Posts Tagged ‘Flin Flon Arts Council’

Spotlight: Crystal Kolt – Flin Flon, Manitoba

March 3rd, 2011 by Culture Days

The story of Flin Flon, Manitoba and their Culture Days 2010 celebration, is an inspirational example of what can happen in a small northern Canadian community that has art in its heart. In this Community Spotlight you’ll hear directly from Crystal Kolt who works with the Flin Flon Arts Council and has been described by others in her community as the “spark” that ignited the amazing Culture Days celebration in what she calls “North Central Canada.”

Dancing Down Main Street. Photo: Julian Kolt, Cottage North

Throughout the weekend, Flin Flon, MB,  Creighton, SK and Denare Beach, SK heard opera, jazz, country, hip hop, classic pop, medieval lite, a cappella voice, instrumental music, choirs, solo voice, musical theatre, heavy metal, rock, fiddling, Metis, Aboriginal, and Celtic Music.

They saw acrylic, batik, face painting, pottery, birch bark biting, caribou tufting, weaving, quilt making, water colour, mixed media art, fibre art, mask making and sidewalk chalk art.

We experienced theatre, improv, storytelling, museums, history, heritage, literature, dance, artist studios, Aboriginal, Metis and global cultures.

We celebrated our very first Couture Fashion show, we celebrated our talented youth in film and the unbelievable happened when approximately 300 people Dance(d) Down Main Street to K’Naan’s Waving Flag.

My name is Crystal Kolt and I am the Cultural Coordinator of the Flin Flon Arts Council. I also organized the CULTURE DAYS events which took place in the area that I call North Central Canada which takes in Flin Flon, MB, Flin Flon, SK, Creighton, SK,  Denare Beach, SK and in 2010 this area included Thompson MB, Cranberry Portage, MB and The Pas, MB.  I am also on the Manitoba Provincial Task Force for CULTURE DAYS.

I first heard about CULTURE DAYS through Jean Giguere who Chairs the Manitoba Task Force and is on the CULTURE DAYS National Committee. As soon as Jean explained to me that there was a new Pan-Canadian movement starting that intended to celebrate simultaneously Canadian arts and Culture throughout the country, I was hooked.  I had felt for quite some time that CANADA needed something to boost its belief in the strength of its Artistic self.  Living in a small and rather remote Northern community I was excited to finally have the opportunity to link up with the rest of the Country in solidarity as artists and appreciators of our art.  With the backing of our largest media organizations I felt that it truly might be a possibility that we as Canadians would have the opportunity to share our contacts, artists and communities and network as we have never had the chance to network before.

Initially I had thought that Flin Flon and Creighton would have a minor role in Culture Days.  Nay sayers thought that it would be too cold,  too close to summer for the Schools to be involved,  too close to winter to enjoy the outdoors,  too new for organizations to want to participate, too new to have a vision of what to do, and eventually there would be those that would think that it was becoming too big, too …. whatever.  But of course you always get  some of that whenever you start a new initiative.  The surprise for everyone including myself was that quite the opposite happened.   The weather was gorgeous,  dozens of organizations took part,  thousands of people showed up,  the museums stayed open for hours after closing time,  over 1000 students, virtually every student in the Flin Flon and Creighton area participated in CULTURE DAYS events. Calm Air made it possible for Northern artists to have a presence in the National Culture Days Launch in Winnipeg allowing us to feature the fabulous Thompson Soprano Maria Luz Alvarez with Flin Flon composer/pianist  Mark Kolt and northern artists, Irvin Head, Elaine Angelski,  Sarah Trevor, Linda Mandes and Angelique Merasty. Stittco supplied heat in the outdoor Cafe to keep it cozy in the evenings.  Hudbay Mining saw the vision and kick-started us with our initial funds and all other funding bodies followed suite including The Flin Flon Neighbourhood Revitalization Corp, and the Manitoba Arts Council and of course CULTURE DAYS MB.  Artists and entertainers came from far and wide to take part in the weekend.   Over 100 volunteers manned the over 40 stations that were available for the general public to experience that weekend.  Our MP,  MLA and Minister of Housing cheered us on with a visit during the inspiring Opening Ceremonies where the Tent was blessed with Sweetgrass as male and female Aboriginal Drumming Groups from nearby Cranberry Portage inspired us with chant and drum.  CBC Radio North Country also walked our path recording the event from beginning to end, taking in and sharing with the rest of the north the many beautiful details small and large that surrounded us that weekend.

