Archive for July, 2011

Culture Days Stories: Susana – Winnipeg, MB

July 28th, 2011 by Culture Days

As the Culture Days weekend approaches, some activity organizers have taken to the web to document their participation in the movement.

Here’s an excerpt from a great blog post written by Susana (aka Lemon Dear).

The key to keep up with all the happenings is to be informed. Recently, misinformation cost me not being able to attend Winnipeg’s very own Soca and Reggae festival, which I had been looking forward to for quite a while (I must keep my senses more open).

After Michelle encouraged me to participate in Culture Days, ideas starting flowing and since then, she has kindly helped me shape them into their current form, her input has inspired me so much and all of her suggestions have made my projects bloom, so this is, in the very core, a thank you note to her and Culture Days.

It is not easy being a newcomer, and being able to participate in this amazing event is a truly beautiful way of feeling welcomed and home at last.

I am developing a personal project (a comic book!), alongside with working on my Culture Days activities, and soon my tiny flat will be an explosion of thread, fabric, paper and super fine pens… actually, it already is!

Thankfully, there are some very kind people out there willing to inform us! I was blessed to meet one of those wonderful persons (Michelle Rosner) during a Freeze Frame workshop given by the great local photographer Dustin Leader in which I was one of his assistants.

It was a pleasant surprise and an honour to find out about Culture Days through Michelle, and when I say an honour, I truly mean it, since Culture Days is, to me, an open arms invitation for all the inhabitants of Canada, regardless of their country of origin, to participate and express themselves and release their creativity – and in my case, to do one of the things I aspire to with my art: to honour my roots.

Click here to read Susana’s blog post in its entirety.

If you have something to say about public participation and engagement in arts and culture, post it on the Culture Days blog! Submit your vision or post from your own blog via email at stories@culturedays.ca and Culture Days will share your story with the growing network.

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days stories, Manitoba, for activity organizers, opinions, ways to get involved | Tags: , , ,

Geocaching – Plans for Culture Days in Picturresque Bay Roberts, NL

July 21st, 2011 by Culture Days

The Bay Roberts Cultural Foundation shared recent developments in their plans for this year’s Culture Days celebrations with Newfoudland and Labrador Culture Days Coordinator Laura Bruijns (laurabruijns@culturedays.ca). Hiking, local culinary specialties, music, storytelling and prizes are in the works for this fun-filled, family-friendly weekend. For more details and contact information at the BRCF, click on the full activity descriptions here:

Plans for Culture Days 2011

Although we are still in mauzy May in Newfoundland and Labrador, we are excited about Culture Days this fall.   The Bay Roberts Cultural Foundation [BRCF] has planned three main events so far: Shoreline Heritage Walk Geocaching Weekend, a Mussel Boil with Traditional Music at the Three Sisters, and ‘A Feed for Foodies’ at the Visitor Information Centre.

Shoreline Heritage Walk Geocaching Weekend.

The 4km Shoreline Heritage Walk in Bay Roberts East winds through the earliest settled part of the community.  Until the mid 20th century, the area was home to a thriving community.

French's Cove, 1920 - Bay Roberts Heritage Society

At that time, people left the area, moving closer to transportation routes.  Today, along the walking trail it is possible to see cleared land where home once existed, root cellars, and rock walls built by our ancestors.

Participants will be given a Passport at the Visitor Information Centre.  They will have to answer a heritage question found in each geocache and stamp their passports.  On Sunday afternoon, they will return their Passports to the Visitor Information Centre and prizes will be awarded after a draw.

Here are photos which have taken by visitors to two of the geocaches with our disposable cameras:

Mussel Boil with Traditional Music at the Three Sisters

The Three Sisters is an amazing site which has been visited ever since early French setters in the 16th century, who named our town Baie de Robert , dried their fish on the flat beach rocks.  We have held mussel boils there before.

Mussel Boil at the Three Sisters

A ‘Feed’ for Foodies

The ‘Feed’ for Foodies will be a new event.  It will be held at the Bay Roberts Visitor Information Centre.  The event will feature local chefs preparing a variety of dishes which are based on traditional ingredients; however, each item will be prepared with a new twist.  Our taste buds are anxiously waiting to see how creative our chefs can be!

And… we are hoping to add an OLD TIME COMMUNITY CONCERT.

