Link to the full 2-day schedule now available!
Schedule is tentative and subject to change.
Keynote Speakers
Niigaan Sinclair
Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe from Peguis First Nation.He is an award-winning writer, editor and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba who was named one of the most influential people in Canada by Maclean’s magazine in 2022.
Niigaan is a multiple nominee of Canadian columnist of the year (winning in 2018) and his commentary appears weekly on multiple platforms across Canada – from the pages of The Winnipeg Free Press to TV shows on CBC, APTN and on his co-hosted podcast Niigaan and the Lone Ranger.
His first book Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre (McClelland & Stewart, 2024) was a national bestseller that won the 2024 Governor General Award for Non-fiction. He is a former secondary school teacher who won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Niigaan will be speaking on Tuesday, May 6 at 10:30 am
Chimwemwe Undi
Chimwemwe Undi is a writer and lawyer based on Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba.Her debut poetry collection, Scientific Marvel (House of Anansi Press, 2024) received the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award in Poetry.
She is a former Winnipeg Poet Laureate (2023/2024), and Parliamentary Poet Laureate for 2025 and 2026.
She practices professional regulation and labour law at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP.
Chimwemwe will be speaking on Wednesday, May 7 at 12:00 pm
(Photo credit: Pierette Boily)
Anne-Marie Williot and Ian Cherry
Anne-Marie Williot is a trilingual multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter hailing from rural Quebec, and now based in Winnipeg.
A honed poet and performer, she writes and sings in a deliciously melodic blend of old and new sounds, often evocative of candle-lit cafes.
In recent years, the accordion has become her main instrument. In 2020, she released her latest album, entitled Cheval Géant.
Ian Cherry is a bass and low brass specialist, originally from Halifax. He has been playing in the Winnipeg jazz and reggae scenes for the last 18 years. He has joined forces with Anne-Marie over the last six years and has recently released a solo experimental album called Cry Havoc.
Anne-Marie and Ian will be performing at the Wine & Cheese on Tuesday, May 6 at 4:30 pm