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Volunteers Can Make All the Difference!

September 2nd, 2011 by Culture Days

Nazanin Shoja, OAC’s Ontario Culture Days Animator/Coordinator, interviewed Gina Rim, Volunteer Coordinator Reel Asian International Film Festival, about how to recruit, train and show appreciation for your Culture Days volunteers. The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival  is Canada’s Premier Pan-Asian International Film Festival. The 15th Anniversary Edition takes place  November 8-13 in Toronto and November 18-19 in Richmond Hill. Check out their 2011 Culture Days event “Meet the Festival.”


Nazanin Shoja – How far in advance do you post a call for volunteers? Where do you advertise?
Gina Rim – Since the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) holds year round events, I post monthly calls through our volunteer e-bulletin. For the film festival in November, I post a call for volunteers in September by inviting them to our Culture Days event, ‘Meet the Festival’. It’s a great way for all our potential volunteers to meet the entire staff, learn what happens behind-the-scenes, and hear about the roles they will be playing during the festival. I also advertise volunteer postings through our various social media, such as Facebook, and I spread the word through local community and student groups as well.

NS – What incentives do you give?
GR – We offer free volunteer t-shirts, vouchers for any of the films at our festival, and a letter detailing their contributions.

NS – What draws volunteers to the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival in particular?
GR – Volunteering at Reel Asian is a great way to interact with film and the industry, as well as a great opportunity to meet people. Every staff member at Reel Asian including myself, is a previous volunteer for the festival so we treat all of our volunteers like family.

NS – What is involved with training to become a volunteer?
GR – Training varies depending on their volunteer roles but our general training sessions are done at the theatres that we use during the festival. Chris Chin, our Operations Manager, did a walk-through of the venues with the volunteers, gave them an overview of the night, examples of questions that may be asked, and what to do in certain situations. We try to train all our volunteers with as much information as possible so that they feel confident in what they do and have fun while they volunteer with us!

NS – What role do the volunteers play at your festival? What tasks are involved?
GR – Like any other film festival, Reel Asian relies on the help of dedicated volunteers for various tasks – from office help to ushers and front of house support, industry series and special events hospitality.

NS – How do you communicate with your volunteers and determine scheduling?
GR – I have a one-on-one scheduling session with each and every volunteer. This allows me to get to know my volunteers better, what their background and interests are, and see if what we have available for them suits their schedule.

NS – How do you ensure their commitment?
GR – During our volunteer orientation and the one-on-one scheduling session, we make sure that the volunteers clearly understand that they play a very important part in our festival and that they are the ones who puts into action the months of work and planning.

NS – How do you show your appreciation to volunteers? How are they recognized?
GR – We have a volunteers appreciation party with food, drink, music and some great prize giveaways a week after the November festival. This year, Reel Asian will also have a screening just for the volunteers before the party as well. We realized that last year, a lot of our volunteers didn’t have time to watch many of the films because they were volunteering instead. To appreciate such participation from our volunteers, we decided to have a screening of one of the festival selections just for them as our way of saying thank you.

NS – How do you ensure that your volunteers return year after year?
GR – The most important thing is for the volunteers to have a positive experience with us. If the volunteers enjoyed their experience and had fun during their previous shifts, they are more likely to return to volunteer with us again this year. We already have a few volunteers from last year who volunteered with us on our pre-festival screenings this year!

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days 2010, Ontario, for activity organizers, uncategorized, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , ,

Culture Days Stories: Catherine – Kingston, ON (Part 3)

September 2nd, 2011 by Culture Days

“Ripple Effect” is the third installment in a series of blog posts that document Catherine’s (aka Kingston Through My Lens) experience and participation in Culture Days 2011.

Find out more by reading the first and second installments.

One of the greatest things that can happen when you embark on a journey to make change in your community is knowing that it has inspired change in other places as well. Through My Lens started off as an initiative in Kingston, and has now grown to include an event in Toronto as well as a second initiative to come in Kingston through the Kingston Frontenac Public Libraries. Here’s an excerpt from Jenn’s latest blog post about Toronto Through My Lens.