The Bay Roberts Cultural Foundation [BRCF] kicked off the 2011 season on May 25th with an Old Time Community Concert.  The Bay Roberts Concert was the final in a series of three, initiated by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in communities on the Baccalieu Trail.

The MC  was ‘Aunt Lizzie’ [Francie Barrett, who was featured in ‘A Time in Pigeon Inlet’ in 2010]  The mysterious Perrinina Bowers was a special guest, sporting a new hat from her recent visit to London for the Royal Wedding.

Storytellers included Dale Jarvis, who told a Fairy Story from Britannia on Random Island, Randy Smith of Bay Roberts who recited two stories, and Dennis Flynn of Colliers who told “yarns” about people in the community.

There were skits, and musical performances by fiddlers, accordion players, and soloists, including David Fitzpatrick, who concluded the show with the song Mad Rock from his new CD.  Mad Rock is a very well known feature on the Bay Roberts Shoreline Heritage Walk. The show was so successful, that we are now hoping to include an Old Time Community Concert as an event during Culture Days. We will be adding it to our events as plans progress.

Exercise Drill Featuring BRCF – Each letter had a verse

Dennis Flynn – His Memoires as a Child in Bay Roberts

David Fitzpatrick Performing “Mad Rock.”

Aunt Lizzie: MC. Fiddle Players – Danielle Bowering & Luke Welsh

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days stories, Newfoundland & Labrador, community organizers, provincial updates, uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Share YOUR Vision

July 20th, 2011 by Culture Days

Here’s a great personal vision as to what Culture Days is about from Amir Ali Alibhai, executive director of the Alliance for Arts & Culture and active member of the Culture Days British Columbia Task Force.

Click here to read Amir’s blog post.

If you have something to say about public participation and engagement in arts and culture, post it on the Culture Days blog! Submit your vision or post from your own blog via email at stories@culturedays.ca and we’ll share your story with the growing Culture Days network.

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days stories, opinions, role of arts and culture | Tags: , ,

Capture the Public’s Eye: Uploading an Image to Accompany Your Activity

July 19th, 2011 by Culture Days

As we get closer and closer to the Culture Days event weekend (September 30, October 1 & 2) it’s time to start thinking about how you can maximize the visibility your activity  on the Culture Days web site! The site offers a wonderful opportunity to generate enthusiasm for your activity, particularly when you supplement your information with an eye-catching image. While uploading an image to accompany your activity is not a requirement, it will go a long way to enhance your activity listing on the web site.

Uploading an image to your activity is easy! Once your activity has been registered, log into the system and, head to the “My Culture Days Activity Page.” Click the “View My Culture Days Activities” button. You will then see a list of the activities you’ve registered. To the right of the activity(ies) you’ve registered, under the header “Actions”, you will see a series of options, including “Activity Image”. This link will take you to the Culture Days activity image upload screen. Follow the instructions on this page, taking special care to ensure that your image’s file size (in both “weight” – ie megabites, and “dimensions” ie pixels) falls within the system’s processable range. Here’s a list of some things to keep in mind:

  • it’s a good idea to keep your images well under 8MB in size; 1 – 3 MB is ideal – Before uploading your image, you can check its size by right-clicking on the image icon and choosing “properties” from the pop-up menu. (or if you’re on a Mac, click the image icon and hit “command + i”). If your image is too big, don’t worry! There are a number of free sites that specialize in resizing JPG and other files to suit your needs, most notably Shrinkpictures.
  • the ideal dimension for your image is 240 x 160 pixels – the maximum size you can upload is 1000 x 1000 pixels
  • horizontal (or “landscape”) images work much better than vertical (or “portrait”) images when displayed on the Culture Days web site

Once you have an appropriately sized image prepared, the rest is easy! Simply click on the “browse” button next to the “Your Activity Image” field and choose the file from its location on your computer. Don’t forget to give credit where credit is due in the “photo credit” field. Then press the “Upload & Process” button at the bottom of the page and you’re done!

Your activity will now be ready for prime time!

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The Elevator Pitch: A Short Explanation of Culture Days

July 14th, 2011 by Culture Days

As the Culture Days event weekend grows nearer, lots of people are talking about it. However, you may be wondering how to explain what Culture Days is all about. Without getting too lengthy or going into too much detail, how do you talk about Culture Days?

An elevator pitch is a great way of highlighting key aspects of what makes Culture Days unique to someone who is unfamiliar with the movement. An elevator pitch is a clear and concise description, and its name reflects the idea that one should be able to deliver a short summary in the span of an elevator ride.

