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IN HONOUR OF
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE (SEPT 21)
Join us — the Quinte Cultural Innovation Committee (QCIC) — alongside community partners including Nana Yaa Yeboaa, Afrika Outbound, ONE People TO, CHEERS Hoops & Hopes Basketball Mentorship, Dance Immersion, Dolo the Gifted, BPW H&PE and insider initiatives likes the Bullies Be Gone Project, the Nikki Clarke Network, OCD Clean Squad, and Risen Academy.
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š Save the Dates: September 20 & 21, 2025.āāāāāāāāāāāāā
We are pleased to welcome the City of Belleville as a tentative Fruit Tree Sponsor, with a pledged investment of $7,000 in financial support and $2,400 in in-kind City services through its Community Grant program. This sponsorship is intended to support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour)-led initiatives like Our Peace Festival 2025. However, as the City has issued an invoice for festival-related services totaling $5,900 (almost as high as the cash value), our public recognition of the City of Belleville as a Fruit Tree Sponsor is currently on pause.āāāāā
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To fully honor the labor, creativity, and time of our artists, educators, and community leaders, we urgently need to grow this initial support. We invite you to join us as a sponsor and help amplify this seed funding — ensuring equitable honorariums and a vibrant, impactful festival for all.
Partner with us today to deepen your impact and stand with community-led equity and cultural resurgence. Step up as a seed, sprout, seedling, shrub, shade or fruit tree sponsor today! Plant legacy. Plant change. Plant the Kingdom of Heaven right here on earth.
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CHECK YOUR EQUITY PULSE:
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CURRENT EVENTS IN COUNTRIES WITH PREDOMINANTLY BLACK/BROWN LIVES LIKE...
CONGO
SUDAN
ETHIOPIA
BANGALADESH
HAITI
TIGRAY
CHECK THIS OUT: Global Conflict Tracker l Council on Foreign Relations
"The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free."
- Maya Angelou
SAY
WE ZOOM-IN..
Turtle Island's First Nations communities also continue to struggle for truth, justice, and liberation.
The fight for the rights of Indigenous peoples is not only a Canadian issue but a global one. Learn the truth about Canada’s colonial past and present, and discover how your allyship today can help write (right) a just future here & abroad.
DOWNLOAD
SPONSORSHIP DECK
BELLEVILLE ON THE MAP
DOWNLOAD
YOUTH CREATION
Step Up as a Fruit Shrub Sponsor (4K investment)
Plant legacy. Grow community.
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Support QCIC’s commitment to food sovereignty and cultural connection by sponsoring fruit shrubs like raspberry, blueberry, currant, or serviceberry — in your name, your family's name, your organization, or in honour of a loved one... right next to the tree City of Belleville plants in the Bay of Quinte Region.
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Your sponsorship will directly fund Afrika Outbound’s journey to Belleville this September as part of our International Day of Peace programming. Let your giving take root — literally — in the soil of reconciliation, joy, and intergenerational healing.
šæ Your impact is perennial. Let’s grow together.
DOWNLOAD OUR GENERAL SPONSORSHIP DECK. CONTACT US AT QUINTECULTURE@GMAIL.COM TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR SPONSORSHIP PERKS.
READY TO TAKE FINANCIAL ACTION?
CLICK ON THE DOLLAR SIGN TO SOW SEEDS OF PERENNIAL IMPACT.
SEPTEMBER 20
BY THE BAY OF QUINTE.
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PAST . PRESENT . FUTURE
GRATITUDE TO EVERY SOWER.
May the Most High multiply the fruit of every purposeful seed.
Have You Contributed to Our Peace Festival or QCIC?
If you’ve sown into Our Peace Festival or supported the Quinte Cultural Innovation Committee (QCIC) and do not yet see your logo featured, please reach out. We’d love to recognize your contribution — simply send us your logo, we'd love to honour you.
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Path to Peace
The path to true peace is paved with catalyst moments rooted in the arts, literacy, numeracy, and intellectual honesty. Peace becomes possible when hearts, minds, and hands work in unity to sow reparative justice. Together, we lay down weapons — both visible and unseen — and close the door on harm of all kinds, ensuring it no longer trickles into or out of our communities.