Initially I approached the Flin Flon Arts Council  (The artistic heartbeat of our area) about becoming involved then went directly to the artists themselves as well as the City of Flin Flon, The Town of Creighton and the Creighton and Flin Flon School Divisions requesting support of any kind.  Absolutely no one refused me.  Both the City of Flin Flon and the Town of Creighton offered venues as Gift-in-Kind.

Creighton School started organizing their very own in house Culture Days.  When a local subcommittee started thinking up ways to offer an equally wonderful experience to every child in the area we came up with programs such as SUPERSTAR! and ALL FOR THE ARTS.  We found storytellers and mask-makers, visual artists and musicians all willing to help out.   Organizations such as the Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Women’s League, and Lion’s Club stepped up to the plate offering what they could… a pancake dinner here,  serving at the Gala Cafe there, offering the Hand-Van to take guests around the town.  No one said no!   And that was what made it into the colossal event that it eventually become that last weekend in September  2010.

Once all these organizations and individual volunteers became involved word spread quickly.  But would people come and how would they know what to do? Of course I had had brochures out advertising CULTURE DAYS for many months,  I had spoken on the local radio station as well as the CBC and posters were made and distributed around the area and ads were placed in the local newspaper, but in addition to that, I decided to make a glossy gorgeous Program to show the folks at home and visitors where to find the activities and what was going on throughout the weekend.  That was a defining decision.  Once people saw the programs around town they knew that CULTURE DAYS was a serious event.  Something they needed to see!

Leading up to the event I had a hunch that it would be a success when I needed to add tables for people at my monthly hour long (to the minute because I like short meetings) luncheon meetings.  During the event itself there were so many memorable moments to count.  I have snapshots in my mind of the smell of Sweetgrass and earth in the outdoor Gala Cafe which was decorated with the original 1950 Christmas lights that were on the Christmas tree that would have been in the centre of town 60 years ago. The sounds of the male and female drumming group.   Visitors that were visiting Canada from Germany heard about our Culture Days events somehow when they were in Alberta and actually came to check it out.  Not only did they have an amazing cultural experience some local people in the community took them out for their other passion… mushroom hunting.  I have snapshots images of a 1000 kids experiencing maskmaking, film-making, hip hop, theatre improv, storytelling and museums.   We had our very first couture fashion show with 50 designs from Patricia Glanville and 30 designs from Leonne Kabole (Kenya) and Laurie Brown (original Flin Flonner now in Toronto).  One of the biggest surprises of course was our Dancing Down Main Street to K’Naan’s  WAVING FLAG.  I really didn’t know if there would be 3 or 4 people ‘dancing’ with me and our choreographer Sarah Moore but I was determined to give it a go.  When a few hundred people showed up and others lined the street to watch, it was one of those Hollywood-style-you-need-to get-a-tissue moments.  Every age from toddler to senior, guys and girls alike danced down Main Street Flin Flon that morning.  Who knew?!  Especially in a small Northern Hockey Playing Mining Town.  But it did indeed happen and it was a thing to behold.

Because of CULTURE DAYS our community for certain and I believe much more of our Province is starting to understand us.  Yes we are a mining community but we are the HEART OF ART in our part of the world and are proud of it.  Regarding the Flin Flon Arts Council, we have a cautious optimism now that we can move forward as an Art organization that can support more of Northern Manitoba’s arts and culture.  There will always be challenges of course, including securing venue rentals and  advertising.  My advice to newcomers in the CULTURE DAYS world is to start small.  It doesn’t have to be as big as it turned out to be in Flin Flon however be prepared for anything.  I was completely surprised by how quickly it grew in my community.  Someone told me a few years ago, ‘When you have a problem to solve, speak to an artist.’ And it’s true that an artist will always find a solution.

What’s next for us?   Well I guess time will tell but we are looking at organizing a CULTURE DAYS CARNIVAL in 2011 at the stunningly beautiful Baker’s Narrows Lodge including their Conference area and outdoor Tent.  We would like it to include a Raku pit, soapstone carving, musicians, literary reading, bannock, smoked fish, story-telling and special Culture Days art classes at our new NorVA (Northern Visual Art) Centre  and … it would be fun to Dance Down Main Street again.