When telling friends, family and anyone else about your activity or Culture Days in general, an elevator pitch is an enticing and efficient way to share your message!

Below is an elevator pitch you can use when talking about Culture Days.

Culture Days Elevator Pitch

  • Culture Days is a collaborative pan-Canadian, volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities.
  • Culture Days is a grassroots movement that self-mobilizes to implement concurrent, annual, province-wide public participation events that take place throughout the country over the last weekend of September.
  • This year, Culture Days is taking place throughout the country on September 30, October 1 & 2.
  • Thousands of artists, individuals, organizations and communities are involved in organizing Culture Days.
  • Culture Days events feature free, hands-on, interactive activities that invite the public to participate “behind the scenes,” to discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, and designers at work in their community.
  • Culture Days is the largest-ever grassroots campaign to celebrate the arts and promote cultural participation in Canada.
  • You can find out more via the Culture Days web site: CultureDays.ca
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Culture Camp Guelph

July 11th, 2011 by Aubrey Reeves

On May 25, 2011, the City of Guelph hosted a “Culture Camp” for artists, organized by Culture Days task force member, Astero Kalogeropoulos, in partnership with the Guelph-Wellington Business Enterprise Centre, Work in Culture, Guelph Arts Council, and Ontario Crafts Council.

After an info session and discussion with Culture Days staff, artists broke out into groups to brainstorm ideas in preparation for Culture Days on the following given topics: Sharing Resources, Maintaining Connections, Promotion & Marketing, Venues, and Measurements of Success. Below are a few highlights from the Culture Camp brainstorming sessions.

Sharing Resources

Working together and sharing resources can lead to more successful Culture Days events. These are a few ways to share resources effectively:

  • Do an inventory of the needs, skills and assets amongst a group before you start planning so collectively you know what resources are already available.
  • Invite the Chambers of Commerce or Business Improvement Association to join your Culture Days planning group to tap into their resources and to build relationships with local businesses.
  • Gather for regularly scheduled meetings with activity organizers. It’s impossible to share resources, if you don’t communicate with each other!
  • Be willing to support others and extend a helping hand. For example, mentor young artists who may need some guidance to realize their activity.

Maintaining Connections

Many of the artists at the Culture Camp wanted to see how their Culture Days experience could become more than just one great weekend. They asked – what ways could they extend the impact of their Culture Days events to the rest of the year by recruiting new audiences, customers or volunteers, and by developing lasting relationships with other artists in their community?

Some of their ideas take a little preparation, but are well worth the effort:

  • Determine what is your ideal audience/client/market so you know who you are trying to connect with on the Culture Days weekend.
  • Have a clear goal for your Culture Days activity and a next step in mind before the Culture Days weekend.
  • Be prepared for your next step with promo materials for your future events, a sign-up sheet for your newsletter, etc. allowing the public to connect with you again soon.
  • Create or attend follow-up networking events between artists as well as between artists and businesses.

Promotion & Marketing

In addition to discussions about using the Culture Days marketing and promotion resources and social media to promote activities, the attendees at Culture Camp had a few innovative ideas for collectively promoting Guelph Culture Days activities, such as:

  • Have a Kick-off Party/Launch event that brings attention to all Culture Days activities happening in the community and starts off the weekend’s celebrations.
  • Work with other cultural events on the September calendar. With multiple cultural events in the Guelph area during the month of September (Jazz Festival and Nuit Blanche – Sept. 9 – 11, Eden Mills Writers Festival – Sept. 16-18, Culture Days – Sept. 30- Oct. 2), they are planning to promote September as “Culture Month.”
  • Preceding festivals and events are great opportunities to cross-promote Culture Days. Connect with those events to set up an info booth, or have volunteers hand out flyers, buttons or other promotional material.

Artists in Guelph and area interested in learning more are also invited to register for:

Marketing 101 for Artists & Small Arts Groups

Date: Thursday, September 15, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Location: TBA

Cost: $25

To register, please email mcalarco@craft.on.ca

Blog post compiled by Aubrey Reeves, Culture Days Ontario Manager and Nazanin Shoja, OAC’s Culture Days Animator/Coordinator with notes from Ontario Task Force member Astero Kalogeropoulos.

View Comments | Posted in Ontario, Results and impact, community organizers, for activity organizers, marketing & PR, uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,