Over 100 photographers will be taking city inspired images for 10 days in Toronto. For added inspiration, we are leading 4 neighbourhood walking tours around Toronto. Their images and stories will be collected for our Nuit Blanche exhibit in Parkdale.  We are 1 of 18 rental truck installations in Leitmotif and 1 of 5 community based installations. Our truck installation is an interactive city building themed truck.

When you come to visit us on October 1, you are the curator of our exhibit. You will help us design our exhibit with hundreds of city images, then we will  layer your stories and build dialogue. Inside the truck you can participate in storytelling and a photo shoot with a cardboard city scape backdrop. We are looking to gain insight into what the community focuses on in the city and how we can inspire positive change.

Change can start anywhere and from the smallest of ideas. What can you do to inspire change in your community?

Click here to learn more about the Kingston Through My Lens project and follow Catherine’s Culture Days journey.

UPDATE: Click here to read Catherine’s summary blog post detailing her Culture Days weekend experience with Kingston Through My Lens.

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, Ontario, Results and impact, for activity organizers, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , ,

Culture Days Stories: Catherine – Kingston, ON (Part 2)

August 25th, 2011 by Culture Days

“Confessions of a First-Time Organizer” a great blog post written by Catherine (aka Kingston Through My Lens) and is the second installment in a series of posts that documents her experience and participation in Culture Days 2011.

Click here to read Catherine’s previous post.

Organizing Kingston Through My Lens has definitely been a whirlwind adventure. We’ve experienced many ups and downs, but already the results are amazing. We’ve inspired multiple other photography projects, and we’re looking forward to the start of the project. Thinking back, there are three things that I have gleaned from starting this initiative. They’re my three tips for successful community engagement practice if you will.

Be excited and spread the word

People need to know what you’re up to, and they need to see that you believe in the project. Bring other people on board who can share that excitement with you as well.

Dream big and be flexible, but never lose sight of your mission

You need to have a clear goal of what you hope to achieve from your project while being able to adapt to the circumstances. We all have the ability to be creative, so tap into that! It’s really important, though, to remember why you decided to start the project in the first place, and to make sure the end result is true to that original vision.

Use your connections and don’t be afraid to build new ones

Starting with the people you already know is a great way to go. Further to that, with technology and online media being what it is today, it’s even easier to send someone an email and let them know what you’re doing. You’ll be surprised with how willing people are to meet you and learn more about your project.

Click here to learn more about the Kingston Through My Lens project and follow Catherine’s Culture Days journey.

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 Community spotlight, Culture Days stories, Ontario, community organizers, for activity organizers, opinions, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , , ,

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: , , ,

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!

View Comments | Posted in community organizers, for activity organizers, marketing & PR | Tags: , , ,

Community Spotlight: Ed Schleimer – Woodcut Printmaker, New Hamburg, Ontario

April 14th, 2011 by sbattle

As many across the country are starting to organize activities for Culture Days 2011, people are writing in, sharing their stories and what they’re planning for this year’s event, happening September 30, October 1 & 2. Here, we’re profiling individual artists who will be sharing their craft with those in their communities over the 2011 Culture Days weekend.

We heard about Culture Days through Martin DeGroot’s Saturday column in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record and we’ve elected to participate to give the public a window on our world and an opportunity to explore the possibilities of the woodcut medium.

For Culture Days, I would suggest that the interested come in with a drawing to be reversed and transferred using a mirror or carbon paper. I recommend a straightedge slant because the image has to be transferred to wood, and grain is a determining factor. Participants will therefore be able to work through the wood and translate their ideas to a print using ink and press. I will show some examples of colour approaches, but the basic exercise will be in black water soluable ink – I have done reduction cuts as well as offset multiple blocs in colour, but there is much more involved – jig saw puzzle approaches are another variant of colour possibilities.

Woodcut Printmaking is the oldest method of reproducing images. Its earliest application in the Western World was to give “everyman” the opportunity to understand scripture through the “universal language” of art.  I have embraced that slant and was told early on, before I put knife to wood, that my work had a religious flavour. Curiously enough, my wife and I now find ourselves retired from the workplace in a refurbished 123 year old church I call the “Chapel of the Glass Stoneman”. We are adrift in this Ark on a See [sic] of Landscape.  In the last 3 years out here, I have done about 55 blocs inspired by the land, its history and architecture on my mythic journey.

