Voices of Today

LAST NIGHT WE CROWNED OUR 2020 VOT CHAMPION! Congratulations to all our poets for bringing their amazing work to our virtual stage, and congratulations to DOG DAYS ARE OVER for taking home the title! ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: Yellow Brick background, in the center, the text reads "Congratulations to our VOT 2020 Champion DOG DAYS ARE OVER & to all the poets who brought their work to our virtual stage!" in a text box. Center at the bottom, the text "VOICES OF TODAY 2020" sits in another text box.

We can't believe it's already the end of festival! Come join us for one last day of two amazing showcases - first up, our Festival Showcase featuring Gabby Elvessie! ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: Purple Brick background, in the center, the text reads "Festival Showcase Featuring Gabbie Elvessie - August 16 2020 - 3:00-5:00 PM PST / 12:00-2:00 PM PST / 1:00-3:00 PM MST/CST SASK" in a text box. Center at the bottom, the text "VOICES OF TODAY 2020" sits in another text box. SLIDE TWO is a purple background with purple circular details and purple leaves. The words "Festival Showcase featuring Gabby Elvessie are in white near the top. Centred is a polaroid photo of Gabby Elvessie. The times for the showcase are in white at the bottom: August 16 2020 - 3:00-5:00 PM PST / 12:00-2:00 PM PST / 1:00-3:00 PM MST/CST SASK

We can't believe today is the LAST DAY OF WORKSHOPS! Tomorrow we'll have two amazing showcases, but make sure to check out Q, Charlie Petch and Nisha Patels workshops before FINALS today! ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: SLIDE ONE is a yellow brick background, with a dark yellow square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Four Workshops." A dark yellow arrow points to the right. A second dark yellow square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words Making The Old New are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, with a picture of Q. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Q. The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 15 12:00-1:00 PM EST / 9:00-10:00 AM PST / 10:00-11:00 AM MST/CST SASK SLIDE THREE is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words The Solo Show Workshop are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, a picture of Charlie Petch inside of it. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Charlie Petch. The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 15 1:45-3:45 PM EST / 10:45-12:45 PM PST / 11:45-1:45 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE FOUR is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words "Introduction to Grant Writing are in white near the top. A polaroid sits near the centre with a picture of Nisha Patel. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads Workshop with Nisha Patel. The times for workshop are in white at the centre to the right of the polaroid: August 15 4:30-5:30 PM EST / 1:30-2:30 PM PST / 2:30-3:30 PM MST/CST SASK

Voices of Today is updating our rules to expand specification of hate speech. We have made the following amendment: Hate speech, nudity, and plagiarism all equal disqualification. ... AMENDMENT: Quoting hate speech and slurs if you are not of the group that speech or slur is targeted at, is still perpetuating the harm of that hate speech or slur and will be considered as such This amendment surfaced after the preliminary rounds of the festival where a poem with a slur was quoted by a poet who was not of the group the slur was directed at. Voices of Today would like to apologise to anyone affected by this poem as we take responsibility for the poem being streamed without having been critically reviewed. In this year's online iteration of the festival poets submitted pre-recorded poems. Poems were then captioned by our captioning team. Poems being submitted and captioned in advanced means that we should've realised the harm this poem would cause and that we should have addressed it with the poet before the poem was live-broadcasted. We've discussed the issue with our captioning team and the person who specifically captioned that poem as well. We have reached out to the poet and have been in discussion with them and their coach to facilitate learning and next-steps. Since then, both the captioning and Anti-O team have been working to be cognisant and critical in the review of *all* submitted content before the rest of the open mics and finals so that we can proactively address preventable harm. Signed, the Directors of Voices of Today 2020

Are you excited for our workshops today? The first one starts in 45 MINUTES with MelVeeX! ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: SLIDE ONE is a yellow brick background, with a dark yellow square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Four Workshops." A dark yellow arrow points to the right. A second dark yellow square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words Taking Your Training Wheels Off are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, with a picture of MelVeeX. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With MelVeeX. The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 14 2:45-4:45 PM EST / 11:45-1:45 PM PST / 12:45-2:45 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE THREE is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words How to Make Plantains are in white near the top. Two polaroids photo sits near the center, the left one is a picture of plantains with pink flowers, and the second is a close up of Renelle Sib's hands cutting a mushroom. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Renelle Sib. The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 13 7:15-7:45 PM EST / 4:15-4:45 PM PST / 5:15-5:45 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE FOUR is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words Digital Activism Using Your Skills for Change are in white near the top. A polaroid sits near the centre with a picture of Maud Mostly. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads Workshop with Maud Mostly. The times for workshop are in white at the centre to the right of the polaroid: August 14 5:30-6:30 PM EST / 2:30-3:30 PM PST / 3:30-4:30 PM MST/CST SASK

