Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Tuesday April 21 2015 11 Van Camp visit filled with gifts and surprises By MEAGAN WOHLBERG As Fort Smiths unofcial ambassador - or atleastbiggestfan-RichardVanCampnever returns to his hometown without bringing a few gifts for his friends family and elders. ThatwasespeciallytrueoflastweeksEve- ning of Fort Smith Magic where the NWT- born author held a giveaway party for the community as part of a lm screening and book reading at the Northern Life Museum and Cultural Centre on Monday evening. Apart from the collection of books and artwork rafed off in between the authors usual hilarious and heartwarming stories the former screenwriter for the classic CBC television show gave away a North of 60 jacket and t-shirt to two community mem- bers who wrote the most tear-jerking letters inspired by their love of the show. But the greatest gift of the night may have been the announcement that two lms are slated to be shot in Fort Smith over the com- ing year. The news elicited gasps of excite- ment from members of the audience who have evidently not given up hope for a truly made-in-the-NWT movie adaptation of one of their hometown boys stories. A few years ago Fort Smith was disap- pointed when Van Camps breakout novel The Lesser Blessed set in the towns alter- ego Fort Simmer was ditched as the lming location for Ontario due to a lack of funding. Asecondwaveofdisappointmentcamewhen VanCampsshortstoryDogribMidnightRun- nershadtobeshotinSixNationsforthesame reasonresultinginMohawkMidnightRunners. But this time around Van Camp promises Three Feathers - his latest graphic novel that launched in the community last month - will beshotinFortSmithandonceagaincastlocal actorJoelEvansthestarofTheLesserBlessed lm who was discovered during a casting call atthelocalhighschoolandideallyhometown actor David Burke who starred in the recent Hollywood production Cut Bank. And were going to need all of you too Van Camp told the crowd. I want to see all of youonthebigscreenattheboatlaunchwhen the boys are bringing meat back into town at RoaringRapidsHallattheFriendshipCentre. One of Van Camps new unreleased sto- ries is also set to become a lm shot in Fort Smith directed by local lmmaker Carla Ulrich. Hickey Gone Wrong is a funny - and true - tale of Van Camps rst North- ern rosary scored during his time working as a pump jockey at local gas bar Kellys. Additionally Van Camp said the new graphic novel hes working on about sui- cide called Spirit needs an artist and that artist has to come from Fort Smith. Aspiring illustrators have until the end of April to draw six panels of the story for Van Camp in order to land a one-year book deal with Winnipeg publisher Portage Main. Apart from the announcements Van Camp took time to read from his brand new no- vella Whistle which serves a sequel to The Lesser Blessed written nearly 20 years ago. The novel is written as a collection of letters from bully Darcy who as part of his restor- ative justice program at a youth detention facility writes to a kid he used to torment ultimately helping his former victim over- come a traumatic life event. He also gave a teaser for his upcoming graphic novel A Blanket of Butteries in- spired by the museums real-life samurai suit of armour which was out on display during the event and gifted a stuffed raven from the lm set of The Lesser Blessed to the museum. The evening was capped off with a screen- ing of Mohawk Midnight Runners a lm by Six Nations director Zoe Hopkins. Though not set in Fort Smith Van Camp ensured the dedication at the end of the lm went out to his late friend Paul Grundy and all the people of Fort Smith especially those whose loved ones have been lost to suicide. I dedicate this movie to all of us here he said.Becausewerefamily.Weshareeachoth- ers joys and also carry each others sorrows. Van Camp ended the evening with a book signingbutnotbeforeemphasizingtheimpor- tance of giving and sharing as a community. Were rich in Fort Smith because we have eachother.Weliveinparadise.SoIencourage you to host more giveaways he said. This is my challenge to you cousins bring back visiting and start throwing feasts again. PhotosMeaganWohlberg Community members check out the mysterious samurai armour housed at the Northern Life Museum in Fort Smith which was the inspiration behind Van Camps upcoming graphic novel A Blanket of Butteries. Van Camp signs free copies of Three Feathers for Janine Fryer left and Chloe Daniels. The graphic novel written in Cree and English tells the true story of some Fort Smith thieves with a reimagined ending of restorative justice. Author Richard Van Camp reads from his new book Whistle a sequel to his acclaimed rst novel The Lesser Blessed. The book is written as a series of letters from the bully Darcy after he is sent to jail. Hometown author Richard Van Camp shares stories with a packed audience in Fort Smith where the crowd was treated to readings from a new book free graphic novels prize giveaways and a screening of the lm Mohawk Midnight Runners adapted from one of his short stories. ARTS CULTURE BOOKS FILM