Best wishes to everyone and I hope you give it a try!

Share your Culture Days story! Email and upload your Culture Days photos to Flickr. You can also post to the Culture Days blog, add your comments, photos and videos to Facebook or tweet with the #culturedays hashtag and we’ll re-tweet your message.

View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Culture Days 2010, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, community organizers, for activity organizers | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Manitoba Update

July 26th, 2010 by manitoba

Have you checked out the Culture Days celebration schedule for Manitoba lately? Below you’ll find links and updates on how things are coming together for Culture Days in Manitoba’s towns and cities. Winnipeg has some fantastic activities planned, as do Flin Flon, Brandon and Portage la Prairie.

New Culture Days activities for Manitoba are being registered often and we expect to see activities posted in Gimli and Saint Eustache in the coming weeks. There will be lots of opportunity to explore the arts and cultural scene en français in Saint Boniface with activities in the works for the Maison des artistes, the Saint Boniface Museum, The Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre and more!

Keep checking the website for updates and remember it’s not too late to consider organizing your own Culture Days activity!

Big city sizzle

Come Culture Days, Winnipeg will be ready to show us why it was awarded Cultural Capital of Canada this year! Wonderfully creative activities are planned for the community’s Culture Days celebration including interactive art-making experiences at the cre8ery, Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library’s Crafternoon event, a celebration of independent theatre with playwright readings at FemFest 2010 and the CITY STORIES mobile story exchange project to name just a few.

Existing events and festivals are tying into Culture Days, too. Thin Air, Winnipeg’s International Writer’s Festival and its francophone component Foyer des écrivains will have plenty of free events during the Culture Days weekend. Prairie Theatre Exchange is moving Winnipeg’s largest celebration of new plays to September and the full three-day schedule of free play readings, backstage tours and acting workshops will be added to the Culture Days Celebration Schedule very soon.

The first edition of Winnipeg’s Nuit Blanche celebrations is being launched during the Culture Days weekend in Manitoba – watch the blog for more details on this all-night celebration of the arts on Saturday, September 25!

Brandon joins the party
September 25 is shaping up to be a blow-out celebration of arts and culture in Brandon! The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba invites daytime visitors to contribute to a graffiti mural, a collective needlepoint project and to join in the fun of making a comic book! At 7:00pm it will be time to head down to 10th Street for performances, artist talks and other hands-on activities. Keep watching the website as new information is added to the Culture Days Celebration Schedule for Brandon.

Arts and culture northern style
Culture Days in Flin Flon will have something for everyone from hip hop to animation to quilting, from concerts to modern visual arts to traditional birch-biting displays and plenty of opportunity to meet and mingle with professional artists. Heritage figures will roam the towns to share their stories with passersby and the Gala café in Flin Flon will have entertainment every evening in an elegant setting.

The Flin Flon Arts Council and its many partners have been very active in organizing Culture Days activities. Check out this blog post from Crystal Kolt reflecting on how they’re creating such a vibrant Culture Days celebration for Flin Flon.

Portage la Prairie

In Portage la Prairie, be sure to check out the War Brides exhibition at Portage & District Arts Centre – this exhibition of paintings and multimedia installations from Calgary artist Bev Tosh depicts the experience of young women from around the world meeting and marrying their husbands during World War II, including Tosh’s own mother. The War Brides exhibition has been making it’s way across the country since 2006.

Manitoba’s Culture Days Project Manager

Manitoba’s Culture Days Project Manager Nicole Matiation has been liaising with many other groups across the province about their plans and ideas for Culture Days. There is still time to register a Culture Days activity so be sure to connect with Nicole.

Important note! Plans are underway for a printed bilingual Manitoba Culture Days program guide and other promotional opportunities. Please register on the Culture Days website by August 10 to be included in the Manitoba print program guide. The same deadline applies for inclusion in the francophone and bilingual activity guide.

Nicole Matiation
Culture Days Project Manager for Manitoba
Email: nicolematiation@culturedays.ca
Phone: (204) 942-8221

Keep Reading
Browse through the Culture Days blog for more information on Culture Days in the Manitoba region.

