My Book Launch at The Community Picnic In The Park sponsored by the Junior Black Achievement Awards Society (JBAA)
This Little Light of Mine: Addena’s Substack
Welcome to the 2nd edition of my Newsletter. Remember… treat me gently as I’m still dipping my toes in the waters. I’d like to say again that I am honoured to be invited into your inbox and look forward to sharing my thoughts, new writing, readings, and interviews and collaborations with other artists and community movers and shakers that inspire me. If you have any comments or ideas for me please check my website and leave me an email.
This past week there was a fabulous Community Picnic in the Park in Glen Park in Coquitlam B.C. The Picnic was to commemorate and honour Nelson Mandela Day and to bring communities together to mix, mingle, share fun, food, and laughter. Oh, … I can’t forget there was music, music, music, and dance!
The picnic was organized by the Junior Black Achievement Society (JBAA) and was such a success because of the help of various community sponsors and community volunteers. From now on The JBAA Society Community Picnic in the Park will be an annual event, so if you wanna get involved, or be a sponsor, be part of the entertainment, or part of the crew, just contact the JBAA Society by checking out their website to see what the Society is all about and what its goals are for youth and families in our communities.
As a member and supporter of JBAA, I was invited to have a Book Launch. That was so cool. I was really pleased with all the support and encouragement I received, when people visited my table, and especially pleased by the curiosity and interest expressed by a few youth who stopped by to share that they were writers, and asked about what it would take for them to publish their writing.
Last thing to mention, (I can’t lie) I was super stoked about the sales of my books. I passed out my hot-off-the-press business cards and let everyone know they should check my website because eBooks are also available.
Here are some of the photos from the day:
It was a beautiful day and a great event. It was hot, hot, hot, in every way!
Sean FS brought his sons, Rey, and little baby, Zander. He sat Zander in the shade of the tent and wiped him down with cold water and put ice on his Sean FS brought his sons, Rey, and little baby, Zander. He sat Zander in the shade of the tent and wiped him down with cold water and put ice on his head. He fell fast asleep.
We can call him “ice, ice, baby”.
Thanks to JBAA Society, all the community Sponsors,
Coquitlam’s Mayor Richard Stewart, Coquitlam Community Police, the Volunteers, and all the participants.
💖💖💖💖💖
So … now let’s go from a day of being super stoked to a few days of being super bummed-out the week before this. I’ll explain.
That week I was so happy and eager to announce my website going live, and the publishing of my books
Stay Black and Die, and Back In The Days (both books are stories and poems about growing up, people and families in The North End, and ours being the only Black family in that part of the neighborhood) that I went on a Facebook group page about Winnipeg, posted my announcement and my website.
I was totally floored at some of the comments to my announcement that were posted. Like honestly! I couldn’t believe that some people made comments like:
“Well , I grew up in Winnipeg and that’s not true what you wrote”.
Or “There was no racism in Winnipeg in the 60’s and 70’s”. “Everybody was treated the same”.
“Nobody saw colour.” Oh, and I can’t leave out the comment, “I grew up in the 60’s, and nobody was treated different”.
One person commented that I couldn’t be a seventh- generation Canadian. He said, “Sorry, but that is simply impossible. Canadian citizenship did not exist until 1947. That's 75 years ago. There have only been 4 generations in existence since then. Ten generations would be 200 years. Canada is only 156 years old.”
That same person somehow got onto how his ancestors fought in wars for this country, and that my claiming my family’s heritage was denying his heritage. I don’t know what that even meant!
I guess I was overwhelmingly saddened that some people felt entitled to deny my reality and to deny that racism existed in those times. Perhaps they thought my telling the truth about history was somehow my attempt to blame or shame them or other people …and then I figured it out!
These people were probably around my age, and they are like the kind of people today that want to silence or erase the truth of History.
After I had that epiphany, my bummed-outness was over.
Whew!
Now for happier happenings. One of the people who came out to support me at my book launch at
The Community Picnic In The Park was my friend,
Carlos Joe Costa.
Carlos was responsible for getting me to continue my drumming, because he passed his long time Conga Drums on to me. The story behind that is, Carlos was getting a new set of drums (here he is pictured with them) because he had his old set since 1966. He told me that when a drummer gets rid of his drums it’s a tradition that they don’t sell them, what they do is take them to a beach or a park and leave them there and a drummer will find them. I pleaded with him, No Carlos, leave them for me I’m going to find them! So… that’s how I got my set of Conga Drums.
You will see Carlos play one of them when he came to my daughters April‘s house for dinner, and he was gracious enough to indulge us and play his old drum for us, and play his flute in order to allow me to shine a little light his way in my newsletter.
Carlos Joe Costa
Producer
Percussionist/Flutist
Carlos Joe Costa is a producer percussionist and flutist originally from San Francisco and has been living in Vancouver for many years now.
He has worked with artists such as Santana, Journey, Taj Mahal, Tripoli Steel Drum Band, Elvin Bishop, and Louie Bellson. Carlos was the house percussionist for Pacific Recording with producer Paul Curico (Metallica Grateful Dead, Herbie Hancock, Doobie Brothers.) He released his first solo album and 2010 entitled African Science, and co-produced and performed on Dutch Robinson’s “Freedom” in 2013.
In addition to his career as a musician, Carlos is an actor and filmmaker. He was the producer of a filmmaking collective, Film Shop Entertainment Group.
Currently Carlos is part of Ocean Surf Sounds, a collective of multi-genre producers composers and musicians whose vision is to create a fusion of contemporary and classical sounds for all media.
https://www.oceansurfsounds.com/
Carlos Joe Costa is a seasoned musician and used to recording in studios, yet as you’ll see he was willing to collaborate and play with us at our apartment. We had to start and restart the video takes trying learn how to capture his drumming and poetry. Carlos was Carlos: he was patient and gracious and lovingly indulged us.
Carlos Drum prayer/chant video:
Thank you Voice recording and introduction to Performance poetry piece, “For Miles”
Performance Poetry video by Carlos Joe Costa
Thank you Carlos. Thank you all… and see you next time
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In Loving memory of Patty Kelly
Sunrise -01/18/59 Sunset -11/16/22
I would just like to Honour and pay pay Tribute to my friend, and a dear friend to many, Patty Kelly.
She carved out a place in our hearts and she will be missed…everyday.
Last week, two beautiful Memorials were held for Patty. One arranged by her family and friends and held in her garden in Flesherton, Ontario, and one held at Catherine’s restaurant by Patty’s friends in Negril. I wrote a tribute for Patty to be read at her memorial. In part of that tribute, I said:
…One of the things I most admired and respected you for, was the fact that you didn’t mind not being presented as the Main Event, but we always knew you were: The Star!”