Monday, September 24, 2012

Thursday's sponsors... ManSat & Manx Dyslexia Association

One thing we know at Litfest HQ is that without our sponsors and supporters, our inaugural literary gathering - which kicks off this Thursday, September 27 - wouldn't be taking place.

On Thursday, we have two events which are sponsored...

Ulla Corkill's talk 'The Life and Times of Sir Hall Caine' takes place at 12.30pm at Greeba Castle, his home for many years which is still owned by his family. It was a sell-out affair pretty quickly, as there were only 24 seats available, not to mention the fact that Ulla is an authority on Caine and a respected speaker.

Sponsor for the talk (and light buffet lunch) is ManSat Ltd, the pioneer in the Manx space industry on its creation in 1998, which now works with the Isle of Man Government in preparing orbital filings to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for all satellites.

The second sponsored event sees poet Gez Walsh talk about dyslexia in the main marquee within our festival hub in the Villa Marina Gardens. Gez started writing poetry to encourage his dyslexic son to read and he's now one of the UK's leading children's poets, travelling around the UK visiting schools, libraries, festivals and theatres delivering his own unique brand of humour. The talk on Thursday evening - starting at 7.00pm - is aimed at parents of children with dyslexia and is a free event, open to all.

The Manx Dyslexia Association is generously sponsoring this event, along with a second talk on Saturday lunchtime (September 29), which will see Gez give a talk/performance for youngsters. That starts at 1.00pm and is another free event.

Our sincere thanks to ManSat and the MDA for backing our first festival - their support is very much appreciated by everyone involved with Manx Litfest.