View Comments | Posted in Manitoba, community organizers, for activity organizers, provincial updates, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Communities self-mobilizing across the country

July 2nd, 2010 by Culture Days

Last week, on June 22, 2010, some 25 people joined the bi-weekly telephone information session for a roundtable on community organizing. Amazing reports were heard from communities across the country that have taken up the Culture Days vision and made it their own:

  • Simone Georges from 4th Line Theatre was on the line representing the Peterborough Culture Days committee. They’ve received some funding from the Community Futures Development Corporation in Ontario to hire a part-time coordinator who will coordinate, archive and chronicle Culture Days activities in Peterborough until the end of September. How did this group start? Read more on the Culture Days blog.
  • The London Arts Council and the Ottawa Arts Council are spearheading the movement in their respective Ontario communities. Both organizations reported that it was a “no brainer” to get involved with the national movement. Read their suggestions for generating interest and organizing your community.
  • Sheila McKinnon, from the City of Surrey, BC was happy to report that the Culture Days timing is just perfect for them. A decommissioned fire hall has been converted in a new cultural centre; it will be officially inaugurated during the Culture Days weekend with activities at the new centre covering the full 3-day period.
  • Crystal Kolt, Cultural Coordinator of the Flin Flon Arts Council was on the line but with so many people on the call, unfortunately, Crystal didn’t get a chance to make her report. Fortunately, you can read her 6 Tips for Community Organizers on the Culture Days blog.
  • Liesl Jauk, calling from the City of Richmond, BC, is running a local campaign to let people know about Culture Days, remind them of any deadlines, and to help promote activities in the area. The City will also produce its own programming for Culture Days. The Richmond Cultural Centre will be a hub where artists will be invited to join with city-operated activities. (Remember, if you have space to share with artists and other activity organizers, add your name to this list of venue operators.)
  • Also on the line were some people who are interested in seeing Culture Days take root in their community (but official plans or working groups have not been developed yet). Anna Rose from Stouffville (ON) reported that the idea is still in its early stages in her community, but following this telephone meeting, with all the templates and resources available, she thinks they’ll hit the ground running now. Eliza Hemingway, from Chemainus (BC) described her ambitions for this first year of Culture Days as modest, but challenging for the context she is working in. “I would just like to try to get artists out of their studios, into one venue for year one. […] We already have two restaurants on board, and a few people with outdoor spaces.”

Read part 2 of community updates from this call, from the London Arts Council (ON), Ottawa Arts Council (ON), Town of Kindersley (SK), City of Burnaby (BC).

View Comments | Posted in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, community organizers, provincial updates, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We’re Crossing The Line!

June 11th, 2010 by Crystal Kolt

Manitoba and Saskatchewan are erasing the lines this CULTURE DAYS. For the past 9 months, artists, museums, municipalities and school divisions have been sitting at a very large round table discussing how to make CULTURE DAYS in North Central Canada the best it can be. With the huge benefit of being border communities, Flin Flon, Manitoba and Creighton Saskatchewan are joining forces… and artists to explore the unique arts, culture and heritage found in this part of Canada. We love it all! Birch bark biting, animal Tufting, a huge musical scene including the Flin Flon Community Choir which not only brought Canada 2 original musicals theatre productions to Canada including BOMBERTOWN but also joined forces and voices with our friends in Nova Scotia to premier Scott Macmillan’s fantastic work CELTIC MASS FOR THE SEA in New York’s CARNEGIE HALL. Great Theatre companies and our Artists include Sculptor Irvin Head, Jason Lucas, Linda Mandes and Elaine Angelski. We can’t wait to see and hear artists and performers from Thompson, MB , Churchill, MB Cranberry Portage and The Pas MB.
We Can’t Wait!

View Comments | Posted in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, community organizers, provincial updates | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Update from Manitoba

February 18th, 2010 by Culture Days

Manitoba call for participation – coming soon!