2024 ALLYSHIP CERTIFICATE RECIPIENTS
#EVERYCHILDMATTERS
2025 ALLIES WILL BE RECOGNIZED ONLINE (SILENTLY) AT YEAR-END.
From 11am – 3pm, join the Artist/Educator Takeover by leading a hands-on workshop in either our Echo or Vibe zones.
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Echo is a space for truth-telling, cultural expression, and reflection. It invites artists and educators to explore themes like resilience, equity, and identity through storytelling, music, language, and visual arts. Participants are encouraged to echo the voices of those historically silenced, and to use creative expression as a tool for healing and learning.
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Vibe is a joy-forward, movement-oriented zone that centers innovation, rhythm, and wellness. Think clay, lego, rock climbing, dance, drumming, sports, fashion, culture, and wellness workshops. Vibe taps into the spirit of play and the power of celebration as forms of resistance and connection.
Alternatively, participate as a vendor in our signature Side Hustle Manifesto Market, inspired and led by author, chef, and multipreneur Kamoy William’s book, "My Side Hustle Manifesto".
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FOSTER DEEPER UNDERSTANDING AND CONNECTION.
LESLY JOHNSON,
BULLIES BE GONE PROJECT
(CALIFORNIA, TURTLE ISLAND)
BULLIES
BE GONE PROJECT
CEO, ELDER
AL JOHNSON PRESENTS
Lyrics Literacy Development at the Peace Festival (September 20/21, 2025)
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in a powerful exercise to humanize dehumanized humans and deepen cultural literacy through popular music and original poetry.
Black culture is highly influential, shaping music, language, and global trends. It’s essential that we put intentional filters in place for small-town & urban Eastern Ontario—fostering cultural literacy through positive lyrical frameworks that serves as safe space for raw, real stories, and lyrics that uplifts, educates, and inspires.
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Dolo the Gifted | Feature Presentation Vibe - Sept 20 at 7pm
BE THE SOLUTION
SOW INTO OUR KEY MANDATES
DOWNLOAD
SPONSORSHIP DECK
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International Day of Peace is
every September 21th. Save the date.
Meet us in Belleville, ON
- Sept 20th & Sept 21th, 2025 @ourpeacefestival
Together we map out community action plans for next year, when International Day of Peace lands on a school/work day, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.
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Nia:wen to the Nikki Clarke Network
Thank you in Mohawk, the language of the land we gather on, is Nia:wen.
We extend our deep gratitude to the Nikki Clarke Network for stepping up as a Perennial Shrub Tree Sponsor.
By planting raspberries, the Network's media sponsorship investment symbolizes rooted resilience and the power to multiply nourishment, nurturing both soil and soul of communities with capacity to cross-pollinate worldwide.
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Nia:wen to local media sponsor Starboard Communications representing Cool 100.1, 95.5 Hits fm, and inquinte.ca. As a Perennial Shrub Tree Sponsor, planting blueberries, Starboard Cares sows nourishment, storytelling, and regeneration for future generations -- amplifying marginalized voices and growing deeper roots of belonging throughout the Bay of Quinte.āā
Nia:wen Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board, City of Quinte West, City of Belleville, Discover Belleville, Belleville Chamber of Commerce, Downtown BIA and friends for advocating for Our Peace Festival presentation in the Bay of Quinte Region. āā
Much gratitude to Mindsilike Wellness Foundation INC. and ONE People TO for supporting the curation of trauma-informed, sensory safe-spaces for community to decompress, rest, and reboot through emotional challenges. āā
BeeLiving Media Literacy Library
Welcome Back to Belleville,
Bay of Quinte
TAMLA MATTHEWS
HOST . CONSULTANT . ARTIST .
EDUCATOR . ENTREPRENEUR
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We are honoured to welcome Tamla Matthews back to the Bay of Quinte region.
