Unique festival with exclusive high tea event coming to Brampton

If you love books, art and high tea, an upcoming multi-day festival in Brampton might appeal to you. 

The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) 2024, Canada’s first festival dedicated to diverse authors and storytellers, will kick off on April 28 and run until May 5. A major literary festival that typically hits Brampton in the spring, the upcoming event will feature both virtual and in-person events and a considerable array of acclaimed authors, including Waubgeshig Rice, Alicia Elliott, Nafiza Azad, Catherine Leroux, Louisa Onomé, Tara Sidhoo Fraser and others. 

It will also feature a ticketed high tea event that pairs a popular culinary tradition with trivia. A few romance novelists will also attend the soiree. 

According to the event’s website, the festival includes panels, discussions, workshops, and interactive events that welcome guests from around the world. From April 28 until May 1, events will be virtual. Starting on May 2, events will be held in person at the Rose Theatre. 

Some in-person events will be recorded so people can view them from home until June 30.

Asides from talks and workshops, the festival will also feature a number of unique events, some of which will allow guests to get creative. Attendees can buy tickets to a paint night at PAMA on May 2, which will allow participants to create canvas art inspired by Indo-Tibetan artist Roshan James’ Pink Moon poetry collection. 

On May 3, guests can attend the annual Literary Cabaret at the Rose. Called The Great Readception, the event will feature six authors who will read samples of their work while a live jazz band plays in the background. On May 4, FOLD will host a spoken word showcase led by The Wild Woman. 

A special event not included in any festival pass is the aforementioned Literary High Tea at Alderlea: Romance Writers Edition. For this event, attendees can “don their Sunday best” and enjoy a high experience with romance writers. The event, sponsored by Harlequin, will welcome authors Taj McCoy, Alina Khawaja and Opal Wei. It will be moderated by Lavanya Narasimhan.

Tickets for the tea, which will be available until April 28, will also feature trivia and prizes. Tickets are $45. 

On May 5, FOLD organizers will host a screening of Ru, a film adaptation of the award-winning novel by Kim Thúy. The novel follows a wealthy family who flees Vietnam during the war, eventually settling in Quebec. There will be an interview with Thúy before the film. 

Passes range in price from $25 to $60. 

To learn more or buy tickets, click here. 

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article said Ru’s director would be at the event. This will not be case. We regret any confusion this may have caused.