Under the leadership of Provincial Task Force Chair Jean Giguère and Manitoba Task Force members, Culture Days Manitoba continues to surge forward with exciting updates. A few highlights:

  • Culture Days Manitoba will take place September 24 – 26, 2010.
  • The first edition of Nuit Blanche Winnipeg will be launched on the Saturday of Culture Days 2010.
  • A project manager is in place to support the many groups that have joined the provincial movement.
  • The Task Force continues to work hard to engage colleagues within the cultural sector and outside of it. An example: Task Force member Crystal Kolt, Cultural Coordinator at the Flin Flon Arts Council was invited to speak at a luncheon hosted by the Norman Regional Health Authority. Topic: Culture Days Manitoba. The local media were on hand to take notes on the great activities being planned for Culture Days Manitoba in the Flin Flon-Creighton area (which spans across both the Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces), including theatre and visual arts showcases, music concerts, Busking Bonanza, Museum Musts, Panning for Gold, seniors’ and youth activities, Metal Madness, Pottery Classes, Aboriginal Art and Customs, Amazing Race-Heritage, Hip Hop Dancing, and Multicultural Flavours.
  • To mark Culture Days, Winnipeg Canadian Cultural Capital (WCCC) 2010 will launch “City Stories,” a program that will entertain and engage the diverse and wide spread population of Winnipeg. By creating a mobile story exchange centre to travel the length and breadth of the city, the City Stories team will encourage citizens to interact with performance artists in the creative process of storytelling. In keeping with the WCCC 2010 vision of Arts for All, the project will involve creative participation from across the cultural spectrum.
  • Manitoba Task Force members, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba Homecoming 2010, and WCCC 2010 kicked off the cultural year with a sold-out concert featuring Manitoba artists. The event was dubbed a “two-hour mini Culture Days.”
View Comments | Posted in Manitoba, provincial updates | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Culture Days in Manitoba

January 15th, 2010 by Culture Days

Bringing together a host of collaborators with new and existing initiatives, Culture Days Manitoba is moving quickly towards a province-wide launch in September 2010. Activity organizers, artists and other cultural professionals and amateur or community-based groups are needed to bring their (your!) unique touch to the celebration. Each provincial initiative is supported by a volunteer group known as the Provincial Task Force. Charged with facilitating connections and helping to promote and develop provincial events, the Provincial Task Forces also help liaise between provinces to encourage continuity and to share expertise. For a list of Manitoba Task Force members, which broadly represents cultural leadership from across the province, including urban, rural, Francophone, Aboriginal, arts education, support, and cultural industries groups, please click here.

To get involved with Culture Days Manitoba, please contact the Manitoba Task Force.

News:

  • The community of Flin Flon held its first Culture Days planning meeting to look at how the community will participate in the September 2010 launch! Representatives from the Flin Flon Arts Council, the City of Flin Flon, the Flin Flon Indian / Métis Friendship Centre, the school division, local museum, and Canadian Parents for French were all present for the meeting.
  • Other cities contacted so far include The Pas, Churchill and Thompson.
  • Task Force member Tina Keeper is organizing a roundtable of Aboriginal artists to discuss their plans for Culture Days.
  • To continue spreading the word and inciting interest in the movement, Culture Days was featured during the 2009 Manitoba Contact Showcase. Attendees included 120 delegates from arts organizations across rural and northern Manitoba, as well as 25 performing artists.
  • The Alliance for Arts Education is almost done producing their new DVD, Between Hearts and Minds: The Arts in Education, which educators will be encouraged to use to promote the arts in their local communities. An e-poster will be distributed to every school across the province, highlighting arts and cultural events designed for families and younger audiences. School principals and other educators will be encouraged to insert the poster into newsletters and/or post the events on school websites.
  • The Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre has successfully obtained funding which will help them showcase Francophone culture in the visual arts, architecture and fashion during Culture Days 2010.
  • In conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Company, and the 40th anniversary of the School, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet will open its doors to the community during Culture Days 2010 for an open house and block party extravaganza.
  • For Culture Days 2010, The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra plans to host an event on opening night with audience and musicians playing starring roles.
  • A committee has been established to develop Winnipeg Nuit Blanche in collaboration with Homecoming Manitoba 2010, the Franco-Manitoban Centre and Culture Days 2010.
  • Others, including the Manitoba Museum and the Prairie Theatre Exchange, have committed to participating in Culture Days 2010.
  • Early marketing collaborators include Travel Manitoba and the unique new Winnipeg-based initiative, Culture In Every Corner. Homecoming Manitoba 2010, a year-long project that brings former and current Manitobans together for events and celebrations, has also agreed to sponsor Culture Days 2010!
View Comments | Posted in Manitoba, provincial updates | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,