Voices festival is Community Event of the Year
26 January 2008
The Voices on the Coast youth literature festival has won the 2008 Maroochy Council Australia Day Award for the Community Event of the Year.
The annual festival – co-hosted by Immanuel Lutheran College and the University of the Sunshine Coast since 1996 – brings some of Australia's finest writers, poets, illustrators and performers to the Sunshine Coast.
The week-long program includes creative and stimulating activities and events for school students and adults, including the opportunity to meet famous authors.
Voices Coordinator Kelly Dunham of Immanuel Lutheran College said she was thrilled about the Maroochy Shire award.
“It is wonderful recognition of the services that Voices provides for young people in encouraging their love of reading and in improving their skills in writing, illustration, poetry and performance,” she said.
“It’s also recognition of the festival’s role in raising literary awareness among adults. It certainly has become a significant cultural event on the Sunshine Coast.”
Mrs Dunham said 4,500 students from Years 5-12 attended Voices’ two-day schools event at the University of the Sunshine Coast last year. Some school groups travelled as far as 200km to attend.
“It is a much-anticipated event for students throughout the area,” she said. “Along with the opportunity to develop their reading, writing and cultural skills, Voices also gives them a great experience of attending University.”
USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Thomas AM said the University was proud to be a co-host and supporter of the annual Voices on the Coast festival.
“Voices promotes creative writing through competitions, workshops, book launches, discussion panels and lots of opportunities for informal personal interactions,” he said.
“There is nothing quite like it on the Coast and it is has been an inspiration for many people who have gone on to become authors in their own right, or have chosen to undertake further study to extend their natural talent.”
This year’s Voices on the Coast festival will be held on 2-7 June.
Entries for a Voices competition for previously unpublished authors of stories for a younger audience (aimed at children aged 8-13) will close on Friday 28 March. Details are available at <www.immanuel.qld.edu.au/voices>.
— Terry Walsh