IDEAS: Yvette Rogers, Donovan Shirt, William (Loppy) Herney

Ideas: Powered by Passion and Singing Storytellers invite you to join Yvette Rogers, Outreach Coordinator for the Celtic Colours International Festival, as she shares her passion for the creative economy and its potential for community renewal. As an actor, dancer, singer and songwriter, Yvette is both an advocate and contributor to the cultural and creative industries in Cape Breton. Yvette will invite us to shift perspectives and imagine a new path forward where art and culture an integral part of our community’s development.

Opening the evening will be Donovan Shirt who will discuss “The Impact of Music” and how it helped him through the many challenges he faced as a homeless youth in Edmonton. Donovan, a 17 year old Emcee, uses his music and lyrics to cross cultural and socioeconomic lines and bring light to issues affecting young people today. Donovan Shirt is a young Aboriginal youth from Frog Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, and he can be found most days working on his music or as a Youth Ambassador for the iHuman’s LiNKS Mental Health Clinic.

Host, Mike McInnis, will carry this exciting evening. We’ll hear music from William (Loppy) Herney and we invite you to explore the artwork of Gary Addicott and Dr. Tanya Brann-Barrett’s project on youth and civic engagement. A powerful line-up for our 6th Season Opener!