☀️A Sun of Stories
The sun is shining here in Marysville on this final Friday of February, and the Sun is here to help you celebrate.
☀️Fiction Festival
It takes more than one prong on a fork to pick up a big meatball. Likewise, it takes a variety of resources and efforts to build a community. One way to strengthen a city is to share great stories.
Evangel Classical School in Marysville will host its 7th annual Raggant Fiction Festival on March 25. The Festival is a full Saturday of talks about stories, plus an overflow of coffee and tea along with a feast of snacks and lunch. There’s also a Children’s Track available (already full) with games, crafts, and stories for youth aged 3-10.
This year’s theme is “Why Christians Shouldn’t Be N.I.C.E.” Some will recognize the N.I.C.E from the third book in C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, That Hideous Strength. N.I.C.E. stands for the "National Institute of Co-ordinated Experiments," a motley mash-up of politicians, educators, scientists, journalists, and law enforcement officers with the goal of shaping the future of Mankind. Spoiler: the N.I.C.E. are not the nice guys.
That Hideous Strength has similarities to George Orwell's more well-known dystopian novel, 1984. The connection is not coincidental. Orwell reviewed THS four years before publishing 1984. Orwell commended Lewis’ story, but he was completely turned off by the “confusing, undisciplined ways” that the supernatural kept “breaking in” to the plot. Orwell wanted a drama of struggle against evil without supernatural aid. So he wrote his own version, and it’s not surprising that Orwell's ending is worse than the beginning.
The keynote speaker for the Fiction Festival is Douglas Wilson. Mr. Wilson is pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, ID. His blog writing is prodigious at Blog and Mablog. He also was the prime mover in the classical Christian education movement and the creation of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (of which ECS is a member school). He has a season of interview-style shows on Amazon Prime called Man Rampant (with more seasons available through a subscription service called My Canon Plus).
Last September he was interviewed for the NBC show "Meet the Press" (and recorded his own follow-up video here).
Last weekend Jordan Peterson spoke in Seattle and someone asked when Peterson would be talking with Wilson. Wilson has already interacted with Peterson’s work in a number of videos, including this one on preeminent place of the Bible in Western Civilization.
All that so say, Mr. Wilson will speak four times at the Fiction Festival. This is going to be a great day, and a great cultural event for Marysville as a destination. Regular tickets are $35 and only $15 for students in 6th-12th grade, and can be purchased here.
☀️Soon and Very Soon
Spring Bazaar - tomorrow, February 25, 10:00am to 3:00pm, at Marysville Getchell High School. See the event page on Facebook, which includes this description: “60 vendors with many unique craft items and grifts. We will also have Avon, Scentsy, Tupperware and other consultants.”
Marysville Business Breakfast - Saturday, March 11, 8:00am to 10:00am, at Evangel Classical School (map/directions). As his Capstone Project, ECS senior Laird Marlatt is organizing this breakfast for local business professionals who want to enjoy a free breakfast, networking, and hearing from three local business owners. For more information call or text Laird Marlatt - (425) 971-5751
☀️Non-Fiction Feel-good Story
☀️Friday Fun
There are a lot of stories here, but of a different kind.
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