Self-portrait by Ed Schleimer

View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Culture Days stories, Ontario, for activity organizers, ways to get involved | Tags: , , ,

Activity Ideas for Libraries

April 12th, 2011 by Reuben Finley

In 2009, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ray Danyluk, communicated his support of Alberta Arts Days by challenging libraries to participate as activity hosts and organizers through local partnerships. Here are a few of the activities that were suggested in a newsletter from South-Central Alberta’s Marigold Library Network. The full article, which also provides some great promotional and media relations tips, can be downloaded here.

1) Shoot and Click @ Your Library:

Invite teens to take your/their digital or video camera on a walk around the library and capture some unique moments. Host a premiere party.

2) Cover Story @ Your Library:

Ask teens or other age groups to design a jacket of a book they’ve read, or one that they imagine. Have them choose the artwork and fonts, and write a “teaser” description and snippets of reviews.

3) Story Slam @ Your Library:

Gather local writers and story tellers (or aspiring writers). Throw out a theme and have them create a story on the spot. Encourage young writers to share their experiences.

4) I Remember When…@ Your Library:

Invite seniors to the library. Ask them to talk about “the good old days” or retell a story from way back when to children and teens. Consider recording them and/or writing down their stories and creating a book.

5) Glorious Texts @ Your Library:

Ask teens in the library to take an actual text or social media message they wrote and commit it to paper. Encourage them to decorate it as lavishly as a medieval manuscript, to make it a true work of literary art. Does it change their perception of what they wrote?

View Comments | Posted in Alberta, community organizers, ways to get involved | Tags: , , ,

Spotlight: Liesl Jauk – Richmond, British Columbia

March 3rd, 2011 by Culture Days

Culture Days 2010 demonstrated that municipalities can play a key role as community organizers. By convening a broad suite of partners and creative activities while leveraging their resources to provide local marketing support, they generated community excitement and participation in the event. In this Community Spotlight feature, you’ll meet Liesl Jauk who is the Manager of Cultural Development for the City of Richmond in British Columbia and played a key role in Richmond’s successful Culture Days event in 2010. Liesl is also a member of the Culture Days BC Task Force.


Culture Days: Can you briefly describe your current role and your background?

Liesl Jauk: I am the Manager of Cultural Development for the City of Richmond and have been in this position since fall 2008. Prior to that I have worked in the Vancouver arts community for about 20 years. Most recently co-running Rebus Creative which produces The Word On The Street festival, BC Book Prizes and does marketing for the Circle Craft Christmas Market among other things. I did/do graphic design for a range of arts clients, coordinate marketing and some event production. In terms of education I have a BA in Art History and MA in Social History of Art, plus some college courses in visual art (painting, drawing, printmaking, etc.)

CD: How did you first hear about Culture Days?

LJ: Via email from Culture Days. Not sure how I was on list, perhaps through Creative Cities Network, or Alliance for Arts & Culture.

CD: What made you want to get involved? What opportunities did you identify for Richmond’s participation?

LJ: Honestly, my boss, Jane Fernyhough, told me to do it ;)

CD: How did you approach promoting Culture Days? Who were some key people and organisations involved in organizing the community’s celebration of Culture Days?

LJ: First I contacted CD to find out exactly what was being offered and not offered; that is, how were we allowed/expected to use the CD branding, acknowledge sponsors, etc. The key issue was that this was a broad national toolkit, rather than a marketing campaign that would have any resonance “on the ground”. From a marketing perspective (beyond its “cultural call to action” raison d’etre) CD is basically a graphic identity and a website. The CBC and Globe and Mail ads are nice but meaningless outside of a pretty specific audience in urban centres. For CD to have any impact in a community like Richmond, it would need to be promoted on a local level in community newspapers, etc. This would require cash, arts community support and bringing on local promotional partners like The Richmond Review and Tourism Richmond.

CD: Richmond had an impressive marketing campaign for Culture Days. Describe what you did to advertise and spread the word.

LJ: As part of my position, I have compiled an email list of hundreds of local artists, arts organizations, umbrella organizations, businesses, etc. I use this list to get the word out about events and initiatives of interest to the arts community. So, it was through this list that I informed the local arts community about CD, and outlined the promotional opportunities offered through the Richmond campaign. These emails provided clear instructions re: what events would be eligible to participate, deadline dates to be included on printed promotional materials, etc. and over several weeks provided new info as new opportunities arose and updates were announced. Basically, I was inviting everyone to take part and enjoy some free promotion. I also invited them to subscribe to the CD e-bulletin.

