St Brigid Festival Vancouver: Maura De Freitas
b'Brigid Festival Vancouver is a four-day free festival to celebrate the healing, light, and creativity of Irish women and women across the world with a mix of in-person and virtual gatherings. This year our inclusive theme is: \'There\'s Room for Everyone Under Brigid\'s Cloak\'. \\u200b Brigid Festival Vancouver: Maura De Freitas Brigid Festival Vancouver is a volunteer-led event and admission to all events is free. Donations to the Irish Benevolent Society of BC are appreciated. Learn more here. Despite Brigid\\u2019s origins in mythology and religion, this festival is non-religious and everyone is welcome. Registration is required. \\u200b Traditionally, Brigid/St. Brigid\'s Day heralds the coming of Spring. She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. The saint shares her name with a Celtic goddess. Brigid\'s feast day is February 1, which was originally a pre-Christian festival called Imbolc. Now in our fourth year, we\\u2019re delighted to present a four-day hybrid festival with a virtual session online on February 1, and in-person events from February 2 to 4. We explore the experiences of women through the medium of Brigid, Ireland\\u2019s triple goddess, and matron female saint. Opening with an official welcome from Cathy Geagan the Consul General of Ireland to Western Canada on Wednesday, February 1, \\u201cTending the Flame of St. Brigid\\u201d will feature the Brigidine Sisters of Kildare. This is an online event. \\u200b When St. Brigid built her monastery and church in Kildare town, she kept a sacred fire burning from pre-Christian times invoking a goddess named Brigid. For centuries the nuns in Kildare tended the flame before it was extinguished in the sixteenth century. The fire was re-lit at a ceremony in Kildare Market Square in 1993 and the Brigidine Sisters continue to tend the flame in their centre, Solas Bhr\\xedde while sharing the values and legacy of St. Brigid. \\u200b Thursday\\u2019s session will be our first in-person event since 2020 and will be held at the Consulate General of Ireland, Vancouver. We\'re very proud to present "Irish Women Leaders in Business,\\u201d a panel of four dynamic Irish businesswomen who work in industries ranging from hospitality and construction to leading-edge technology, and venture capital funding. This after-work gathering on February 2 offers an opportunity to network, socialize and hear the stories of these remarkable women and to learn about their achievements.'