 Home Ryga Journal Ryga Chapbooks Buy & Subscribe Submissions Festival Readings Ryga Week & Award About George Ryga Contact  THE RYGA INITIATIVE AT OKANAGAN COLLEGE in association with the Okanagan Institute
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 THE RYGA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS 2010 The Ryga Festival of the Arts is a series of readings, performances, publications and other initiatives planned for the months March through November. It is presented by the Okanagan Institute and the Ryga Initiative at Okanagan College, and consists of a number projects, including: These initiatives are a result of the seeds George Ryga planted in the rich soil of the creative imagination of the Okanagan and Canada. Whether directly through his own work, or indirectly through the incredible impact his art in all forms had in defining a new vision of what's possible and who we are, George Ryga remains a seminal figure in Canadian life and letters. By showing us the possibilities of cultural and critical engagement, practically and metaphorically, Ryga's creative works continue to inform a transformative vision of society. Our goal is to honour and further his life and work by showcasing the talents of writers and artists who identify with his struggles with creative identity. In a world often bereft of hope and opportunity, our best writers and artists do not flinch from representing the possible and giving idealism voice. George Ryga Week and Award George Ryga Week is proclaimed by the Provincial Government and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to honour the contribution Ryga made to the creative community. In 2009 a gala celebration was held November 7 in the Okanagan College Vernon Campus Theatre. The first issue of Ryga: A Journal of Provocations was launched with readings by the editor, Sean Johnston, and some of the contributors. Ken Smedley of the George Ryga Centre in Summerland presented the Ryga Award, and the winner read from the book.
The George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature, sponsored by The George Ryga Society, BC Bookworld, CBC Radio (Kelowna) and Okanagan College, is an annual literary prize awarded to a BC writer who has achieved an outstanding degree of social awareness in a new book. Excerpts are aired on CBC Radio One's Daybreak Program. The award is announced in conjunction with George Ryga Week in November . Winners receive a full-page advertisement in BC BookWorld and a commemorative sculpture by Reg Kienast. The criteria for the award are: 1. social awareness - in keeping with Alberta-born George Ryga's status as a marginalized Ukrainian Canadian who was deeply concerned with justice, the judges will select an outstanding work of both literary and social value that opens up discussion of social and cultural issues. 2. bc writer - a writer who has lived in BC for three of the last five years. 3. book - a full-length book (not a chapbook) published during the preceding calendar year.
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