during a winter festival.
We should have that, I thought. The Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival is right around the corner. I wonder if they'd be open to it, or if it's too late for this year.
Within minutes, I contacted the contest creator in Winnipeg. Her name is Hazel Borys and she's a self-described Urbanist, Engineer, Mom, Lamplighter, Walker, Cyclist, Cook, Gardener, Writer, and Nonindigenous on Treaty 1. She quickly gave her blessing to use the idea in Nova Scotia (along with some handy dandy instructions on how she got the poems in there!). Thank you, Hazel!!
Then, I emailed the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission to get their thoughts. 2.5 hours later, they emailed back with an enthusiastic yes! I started freezing scraps of paper into ice to see how they looked. My husband wondered aloud if he could somehow access the frozen bacon. The answer was an enthusiastic no!
So, I am excited to announce the inaugural HRM Poets on Ice!!! I am building this plane as I fly it, so let me know if anything is unclear or unaddressed! I'll update the blog with new information as necessary.
There are two ways to play:
Submit a poem to me via Instagram by January 20th and you may be one of the ten selected for display at the festival.
Bring (or write) a poem on-site at the festival on Saturday, January 27th and learn how to decorate and freeze it on-site!
Guidelines for submitted poems:
Poems must be in plain text (no images/pdfs)!
Poems must fit on a 8.5x11” page at no less than 25 point font.
Poems should touch on the theme of snow, ice, and/or winter.
Winning submissions will be frozen into ice and displayed at the Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival.
This is a family-friendly event--keep that in mind when selecting themes and language.
The contest is only open to HRM residents.
The selection of poems is at my sole discretion.
By submitting a poem, you are certifying it is your original work and that you are granting permission for it to be displayed.
Unfortunately, this is a labour of love for me, and selected poems will not receive honorariums.
I'm looking forward to reading your work!
oxo
Lindsey
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