Can you believe it's already DAY FOUR? Join us for two amazing showcases today, our Lunchtime/AM Open Mic & Showcase featuring Dana De Samedi, Julia Gaskill and gigi bella, and our Maza Showcase this evening featuring FRANZ, ICY GAZE, Kiran The Muse & Namitha!! It' going to be an amazing day of poetry! #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday... ID: SLIDE ONE is a purple brick background, with a dark purple square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Four Showcases. A dark purple arrow points to the right. A second dark purple square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a purple background with purple circular details and purple leaves. The words "Open Mic and Showcase Featuring Dana De Samedi, Julia Gaskill & Gigi Bella are in white near the top. Centred are a set of three polaroid photos of Dana De Samedi, Julia Gaskill and Gigi Bella in individual ones. The times for the showcase are in white at the bottom: August 14 12:00-2:00 PM EST / 9:00-11:00 AM PST / 10:00-12:00 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE THREE is a purple background with purple circular details and purple leaves. The words Maza Showcase Featuring FRANZ, ICY GAZE, Kiran the Muse & Namitha are in white near the centre. Along the right side are four polaroid photos of Franz, Icy Gaze, Kiran the Muse and Namitha in individual ones. The times for the showcase are in white at the bottom: August 14 9:00-11:00 PM EST / 6:00-800 PM PST / 7:00-9:00 PM MST/CST SASK

Who’s ready for even more AMAZING workshops! We’ve got two coming up this afternoon, this first with Cassandra Meyers and the second with Andrea Josic! As always, you can grab tickets to these and all other events on our website ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: SLIDE ONE is a yellow brick background, with a dark yellow square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Three Workshops." A dark yellow arrow points to the right. A second dark yellow square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words "Smash the Headlights A Workshop for Survival and Beyond" are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, with a picture of Cassandra Meyers. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Cassandra Meyers". The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 13 2:45-4:45 PM EST / 11:45-1:45 PM PST / 12:45-2:45 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE THREE is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words "Writing Towards Joy & Laughter" are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, with a picture of Andrea Josic. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Andrea Josic". The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 13 5:30-7:00 PM EST / 2:30-4:00 PM PST / 3:30-5:00 PM MST/CST SASK

We hope you're all excited for our workshops and showcases today! Just an UPDATE: gigi bella will be performing at TOMORROW's 12:00PM EST Showcase! #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday... ID: SLIDE ONE is a purple brick background, with a dark purple square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Two Showcases." A dark purple arrow points to the right. A second dark purple square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a purple background with purple circular details and purple leaves. The words "Open Mic and Showcase featuring Tabassum Pasha & Dena Igusti are in white near the top. Three polaroid photos sit near the center, with pictures of Tabassum Pasha & Dena Igusti i in individual ones. The times for the event are in white at the bottom: "August 13 12:00-2:00 PM EST / 9:00-11:00 AM PST / 10:00-2:00 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE THREE is a purple background with purple circular details and purple leaves. The words "Open Mic and Showcase are in white near the top. The words Featuring Jamey L Williams II & Angeliquoi? are centred next to two polaroid photos of Jamey L Williams II and Angeliguoi? in individual ones. The times for the showcase are in white at the bottom: "August 13 7:45-10: 00 PM EST / 4:45-7:00 PM PST / 5:45-8:00 PM MST/CST SASK

We’ve got an INCREDIBLE showcase coming up this evening!! As always, you can head over to our website using the link in our bio to grab yourself a ticket. Everything is PWYC!! ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: SLIDE ONE is a purple brick background, with a dark purple square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Two Showcases." A dark purple arrow points to the right. A second dark purple square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a purple background with purple circular details and purple leaves. The words "Open Mic and Showcase featuring Joy Young, Kit Tempo & Shay Alexi are in white near the top. Three polaroid photos sit near the center, with pictures of Joy Young, Kit Tempo and Shay Alexi in individual ones. The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 12 7:00-9:00 PM EST / 4:00-6:00 PM PST / 5:00-6:00 PM MST/CST SASK

