TORONTO, June 26, 2017 /CNW/ - Firefly Creative Writing celebrate the opening and launch of their dedicated writing studio at Woodbine and Danforth on June 29, 2017 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 1898 Danforth Avenue, Toronto.
For 12 years, Firefly Creative Writing has offered creative writing workshops, coaching and retreats for people who want to write. As the demand for Firefly's workshops continued to grow, founder Chris Kay Fraser realized she needed a space in Toronto dedicated solely to writing.
"No one is more surprised than me to find myself lighting up a sign on the Danforth this month," she says. "Firefly started with one writing workshop and it's kept growing and growing ever since."
Fraser, along with her team, family, friends and community, has transformed the storefront from the once electric-blue painted marijuana dispensary to a calming sanctuary for all writers. Visitors are greeted by a wall-to-wall bookcase that includes a shelf for donated writing journals and a shelf showcasing published works by writers who have taken courses with Firefly.
The studio is peppered with writing stations, and even the washroom sparks the imagination, with a chalkboard prompting writers to answer, "Some day, my writing will go out into the world and ______"
"There's really nothing else like this in the city," Fraser says. "Our hope is that even if you've never taken a writing class, you'll feel at home in our studio from the minute you walk through our door."
The creation of this studio allows Firefly to bring the work they do to a larger population. "I'm so happy to see how many people stop and take pictures of our chalk-board signs," says Fraser. "Before this, the only people that found us were ones who looked. Now we have a brick and mortar space, more people are asking themselves, 'Wait, is that for me? Do I have stories to write?'"
Firefly will also expand their workshop offerings, including new ones such as memoir-writing workshops for Women of Colour and people in the LGBTTQ+ community. They have also added a monthly membership program that will allow writers in Toronto to use the studio for uninterrupted, internet-free writing time.
Based on the belief that everyone has a story to tell, Firefly focuses on encouragement, inspiration and the sharing of work to help writers discover the stories they want to tell and the voices they want to tell them in.
Started in Fraser's living room in 2005 with nothing more than an idea and a pile of homemade flyers, Firefly has grown to a team of seven women writers, who offer writing workshops, retreats, one-on-one coaching and creative workshops for corporations. They have helped over 2,000 participants share their stories over the past 12 years.
The studio launch will be a reunion for their many Firefly students and a chance to introduce new people who are curious about this new storefront in their neighbourhood.
The drop-in launch will run from 5 to 10 p.m. with remarks at 8 p.m. and the first inaugural lighting of their street-facing sign at 9:30 p.m.
More information about Firefly Creative Writing is available at fireflycreativewriting.com
SOURCE Firefly Creative Writing
For further details about the event or follow-up enquiries, please contact Ailsa Bristow at [email protected]
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