October 2004

Old Church Project

Two directors were invited to sit on a committee to formulate a rental policy for the “Old Church Project”. Two meetings were held and a draft will be presented to the Bulkley Valley Historical and Museum Society Board for approval.

Discussions began to implement a plan to purchase a piano for the Old Church as the Arts Council’s gift to the project.

CD Grant

The council voted to grant Lisa Conway $500.00 to aid in the productions and duplication of the “tubeless girls” folk/rock CD.

Budget Template Available

The Budget Template for non-profit groups has been completed and is available to them to aid in grant applications and project budgeting.

Free Ads to Thank Businesses

Chris ? organized free ad space on BVLD? to assist us in thanking local businesses for their past support of Arts Council activities.

November 2004

“Smithers Spirit of 2010 Committee”

The president of the Arts Council was invited by the Mayor to attend the first meeting of the “Smithers Spirit of 2010 Committee”. This committee will meet to ascertain what opportunities are available for a lasting Olympic Legacy for our community. The arts community will have to work together to formulate ideas and a plan to access funding for long term arts and culture programs and events.

Town Council Funding

A director attended the “Grant-in Aid” evening at Town Council: this afforded us the opportunity to explain our financial position, including a large reserve fund.

Art Instruction for Children

Two directors consulted with a new local society that is applying for funding to provide art instruction and materials to a number of children who normally cannot afford these activities. This society may use the Arts Council’s charitable status or may apply directly to the council for funding. Aid in filling out grant applications was also sought.

2004 Bursary Fundraiser

This year's variety show “Show Tunes” was a huge success.

Thanks to over 40 performers and dozens of behind the scenes volunteers, classic show tunes from shows including, “Funny Girl”, “42^nd Street”, “The Sound of Music” and “Hairspray”, came to life on the Della Herman Stage. All proceeds go the the BVCAC Bursary for students furthering their education in the arts.

SMART Award

Janet Harris was this year's SMART Award recipient. The SMART Award recognizes community members who have had a lasting impact on the community with their efforts teaching students in the areas of arts and culture.

December 2004

A Classical Kids Christmas

After three months of rehearsals, the Arts Council’s production of, “A Classical Kid’s Christmas”, took to the stage for 4 shows including one matinee. Almost 1100 audience members saw over 60 performers ranging in age from 5-70 sing, act, narrate and dance the story of Christmas through the ages. The production was directed by Sharon Carrington, who did a wonderful job of rehearsing the cast and organizing the support teams; who in turn worked tirelessly behind the scenes organizing props, costumes, children, sets and schedules. Thanks to all the participants who volunteered their time and a big thanks to the parents for supporting the arts in the Bulkley Valley.

Dinner Theatre Postponed

Due to mediocre turnout at auditions for a Dinner Theatre production, the producers decided to postpone and try again for a production in March, 2006.

January 2005

Highway 16 Travelling Art Show

Tom and Julie met with Dorothy Giesbrecht and Linda Stringfellow to assess their application for Arts Now Funding for a multi media travelling arts show. This show will afford an opportunity to artists from communities along Highway 16 to explore the disappearances of dozens of women along Highway 16 and the resulting impact on individuals, families and communities. The Arts Council has also agreed to assist in funding this project.

Master String Classes

The Classical String Society asked for assistance in completing their application to Arts Now for funding to present a series of Master String Classes.

Arts Council 25^th Anniversary Celebration

Various ideas to celebrate the Arts Council’s 25th anniversary were discussed. The major initiative agreed upon was a 25^th Anniversary CD Sampler of musicians from the Bulkley Valley. A committee was organized to come up with criteria, seek submissions from local artists and organize CD production and duplication.

Valentino’s

The council agreed to grant the Valentino’s committee $1000.00 to assist in enlarging the stage at the Glenwood Hall and to bring in various out of town performers for the production. These out of town performers have all volunteered and taught music in the community previously.

Pink Fraud “The Wall”

The Arts council has agreed to organize a production of ‘The Wall” for the annual bursary fundraiser in November. The local band “Pink Fraud”, along with other performers and local visual artist will present the production Remembrance Day Weekend, with 3 evening performances.

Piano for the Old Church

Final decisions were made to purchase a piano for the “Old Church Project”. Several directors were investigating availability and cost.

Assisting the Della Herman Theatre and Old Church Project

The Arts Council has decided to donate new curtains and lights to the Della Herman Theatre. Cost and availability still to be ascertained. Curtains will also be donated to the Old Church Project.

February 2005

Bulkey Valley Spirit of BC Committee

Tom Young attended an open house meeting and brainstorming session at the Town Office to start the ball rolling for involvement in the “Bulkley Valley Spirit of BC Committee”. All interested community members were invited to attend and brainstorm in their area of interest. The arts and culture sector came up with a list of initiatives that will be included in a working document along with initiatives from other sectors. Funding requests will then follow.

Arts Event Calendar

A permanent annual arts event calendar was put together to encourage all organizers to schedule shows around the annually occurring events. Hopefully this will eliminate overbooking of arts and culture events on the same dates.

Literacy Now

Tom Young was enlisted by “Literacy Now” to participate in a survey investigating the Arts Council’s function and outreach efforts in the community.

Funding opportunities

2010 Legacy

Tom Young chaired a meeting for all arts groups interested in funding opportunities arising from 2010 the Olympic legacy. Sharon Robertson, the Executive of Community Futures of Nadina, was present to assist attendees in understanding some key issues. Discussion and brainstorming followed, keeping in mind the vision arising from the meeting earlier in February. It was decided that a coordinator was needed to find funding to formulate a general arts plan for the community. A virtual arts centre and audio visual equipment were the top two ideas to focus on.

