Wordstock - Portland Oregon

Figure 1.0 – Citizens at the Wordstock Festival in Portland Oregon (Wordstock, 2015).

I found the arts and cultural events in Portland, Oregon to be the most interesting exemplar I researched. Specifically, the literary arts scene is thriving in Portland due to a number of festivals and events including Wordstock. Wordstock aims to engage citizens and the local literary community through celebrating literature and literacy. This directly connects to my group’s creative cluster, the literary arts. Calgary’s Wordfest is a festival that we should look further in to. Studies have shown that these festivals provide opportunities for citizen engagement and inclusivity. Additionally, Wordstock allows free admission for people 18 and younger which encourages the youth to join in on literary conversations. Barrier free entries are essential in developing social inclusion within a community which is something we should consider for our experiment. Furthermore, our experiment will be barrier free in the sense that everyone can participate, regardless of age or ability. Other initiatives such as We Are Portland focus on increasing awareness of Portland’s diversity though photography different families. It would be inspiring to incorporate Calgary’s diversity into our experiment.

Wordstock. (n.d.). Book Fair at Wordstock 2015 [Digital image]. Retrieved February 17, 2019, from https://thebookdoctors.com/wordstock-why-writers-need-to-go-to-book-festivals/