Spur, Canada's First Festival of Politics, Arts & Ideas, to Take Place April 11-14

The latest innovative idea to come forward from the Literary Review of Canada and Diaspora Dialogues is Spur, Canada's first national festival of politics, art and ideas, set to launch in Toronto with an eclectic mix of events, debates, musical performances, panels, walking tours and more. In its inaugural year, Spur will roll out editions in Winnipeg and Vancouver in addition to Toronto. The national festival is themed for each market and invites Canadians to have fun with some of today's most provocative writers, journalists, entrepreneurs, activists and politicians.

Spur Toronto's "The Bottom Line: the Intersection of Cash, Civics and Culture" will take place in a central hub of venues in downtown Toronto, April 11-14.

Spur Winnipeg's focus on "Unnatural History: The Past, Present and Future of our Human-Made World" will be celebrated April 26 - 28.

The events and program for Spur Vancouver's "Global Power Play: The rise, fall and reimagination of societies" will be held June 17 - 19.

"As we build Spur, we're visualizing it like a railroad linking communities across Canada in a conversation that is both national in scope and local in nuance. Spur is laying tracks between Canadians of all backgrounds, building a broad public forum available to all," said Spur founder and director Helen Walsh in announcing details of the festival.

Guests include: New Yorker senior writer Hendrik Hertzberg; historian Ronald Wright; environmentalist and entrepreneur Paul Hawken; political operatives Chima Nkemdirim (Chief of Staff to mayor, Calgary), Jaime Watt (Chair, Navigator) and David Herle (Partner, Gandalf Group); political satirists the Yes Men, Todd Hanson (The Onion) and Robin Duke; authors Ayelet Tsabari, Shyam Selvadurai, Terry Fallis, and Sarah Elton; poets J. Roger Léveille, Sally Ito and Lise Gaboury-Diallo; playwrights Hannah Moscovitch, Michael Healey and Ins Choi; architect Bruce Kuwabara; journalists Sarah Fulford, Carol Goar and Sandra Martin; bands Soul Stew and the Happy Pals, and many others.

Spur trademarks: strong partnerships with local presenters including museums, theatres and libraries; accessibility in terms of price and venue location; an imaginative mix of content that spurs Canadians to be challenged, engaged and entertained and a core commitment to programming that reflects the diversity of Canada.

In the spirit of spurring thought into action, RBC Emerging Scholars and Spur Public Fellows will capture the ideas of the festivals in moving forward with expansion plans for 2014.

For program updates, a complete Spur guide to events and presenters, as well as detailed ticket information visit www.spurfestival.ca.

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