The Adventures of May, June & July
Hey everyone!
August has been a quieter month for me and I appreciated the time to focus on resting, self care and reflecting on the adventures of the last few months. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the activities I have been involved in before we get to the busy time that is the fall!
In June and July I had a blast hosting a number of musical events at festivals and travelling to some inspiring events where young people and educators were highlighted! Thank you to the Jazz Festival for having me hosting the Stevie Wonder Innervisions Show as part of Spirit of '73 Series as well as The Cube on National Indigenous People's Day. The talent and innovation were on display in an amazing way as I co-hosted the afternoon stage at Finding Our North Star at The Forks on July 1 and hosted the APTN Indigenous Peoples Day Live Pre-Show (pictured above)! I am also working on a good news project with the team at U-Multicultural because I think we can all agree we need more good news. Moving into the fall I am excited to be hosting more educational, community, cultural and musical events!
As a speaker I have had the pleasure of sharing a keynote and connecting with youth leaders with the National Association of Friendship Centres in Enoch, Alberta, connect in person with Early Child Care Educators in Manitoba, as well as a virtual keynote to folks at Tamarack titled Implementation As Medicine. I have also connected with families in Northwestern Ontario and talked community safety with our relatives in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan! Thanks to these folks and others who have had me out at keynotes and workshops in recent months!
Recent months have seen my role as a helper expanding, including the 2023 North End Grad Walk, initiating some personal and community language learning and work on reviving The Palace Theatre on Selkirk Avenue with the North End Historical Society. I continue to enjoy my time volunteering on the boards and committees in Winnipeg that help make systems smoother and hopefully contribute to making a better life for people living in poverty, those overcoming addiction and those working to bring their children home.
Finally as an author, I am busy behind the scenes laying the groundwork for the release of We Need Everyone (Coming January 2023) my debut children’s book. It features some secret Ininew teachings, a celebration of many gifts and of course my cat Sushi, all illustrated by the amazing Tiff Bartel. You can pre-order it today and get it on book shelves and book stores starting January 30th, just in time for February, I Love to Read Month 2024!
If there are events or speaking opportunities or other cool collaborations you think I may be a good fit for, please reach out. I love to see what kind of goodness we can create when we put our gifts and energy together towards a constructive solution.
Talk to you all soon!
Michael
