COLUMN: Many groups contribute to arts scene

This past weekend, the Summerland Community Arts Council held an open house.

Another month has flown by and, although I swear it was September just yesterday, we’re already well on our way to the middle of October now.

I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s been a great fall so far. Lots of fun things to see and do and lots of great fall exploring to be had — I know exploring isn’t quite an artist endeavour, but I can certainly tell you that I spend a fair bit of time thinking creative thoughts when I’m out and about.

This past weekend, the Summerland Community Arts Council held an open house to both help celebrate Culture Days and to showcase their new building, as well as some of the local arts groups.

I took a bit of time to have a wander around to see the new space and, more importantly, to check out the arts groups that were set up.

It was a great chance to find out a little bit more about the various groups that are operating in Summerland and it gave me a chance to gather up some information about those groups.

In the next little while I’m going to start talking more about these groups, in an attempt to help connect people with their passions around town. Hopefully I’ll be able to sit down with members of these groups before I write about them.

The more I get the chance to talk to people about things like this, the better my column will be.

As I also mentioned last week, the Summerland Cultural Task Force also officially released their Cultural Plan at the open house.

I picked up a copy and look forward to going through it very soon. I’m quite excited to see what kind of a plan and guidance structure the committee was able to come up with following their very thorough discussion and information gathering period that they held.

The bits and pieces that I’ve heard about so far have been great. I’ll be following up with more about this in next week’s column.

For those who might be looking for something to do this weekend, the Fall Wine Festival is in full swing and this is a great chance to both stock up for the winter and check out some of the fantastic art that many of our local wineries showcase.

And, with that, I’m off to delve into the new Cultural Plan.

Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and culture event, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.

 

Summerland Review