Cheryl Foggo is a playwright, author, and filmmaker, whose work over the last 35 years has focused on the lives of Western Canadians of African descent. Among her many works are the play Heaven, the documentary John Ware Reclaimed, John Ware Reimagined and the autobiographical Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. Foggo is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Outstanding Artist Award, The Doug and Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award, the Arts, Media and Entertainment Award from the Calgary Black Chambers, the Women Making History in Alberta Award, the Alberta Order of Excellence and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. In 2023, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Mount Royal University.
Wordfest turns 30 this year and we’re throwing a lively bash to celebrate the Calgarians who helped build Wordfest. It’s our way of thanking writers, readers, and community builders for helping to spark our thriving literary scene. And what better way to showcase this city’s range of wordy goodness than inviting seven of our finest storytellers to share a seven-minute tale about the relationship between their art and their hometown, in its all its contradictions, complexities, and connections. Join us for The Way We… Calgary’d, featuring Ali Bryan, Marcello Di Cintio, Will Ferguson, Cheryl Foggo, Richard Harrison, Joshua Whitehead, and Teresa Wong, with a special performance by Tom Phillips.
In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations, the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation within Alberta District 6, and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.