Our Slam Competition starts TODAY! If you haven't already gotten tickets, head over to the website link in our bio to reserve some! PWYC with 50% of all ticket sales today going to Freedom School ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: SLIDE ONE is a green brick background, with a dark green square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day Two Slam Schedule." A dark green arrow points to the right. A second dark green square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a green background with green circular details and green leaves. The words "Bout One" are centered. The times for the bout are in white underneath: "August 12 1:45-2:45 PM EST / 10:45-11:45 AM PST / 11:45-12:45 PM MST/CST SASK" At the bottom reads "Voices of Today 2020" SLIDE THREE is a green background with green circular details and green leaves. The words "Bout Two" are centered. The times for the bout are in white underneath: "August 12 3:30-4:30 PM EST / 12:30-1:30 PM PST / 1:30-2:30 PM MST/CST SASK" At the bottom reads "Voices of Today 2020" SLIDE FOUR is a green background with green circular details and green leaves. The words "Bout Three" are centered. The times for the bout are in white underneath: "August 12 5:15-6:15 PM EST / 2:15-3:15 PM PST / 3:15-4:15 PM MST/CST SASK" At the bottom reads "Voices of Today 2020"

Hi there poets and pals - we just want to acknowledge that our Schedule has CST times listed. These times are from CST Saskatoon (which does not participate in Daylight Savings Time), and so therefore all CST times are CST Saskatoon/MST! This will be listed on all new graphics!

We have two amazing workshops today! If you haven't already signed up, head over to the website link in our bio to reserve tickets! PWYC with 50% of all ticket sales today going to Black Women in Motion ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: SLIDE ONE is a yellow brick background, with a dark yellow square in the center with white lettering that reads "Swipe to Check Out Our Day One Showcases." A dark yellow arrow points to the right. A second dark yellow square sits bottom center with the text "Voices of Today 2020" inside of it. SLIDE TWO is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words "Writing Our Way To Nourishment" are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, with a picture of Sam Slupski. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Sam Slupski". The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 11 4:00-5:00 PM EST / 1:00-2:00 PM PST / 2:00-3:00 PM MST/CST SASK SLIDE THREE is a yellow background with yellow circular details and yellow leaves. The words "The Midnight Robber In You" are in white near the top. A polaroid photo sits near the center, with a picture of Keir Alekseii. The text on the bottom of the polaroid reads "Workshop With Keir Alekseii". The times for workshop are in white at the bottom: "August 11 6:15-8:15 PM EST / 3:15-5:15 PM PST / 4:15-6:15 PM MST/CST SASK

Our 2020 Festival has officially begun and we can't wait to bring you a packed week of amazing programming! What event are you most excited for? Comment below! ... #youthpoetry #youthpoets #poetry #spokenword #voicesoftoday ID: Green leafy background, in the center, the text reads "OUR 2020 FESTIVAL HAS BEGUN!" in a text box. Center at the bottom, the text "VOICES OF TODAY 2020" sits in another text box.

Day One of Voices 2020 is here! Join us this morning for our FOC Showcase and this evening for VOT Legends Showcase featuring Heather Kori Reid, Aaron Hunter & Jayda Marley! Head on over to our website to read event descriptions and grab your tickets! #youthpoetry #voicesoftoday #voicesoftoday2020 #youthpoets... ID: The first image features a purple brick background, a dark purple square in the centre with white lettering reads Swipe to check out our Day One Showcases. A dark purple arrow pointing to the right. A second dark@purple square at the bottom with white letter reads Voices of Today 2020. Slide two is a purple background with purple abstract shapes and leaf details. A white square featuring the Voice of Today logo in black. The words "FOC Showcase" in white at the top, with the times for the showcase at the bottom, also in white, reading "August 11 11:30-12:30 PM EST 8:30-9:30 AM PST 9:30-10:30 AM MST/CST SASK". Slide three is a purple background with purple details. The words "VoT Legends Showcase featuring Heather Kori Reid, Aaron Hunter & Jayda Marley" are in white near the top. Three polaroid style photos of the three feature artists are at the centre. The times for showcase are in white at the bottom: "August 11 9:00-11:00 PM EST 6:00-8:00 PM PST 7:00-9:00 PM MST/CST SASK

SIGN UP FOR OUR UNDERGROUND INDIES TOURNAMENT - OPEN TO YOUTH 25 AND UNDER - AUGUST 12 voicesoftoday.ca/festival-tickets/underground-signup ID: White Square on a Black and white background, split in half down the middle horizontally. Background looks painted & splattered. Text inside box reads: Sign Up - Underground Indies // 12 SPOTS AVAILABLE // OPEN TO YOUTH 25 AND UNDER - AUGUST 12 - 9:30-11:30 PM EST / 6:30-8:30 PM PST / 7:30-9:30 PM CST // (EST TORONTO / PST VANCOUVER / CST SASKATOON)

Looking to join us for some of our AMAZING events tomorrow? Get your (PWYC) tickets today at voicesoftoday.ca/festival-tickets/day-one !