Health & Heritage in the Spotlight
Richmond Regional High School Community Learning Centre, in partnership with the Richmond CLSC (CIUSSS de l'estrie - CHUS), Townshippers’ Association, and Val-famille, held the third annual Richmond Health and Wellness Fair, on Saturday, October 5 at Richmond Regional High School, in its newly renovated gym. The Health and Wellness Fair is a gateway to community and healthcare resources in the greater Richmond area and aims to link Englishspeakers with local services and organizations by featuring a diverse program of free workshops, demonstrations, and kiosks. Activities were hosted by local organizations as a way for the public to discover and explore what’s offered in the community.
Activities and presentations offered included a chance to cuddle, connect, and communicate with Mother Goose rhymes, stories, and songs; a creative bookmarks workshop with Literacy in Action; theatre Games with It Takes a Village Theatre; a narrated film on the Scots in the Val-saint-françois by the Richmond County Historical Society; Managing Money as a Couple with the Val-saint-francois Women’s Centre; Lennoxville & District Women’s Centre’s Parent Tap program; Dira-estrie’s Preventing Elder Abuse program; an interactive demonstration by the 4H Square Dancing club; and QAHN’S travelling exhibit on Diversity and Achievement. In all, 30 groups and organizations contributed to making the day a success.
Many thanks to the volunteers who helped set up the Fair. Stay tuned around this time next year for the fourth annual Health and Wellness Fair. If you have any questions or comments about the Fair or any of the organizations present, or if you would like to become more involved in the Richmond area please contact Siu-min Jim, Community Development Agent, Richmond Regional High School & St. Francis Elementary School Community Learning Centres at 819 826-3702, Ext. 24026 or by e-mail at richmondclc@etsb.qc.ca.
The following day, Townships Expressions, an initiative of Townshippers’ Association that provides English-speaking writers and musicians of the region greater visibility and an outlet to make their work available to the public, participated in Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network’s Eastern Townships Heritage Fair, which was held at the Colby-curtis Museum in Stanstead. Author Ross Murray was on hand to meet attendees and promote his most recent book A Jerk in Progress and to lend a helping hand selling and promoting other artists works.
It is not always easy for artists to publicize and sell their works. Townshippers’ Association believes that creative expression is crucial to community vitality. Opportunities for English-speaking artists to become better known within the wider artistic community serve to build bridges between Englishspeakers and their French-speaking counterparts and contribute to the vitality of the English-speaking artistic community. In this spirit, Townships Expressions prioritizes organizing and attending events such as QAHN’S annual Eastern Townships Heritage Fair.
For more information about Townships Expressions, or to peruse the works available for purchase, visit townshippers.org/townships-expressions or shop.townshippers.org. Townshippers’ is in Moving Mode After many years in the Margueriteknapp Building, staff at Townshippers’ Association’s head office sealed up their moving boxes last week and temporarily moved their offices offsite. We are grateful for the Eastern Townships School Board’s support as we make the transition to a new location.
While we are not quite ready to divulge the location of our new offices, we can assure the community that staff will continue their work in the community remotely, and remain available by e-mail or by leaving a voicemail message at 819566-5717. Stay tuned for updates!
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