Telling stories is a part of human nature, and we’ve been telling tales to try to make sense of the world since we began to gather around fires.

The sixth annual Mission Writers and Readers Festival, held all day on March 9 at the Heritage Park Centre, will look at some of the diverse ways we continue to tell our stories today and with a special focus on our indigenous writers.

This year’s presenters represent the breadth of our expression: poetry and song, spoken and written word, symbols and metaphors, ancient stories and new as we continue to try to capture the complicated essence of being human.

The presenters include: Cathy AJ Hardy, a powerful Mission songwriter, musician and singer; Wil George, a Coast Salish poet and contemporary storyteller; indigenous slam poetry champion Zaccheus Jackson; creative West Coast writer and poet Tara Morin; and Métis mother of six and powerhouse author Joanne Arnott, who is also the keynote speaker.

Also on the roster is Greenpeace founder and author Rex Weyler, who is the writer-in-residence at the University of the Fraser Valley this spring.

Weyler will speak in a morning workshop.

Some of the UFV student writers’ group, the Louden Singletree Writers, will do a reading after lunch.

The festival is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UFV Mission campus in the Heritage Park Centre, 33700 Prentis Ave., Mission.

Cost for the day including lunch is $40, or $20 for students with identification.

For registration call Lifetime Learning at 604-820-0220 or e-mail lifetimelearningcentre@telus.net.

You can also register and see more details on the presenters at lifetimelearningcentre.org.