Tamla is a dynamic force — an Ontario Certified Teacher, professional dance artist, and community advocate whose work spans education, child welfare, arts, and public service.
Known for her infectious laughter and love of fine chocolates, she brings both heart and excellence to every space she enters. In 2011, Tamla founded her legacy project, Rootz and Branches, a powerful vehicle for Afro-cultural dance performance, education, and training that centers children, youth, and families. Her artistic journey has taken her across the globe, representing Canada in Hong Kong (2006) and as part of a Canadian contingent to Carifesta Festival in Trinidad & Tobago (2019).
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Tamla returns to Belleville not just as a guest — but as a connector, mentor, and movement builder with roots in Belleville.
Nia:wen for walking with us.
Legacy of Partnership
with QCIC, AYC, Seven X Acres, & the Bay of Quinte Region
Tamla’s relationship with the Quinte Cultural Innovation Committee (QCIC) is one grounded in shared values of equity, cultural resurgence, and intentional allyship.
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In 2021, she hosted QCIC’s inaugural production of "Allyship 101", guiding conversations around community restoration and relational repair.
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In 2022, Tamla brought Re-Merge to Belleville, intentionally partnering with Melissa Brant, owner of the region’s only First Nations-owned art studio located in Downtown Belleville at the time (studio has since closed), to introduce Shango, Bélé, Piqué, and Calypso-skirted Caribbean dance to the community.
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In 2023, she returned with youth artists and led an interactive drumming workshop at the Jalgua Peace Festival Pavilion (now @ourpeacefestival) during the Belleville Waterfront and Multicultural Festival.
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In 2024, Rootz and Branches partnered once more with QCIC to bring Re-Merge to three ALCDSB schools, offering movement-based healing, cultural literacy, and community connection.
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Tamla now leads the CHEERS Hoops and Hopes Basketball Mentorship Program, supporting youth through sport, mentorship, and personal development. As a public service Training & Development Consultant, she continues to create safe brave spaces for difficult conversations. Tamla is excited by the transformational power of raw, awkward conversations. Disruptive conversations held with grace, humour, and a deep commitment to collective healing welcomes opportunities to stretch, grow, heal, step up, and thrive. Tamla walks in faith and favour; we are deeply grateful for her return.
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Connect with Tamla in September to learn more about Rootz and Branches + CHEERS Hoops & Hopes.
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Affordable Eco Housing for Marginalized People: We advocate for and work towards the development of affordable eco housing solutions for marginalized communities. By incorporating permaculture principles into housing design and construction, we aim to create sustainable and environmentally friendly living spaces that are accessible to all.
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Food Security and Sovereignty through Permaculture: We promote food security and sovereignty through permaculture practices that prioritize regenerative agriculture, community gardening, and sustainable food production. By connecting people with the land and empowering communities to grow their own food, we aim to address food insecurity and promote resilience in the face of environmental challenges.
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Equity in Education: We advocate for equitable access to education for all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Through our initiatives, we strive to address systemic barriers to education and create inclusive learning environments that value diversity, promote cultural understanding, and empower students to succeed as global citizens --- zooming-in to advocate for local issues and zooming-out to take global responsibility.
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Connected Events for BIPOC+ Allies through the Arts: We organize and host events that bring together BIPOC+ allies to connect, collaborate, and celebrate through the arts. These events provide opportunities for cultural exchange, creative expression, and community building, fostering a sense of belonging and solidarity among participants.
QCIC takes a multi-faceted approach to advancing our key manadates:
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Permaculture Integration: We integrate permaculture ethics and principles into our initiatives to promote holistic and sustainable solutions. By drawing connections between plants and people, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of the interdependence of all living beings and the importance of stewardship of the earth.
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Community Engagement: We actively engage with communities to identify their needs and priorities, ensuring that our initiatives are responsive and relevant. By centering the voices and experiences of marginalized individuals, we strive to create meaningful and impactful change.
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Collaborative Partnerships: We collaborate with other organizations, government agencies, and stakeholders to leverage resources, expertise, and networks. By working together, we can amplify our impact and achieve greater collective outcomes.