CD: How did all the marketing activity come together? How were you able to convince media and promotional sponsors to get involved?

LJ: We met with reps from Richmond Review and Tourism Richmond, inviting them to help us shape the campaign, as this was as new to us as it was to them. I think that by making them true partners in the development of the program, there was a deeper “buy in” to the campaign  as they became creatively involved. It was through those meetings that the idea of the mini-bus tour for media and bloggers came to be, as well as the Fall Arts & Culture Preview issue of the newspaper, which had a 4-page wrap around supplement listing all the registered CD events in Richmond.

CD: Are there any moments from the lead up to and during the Culture Days weekend that stand out in your mind?

LJ: The mini-bus tour was a major highlight. We lucked out with good weather and enjoyed interesting behind-the-scenes tours at the Gateway Theatre and the Museum collections warehouse. Ending outside at the Terra Nova Rural Park to see the newly-built cob oven, experience “heritage” farming in a hands-on way and then eat food made from local ingredients was fantastic. Everyone there was beaming, feeling like they had had a very special experience.

Also, seeing so many people visit the Gateway Theatre for tours, where they had costumes, set design sketches and maquettes, masks, etc. on display was a big highlight. The visitors were clearly really engaged and fascinated to learn about how theatre happens.

Also, we made our Cultural Centre a hub of activity that weekend given many events were happening there. We put a large poster with balloons in the foyer that listed the dates, times and rooms of CD events. That helped attract people who just happened to be there, as did CD-branded directional signage to the various rooms.

CD: After Richmond’s first experience with Culture Days in 2010, what longer-term benefits have you identified for continued annual participation? Challenges?

LJ: Richmond’s Culture Days experience was extremely positive. The newspaper wrap supplement landed on the doorsteps of just about every resident. So just in terms of raising awareness of arts/culture/heritage in the community, as a legacy, this was a very beneficial experience.

Moreover, the participating artists and organizations enjoyed profile as well as the opportunity to share their work and enthusiasm with the general public. There were some community-based volunteer-run groups that participated and, I think, they were surprised at how fun it was and how much they had to gain by increasing their profile.

I can’t think of any specific challenges. For next year, we’ll assign volunteers as “greeters” at the Cultural Centre so visitors have a go-to person for information and directions.

CD: What advice do you have for other community organizers who are planning for Culture Days 2011? Was there anything you learned in 2010 that you’d count as a lesson for the future or a key success factor?

LJ: Establish a partnership with your local newspaper, the one that is delivered to everyone in the community. If you do not have an email contact list of artists/cultural organizations, partner with someone who does. The key is to communicate directly as possible with potential participants, outline in an upbeat way what’s in it for them, and then deliver. In our case, most participating artists do not have the capacity to do much beyond operate their event. They depend on you to provide the marketing, advertising, etc.

CD: What’s in store for Culture Days 2011 in Richmond?

LJ: Obviously, programming will be up to the participating artists and cultural organizations as to what is offered. Otherwise, we were really pleased with how things went so will likely repeat, as-is with perhaps a few minor tweaks.

CD: Is there anything else about your experience of Culture Days that you’d like to share?

LJ: In the first year, Culture Days in Richmond was a success that surpassed expectations, thanks in large part to enthusiastic partners Richmond Review and Tourism Richmond who came to the project as creative partners, eager to work with us to develop a city-wide campaign.

Culture Days went from being “one more thing we are expected to do” to an unprecedented opportunity to showcase Richmond’s cultural community, an opportunity that was enthusiastically embraced by residents and the participants who shared their passions beyond their usual circle.

We managed to not only participate in a national weekend of arts and culture, but to leverage the Culture Days brand for our own purposes, raising awareness among local citizens and raising Richmond’s profile beyond city limits and even nationally.

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 British Columbia, Community spotlight, Culture Days 2010, Culture Days stories, Local marketing & promotions, community organizers, for activity organizers, marketing & PR | Tags: , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , , ,
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