UNPACKED: A Memoir of Checked Baggage

Book Reading

Aly Coy's nomadic travels in Europe lead to an escape from an off-grid community in the woods in unpacked: a memoir of checked baggage.

Aly Coy, owner of Barefoot Daughter, has been writing, soap making and has been immersed in herbal medicine since 2011. She first learned how to grow medicinal herbs, and make soaps and salves at a squatted communal farm in The Netherlands just outside of Amsterdam. From there she moved off-the-grid to The Spanish Pyrenees, where she became the resident herbalist because of the lack of doctors and medical resources, and abundance in wild plants. She documented her travels in Europe and self-published UNPACKED: a memoir of checked baggage in June 2019.

ARCANA DEA

Arcana Dea is a dance company based in the Comox Valley B.C. founded by artistic director Cathy Stoyko. Cathy Stoyko is a dancer, visual artist and mask maker as well as the owner of the Abbey Studio in Cumberland where she teaches dance classes, hosts workshops and cultural events. Arcana Dea perform dances that range from women's traditional dances (Middle East, India, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Romani) to fusion belly dance, contemporary dance theatre, story telling and animation with masks and costumes at community cultural events and festivals. 

Current core performers include: Anne- Marie Scott, Edith Jacob, Jessica Macpherson, Evelyn Bally, Heather Hilberry, Denyse Dansereau, Lisa Snow, Kristi Walker, Lisa Hamilton and Cathy Stoyko.

Hazel Lennox Storytelling

HAZEL LENNOX is a renowned Storyteller from Scotland, now living in the Comox Valley.  Her tales have been garnered over the last 30 years from many different countries and cultures.  She enjoys audience participation and many of her stories have ‘hook lines’ built into them that children and adults always enjoy.  A familiar figure in schools from Kindergarden to College, Hazel has told tales to people of all ages and backgrounds for many a long year (as they say in story).

Lucky Village Laugh Fight

In this unscripted, two act show, two teams of improvisors duel for comedic domination while the audience and host throw challenges at them. Which team is funnier? You decide!

CATHY STOYKO

Cathy Stoyko is a dancer, artist/designer and, mask maker based in the Comox Valley, B.C. Her love of dancing inspires her to share dance with her community. She teach dance classes and workshops at the Abbey Studio in Cumberland B.C. She is always hungry to explore new dance forms, traditional and contemporary. She often perform at community events, fundraisers and festivals as a soloist and with her company 'Arcana Dea Dance'.

JEREMY LOVEDAY

Jeremy Loveday is a 3X Victoria Poetry Slam Champion and was twice voted Victoria's "Favourite Spoken Word Artist" by readers of Monday Magazine. Jeremy speaks powerfully and without pretense on social and environmental justice issues. His work has been featured on Huffington Post, CBC, Upworthy, and in Claudia; one of Brazil`s largest magazines. His videopoem Masks Off - A Challenge to Men has been viewed a million times, been translated into 6 languages and has been utilized in classrooms and by advocacy campaigns around the world. Jeremy is the Founder and Director of Victorious Voices youth spoken word festival and the creator of the Victoria Youth Poet Laureate program, the first of its kind in Canada. Jeremy was elected to Victoria City Council in 2014 and again in 2018, where he fights to make Victoria more affordable, sustainable, and vibrant.

LILY STOYKO-LANG

Lilly Stoyko-Lang is a local Cumberland Youth, 15 years old. She has always loved dancing and creating her own choreographies. She began doing aerial silks 2 years ago with Caresse Nadeau and currently practices with Kaya at 7 Story Circus. Recently she began studying dance at Triple Heat. 

THE MOANING YONI

In The Moaning Yoni Healing Circle a magical elixir awakens Zoë’s clitoral consciousness. From Tinder to Tantra, Zoë and her Yoni cross a sexual battlefield in a psychedelic journey. Will she learn to embrace her asexuality? Joylyn Secunda’s 17 characters whirl though songs, dances, and stunts in this cosmic comedy.

REALM OF WORDS

Join Cumberland based writing group Realm of Words for a poetic performance piece on the topic of going into the darkness. Through word, music & dance, a collaborative exploration will occur as the nooks and crannies of the dynamic of our psyches are brought to the surface to be witnessed by performers and audience alike.

DISCORD

A hired clown at a funeral? Nostalgia for things that never happened? A prudish sex cult?
Some of Comox Valley's finest buffoons, Megan Rose & Joel Fox,  show us what they've got in this 30 minute display of whimsy and tomfoolery.

COSMIC SOUL REFLECTIONS

An Inter-dimensional Journey of the Senses with Venita & Morgan

Travel through time and space to experience an activation of the senses through prayer-formance, storytelling and an auditory soundscape designed to expand your mind, open your heart and become more deeply grounded in your own personal power.

LUSCIOUS

Luscious is poetry in motion.
Her unique and creative fusion of dance draws from years spent as part of a traditional flamenco dance troupe as well as years spent as part of an oriental dance troupe, and honestly, from a lifetime of being moved to dancing to all types of music in a free spirited manner.
Her love and appreciation of music shines through her every move.

ANETA TOMEK

Aneta Tomek has been dancing flamenco for ten years and is currently studying and performing with Al Mozaico Dance Academy in Vancouver.  Aneta will be performing some traditional flamenco choreographies that she has learned through professional training, as well some originals that she choreographed to the “devil’s music.”