SUPPORT BLUE METROPOLIS

Louise Ann Maziak
President of the Board of Director, Blue Metropolis Foundation
Honorary Chairperson of the honorary committee for the Thriller benefit event

Jean François Leduc
Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer, GardaWorld
Co-chair of the “5 Reasons to Give” campaign
A 25th anniversary with great fanfare!
As Blue Metropolis celebrates its 25th anniversary, 2023 is lining up to be chalk full of emotions, literary events, refreshed educational programming and many other lovely creative moments.
Louise Ann Maziak and Jean François Leduc invite you to lend your support to the Blue Metropolis Foundation to ensure the future of Montreal’s Blue Metropolis Festival, one of the biggest multilingual literary festivals in the Americas, and the continued achievement of the Foundation’s educational mission.
Literature, diversity, inclusion, freedom of expression, and even helping kids stay in school… There are so many reasons to support Blue Metropolis, as our recent projects show. To celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of Blue Metropolis in 2023 and as a token of our appreciation, donors who contribute $300 or more will receive a festival pass (CAD$60 value) to attend the Festival’s anniversary edition, from April 27 to 30, 2023.
DONATE ONLINE
Every donation counts. Each year our team doubles its efforts to promote reading and inclusion and to break social isolation.
DONATE BY CHEQUE
Print and fill out the downloadable form
and send it with a cheque made out to Blue Metropolis Foundation,
at 661, rue Rose-de-lima, bureau 204, Montréal (QC) H4C 2L7
Charity Organization number: 88516 8948 RR0001

THRILLER
The 25th edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival will get off to a riveting start with the THRILLER benefit soiree. Members of the honorary committee will perform dramatic readings of short excerpts from acclaimed thriller works from here and abroad that will leave you gasping for air and to get your heart thumping. The soiree will feature a rich program spotlighting a wide variety of novels each bound to keep one on the edge of their seat till the last very page: historical, social, psychological and mystery, fantasy and horror thrillers… A breathtaking assortment of tales that will transport all of us to worlds of lurking menace, innumerable twists and turns, and spectacular investigations.
Discover the thrillers to be features by the honorary committee and purchase your tickets: https://bluemetropolis.org/thriller/

THE ANNUAL “5 REASONS TO GIVE” CAMPAIGN
Jean François Leduc, Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer at GardaWorld, is the co-chair of Blue Metropolis’ annual “5 Reasons to Give” campaign, a citizen funding drive that seeks individual and corporate donations to benefit the social and educational programs of the Blue Metropolis Foundation. Academic resilience, inclusion, combatting prejudice or environmental awareness: what will be your reason to give in 2023?
Make your donation here: https://bluemetropolis.org/give/
5 REASONS TO GIVE…

25th ANNIVERSARY: SPECIAL PROGRAMMING & ILLUSTRIOUS GUESTS
In 2023, Blue Metropolis will turn a quarter of a century old. Our 25th anniversary is an opportunity for us to look adamantly to the future: literature is constantly changing, including through heritage. More than ever, this edition of the Festival will be based on important writers and thinkers whose work sheds light on the past and the present, however chaotic or tormented, and gives us a glimpse of what lies ahead. Together we will ask what the future holds, a question that raises so many others: What will linguistic diversity look like? What about human habitats? Nature? Borders? Identities?
Support the 2023 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival.

NEXT – MAKING SURE THE NEXT GENERATION IS HANDS-ON
Society is a living organism, and forever in flux. That’s progress! But too many young people are left by the wayside. Youth marginalization can be structural, caused by poverty, dropping out of school, family violence, difficult living environments, or social inequality. Prejudice and resistance from companies and in the labour market can also create barriers for youth who may have less typical backgrounds and young people from under-represented communities.
Support social inclusion for every child. Support our training programs.

LGBTQ+ SERIES & 2023 VIOLET LITERARY PRIZE
For nearly 25 years, Blue Metropolis has been a platform for literary LGBTQ+ voices. Whether emerging or established, from Montreal, Canada, or abroad, the authors in the Festival’s LGBTQ+ series showcase new practices, raise identity issues, and mobilize communities.
The 2022 edition of the Festival brought together authors including Tomson Highway, Olivia Tapiero, Jessica Johns, Shola von Reinhold, Nicholas Dawson, and Mariève Maréchal through round table discussions, at the Violet Prize ceremony, and for book launches. They also presented new work in podcasts and through a rich program of events presented in person and online.
Tune in on March 22, 2023 to discover our new LGBTQ+ programming, and support diversity by making a donation.
There are no small gifts. There are only precious gifts, gratefully received.

ECOLOGY AND LITTERATURE
How can we fight climate change and contend with the social and global injustice that the climate crisis entails? During the Festival, you’ll have a chance to meet writers, thinkers, and researchers who have come together to address these issues. Listen to our authors’ podcasts. Bring your children and check out the Vegetable Patch Adventurers workshop series.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Did you know that 100% of the teachers, parents, and librarians surveyed in 2022 said that the TD-Blue Metropolis Children’s Festival activities directly contributed to the academic success of the children who visited with our authors and cultural mediators?
Support our free year-round children’s programming.
Find out more: www.bluemetropolis.org/youth
IMPACT OF OUR YOUTH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
YOUTH PROGRAMMING
Those surveyed agree our youth programming activities foster significant interest among children with regards to:
/ academic success 100 %
/ reading and/or mathematics 95,2 %
/ developing their imagination and creativity 95,2 %
/ increasing knowledge 80,9 %
100 % of those surveyed would recommend the Children’s Festival.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Those surveyed (teachers, cultural facilitators, librarians, parents) feel our educational programs positively impact students’:
/ motivation 89 %
/ grades 79 %
/ ability to express themselves 93 %
/ self-esteem 93 %
/ interactions with each other 82 %