You are invited to the Summerland Conversation Café for an evening of lively conversation about the importance of culture to Summerland’s health and well-being. This Conversation Cafe is taking place next Thursday, September 12 at the IOOF Hall, 9536 Main St.. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the conversation starts at 7 p.m.
Hosted by the Summerland Community Cultural Development Committee, this community-wide public conversation will focus on what culture means to us as individuals and as a community.
Culture is that one common bond that brings the people of a community together. So please join us at the Summerland Conversation Café and share your ideas on how we can strengthen and support Summerland’s cultural vitality.
The style of this Conversation Cafe on Culture will be similar to the two held in August, 2011. If you attended in 2011 you know we will be dividing into small groups and encouraging everyone to share their ideas on what culture means to them and to our community and how we can strengthen the cultural assets we have and create new ones.
Culture is an inclusive term that covers the arts, multiculturalism, history, heritage resources and activities as practiced and preserved in a community. These practices reflect the beliefs, experiences and creative aspirations of a people in a specific geographic and political area.
We have street banners, sculptures, murals and other public art. Not to mention the legacy of playwright George Ryga and numerous art studios in our town.
We also have a strong tradition of volunteerism and active service clubs. That strong sense of community spirit has been demonstrated time and time again. We are a community that came together in the 1940s to build Thirsk Dam and in the 1970s and 1980s to build the pool and Centre Stage Theatre.
On Sept. 14 and 15 we are encouraged to “Celebrate Our Roots” at the 104th Summerland Fall Fair. While agriculture may be shifting from orchards to vineyards and wineries agriculture remains significant to the ambience and to the economy of Summerland.
We’ve seen some festivals come and go over the years, but others remain strong. Action Festival with its influx of runners and slow pitch participants and the Festival of Lights and the Good Will Shakespeare Festival are prime examples of how festivals add to the “joie de vivre” of communities and how cultural tourism can promote and enhance economic activities.
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If you know of an event you feel should be included in the Arts Palette or on the Arts Council’s online calendar, email artspalette@summerlandarts.com or call 250-404-3225. summerlandarts.com and twitter.com/artspalette
The Arts Palette is written by David Finnis, publicity chair and president of the Summerland Community Arts Council, P.O. Box 1217, 9533 Main St., Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0.