March

Thank you’s

Thank you letters were sent to the Town of Smithers, Regional District of Bulkley Valley Nechako, and the BC Arts Council acknowledging their continued financial support and informing them that we were celebrating 25 years of supporting arts and culture in the Bulkley Valley.

Draft Proposal to Arts Now

Tom Chamberlain agreed to prepare a draft proposal for the Arts Now Committee. The draft was sent to interested parties for feedback.

Centre for Sustainability

Tom and Julie attended a meeting for non-profit groups organized by the Centre for Sustainability. The meeting enabled attendees to talk about organizational challenges and development needs along with other groups in the community.

Loan to Old Church Project

The Arts Council made available an interest free loan to the Old Church Project as interim financing while they wait for another grant to be approved.

Piano

The Piano for the Old Church Project arrived safe and sounds great. A plaque will be installed on the Piano commemorating the donation as another 25^th anniversary initiative.

Homeless Calendar

Michelle Johnson requested funding to assist her in a project sponsored by Smithers Community Services Association. A calendar is to be produced by the homeless in Smithers, and funding is required for the photography that will appear in the calendar. This funding was approved after a more detailed budget was brought forward.

Beltane Bash

A group of local people requested funding to assist in putting on a “Beltane Bash”, to replace the annual Gum Boot Stomp. A grant was made available for two local artists (visual and performing) to assist with the show.

April 2005

Thanks to our treasurer!

Julie Naismith our intrepid treasurer again goes above and beyond; not only assisting with funding application to the Vancouver Foundation, Legacies Now and Ministry of Small Business and Tourism, but also helping to organize the CBC programs scheduled to air from the Old Church Project with hosts Mark Forsythe and Sheryl Mackay. Thank you!!

2005 Bursary Awarded

Jake Jenne, a young local musician and community volunteer was awarded a $1500.00 bursary to continue his arts education at Malispina College.

Art in the Park

Information gathering has shown that downtown merchants are keen to see art events happening during the summer. Gail Jenne and friends will be coordinating the main street events, and the Framers Market will host “Art in the Park” on a couple of Saturdays.

Old Church Hall Opening

The Old Church Hall was officially opened this month. It was a great success with lots of local entertainment, and live CBC broadcasts with Mark Forsythe on Friday April 15^th and Sheryl Mackay the following Saturday morning. Serge Mazarand played the new piano donated by the Arts Council and it sounded great!!!

May 2005

BV Foundation Funding

Two Arts Council member groups received funding from the BV Foundation. These grants were made possible by the charitable status that the Arts Council now has. Thank you to the BV Foundation for their continued support of the arts in the Bulkley Valley.

Invitation to Vanderhoof

Tom Young (President) and Julie Naismith (Treasurer) were invited to attend the AGM of the Nechako Regional Arts Council in Vanderhoof. They met with the new Board and gave a brief outline of our successes, as well as, the pitfalls to be avoided when starting up a community arts council. Many questions were asked and answered. Thanks to former Smithers residents Catlin Harrison and Lorne Clarke for the invitation and hospitality. We wish the new board and arts community much success.

Grant Writing Workshop

At the request of Arts Now (Legacies 2010), a grant writing workshop was organized by Tom and Julie. 15 people attended the 3 hour session presented by one of the three Arts Now administrators. The feedback was positive and some groups and individuals came away with knowledge of where their energy must be channelled to make their applications a success.

June 2005

Royalty Questions

A previous director contacted Tom looking for assistance for an area artist who needed information and advice regarding royalties from their work. Tom suggested a couple of avenues to explore locally for that information.

Arts Now Proposal

Tom Young and Tom Chamberlain spent more time rewriting the Arts Now proposal. A big thank you to Tom Chamberlain for his time and dedication during this long process.

Linking Communities

A local artist consulted with Tom and Julie to assist her in writing a grant proposal. If successful, this initiative would link eight communities along Highway 16 with artists and social issue groups.

Festival of Nations

The Arts Council helped fund the musical portion of the “Festival of Nations”, a celebration of multiculturalism hosted by the Wet’suet’en at the First Nations multiplex in Moricetown. From 2pm – 10pm, multicultural music, performances, visual art and cuisine were shared.

July 2005

Kids Art Camp

The Arts Council granted funds to enable 6 students to attend a summer art camp at Muheim School. This was a cooperative effort between 2010 Legacies Now, Smithers Affordable Recreation Committee and The Bulkley Valley Community Arts Council.

Art Gallery

The Arts Council made deficit financing available to the Smithers Art Gallery so that they could run a mixed media workshop with artist Judith DesBrisay.

Art in the Park

The first ever “Art in the Park” was a huge success. In conjunction with the Saturday morning Farmers Market, local artists worked with kids of all ages making art trading cards and portraits. The doo wop choir, Sheryl Hofweber and the Smithers Community Band also performed.

August 2005

Curtains for the Old Church Project

The newly renovated Church Hall received the new stage curtains, an Arts Council gift, and part of our contribution to the remodelling. Musicians commented on improvement in sound quality as soon as they were hung.

September 2005

25^th Anniversary Celebrations

Tom Young had a television interview with the local CBC highlighting the BVCAC’s 25^th Anniversary celebrations. The Arts Council’s role in the community was discussed, as well as, the idea behind the 25^th Anniversary CD Sampler of local musicians.

The CD release party, September 10^th, was great fun: this free to the public celebration was held at the Old Church Hall featuring some of the musicians on the CD. A big “Thank You” to all the musicians who gave freely of their time and talent to join in our Anniversary celebrations.