Province Supports Culture Activities

Arts and cultural festivals, workshops and performances being held around Nova Scotia are benefitting from funding from the provincial government.

Port Royal 400th Anniversary Festival, Tantramar Theatre Society, Whycocomagh Summer Festival and the Preston Area and Dartmouth African Nova Scotian Women Entrepreneurs are just four of the 52 culture organizations receiving a total of $214,800 in support through the Department of Tourism and Culture's Cultural Activities Program.

Rodney MacDonald, Minister of Tourism and Culture, joined cultural community representatives to make the announcement today, July 8, at the Whycocomagh Provincial Park, in Inverness Co. The announcement includes recipients of funding for program application periods ending Feb. 15 and May 15. The Feb. 15 period saw 29 successful applicants receive a total of $132,500, while $82,300 went to 23 culture organizations for the May 15 period. These 52 organizations represent over $1.6 million in cultural projects.

"A wide variety of events are receiving support -- from music and drama to visual arts and literature," said Mr. MacDonald. "These activities represent the diversity and vibrance of Nova Scotia's cultural scene."

The organizations receiving support are located throughout the province. In the southern region 10 organizations will receive a total of $31,550, while 10 in the northern region will receive $42,000 and 15 in Halifax Regional Municipality will receive $80,325. Another six organizations will receive $27,150 for activities that are provincial in scope. The province contributes up to 50 per cent towards each activity's total costs.

In Cape Breton, the Whycocomagh Summer Festival is one of 11 projects receiving support. Out of the $33,775 invested in the Cape Breton region, the festival will receive $5,000 for its 2002 summer show.

"We are pleased Mr. MacDonald and his department are assisting our festival and the many other smaller festivals throughout Nova Scotia," said Burton MacIntyre, chairperson for the Whycocomagh Summer Festival. "Smaller festivals, as well as the larger ones, play an important role in promoting our culture for locals and tourists."

The festival has been celebrating community culture for 30 years. This year, organizers are focusing on Acadian, Mi'kmaq and Celtic traditions. The festival is one of eight projects in the Inverness area.

In the northern region, Tantramar Theatre Society will use its $5,000 in funding for their five-week Summer Theatre Festival, which boasts over 50 performances by local actors.

"The confidence that the province has shown in our continued growth is a real shot in the arm for a small organization like ours -- it makes you want to work twice as hard," said Bette Douglas, artistic director of the Tantramar Theatre Society.

In the southern region, the Port Royal 400th Anniversary Festival will receive $5,000 for Musique 400, a music and dance project that will involve performances of Renaissance and later-period music at anniversary commemorations throughout the province.

"I know from our experience this type of funding goes a very long way," said Dave Kern, president, Port Royal 400th Anniversary Society. "Societies typically have very dedicated volunteers but lack funding to initiate projects. I am certain the return from our Musique 400 program will be ten-fold."

In Halifax, the Preston Area and Dartmouth African Nova Scotian Women Entrepreneurs are producing a cultural festival called Embracing the Ages Down Home Festival.

"The department's financial support is tangible recognition of the value the government of Nova Scotia places in community events like Embracing the Ages Down Home Festival, which reflects the wealth and diversity of our cultural heritage," said Shelley Fashan, the festival's producer. "It also makes the festival possible and lessens the struggle a small organization like ours faces in producing a significant event."

Last summer, Tourism and Culture announced a series of new programs for its Culture Division. Among these is the Cultural Activities Program, which provides support to community-level performances, festivals, workshops and cultural projects. Community organizations have four opportunities each year to apply for assistance, with the next deadline set for Aug. 15.

A full description of the fund and an application form are available on the Department of Tourism and Culture Division Web site at www.gov.ns.ca/dtc/culture.html, or by calling the Culture Division office at 902-424-6471.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following is a complete list of projects receiving support under the Cultural Activities Program for the Feb. 15 and May 15 deadlines.

Northern Region

• Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, based in Antigonish, will receive $5,000 for the Open Water 77 Exhibition.
• deCoste Entertainment Centre Society in Pictou will invest its $2,500 in a feasibility study, as part of its application to the Department of Canadian Heritage's new Cultural Spaces Canada program.
• Guysborough Antigonish Pictou Arts and Culture Council will use its $5,000 for the Gathering of the Arts.
• Mulgrave Road Theatre will receive $5,000 for the Silver Anniversary Celebrations.
• Pictou District Honour Choir will spend their $5,000 on a cultural exchange and Three Choirs Festival.
• Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro will receive $5,000 to engage a capital campaign consultant for one year.
• Tantramar Theatre Society, based in Cumberland County, will invest its $5,000 in the Summer Theatre Festival.
• Tatamagouche Centre will spend $2,125 for a Community of Writers workshop.
• African Canadian Heritage and Friendship Centre in Guysborough will use its $2,375 for community and artistic development.
• Antigonish Highland Society will receive $5,000 for the 139th annual Antigonish Highland Games.

Southern Region

• Liverpool International Theatre Festival received $5,000 for the 2002 Festival.
• King's Theatre Society in Annapolis Royal will produce the West of Jazz East Jazz Festival with its $3,700.
• Port Royal 400th Anniversary Festival will spend its $5,000 on Musique 400.
• Société Promotion Grand-Pré will invest its $3,000 for Grand Pre Acadian Day and Seminar.
• The Town of Middleton will receive $1,800 for a Summer Theatre Workshop
• Yarmouth Arts Society will spend $450 to host a watercolour workshop.
• Play Yarmouth will receive $5,000 for its 2002 summer series.
• Les Araignées du boui-boui in Digby will spend its $600 to hold a music workshop to continue the musical development of the 20-member cast of "Evangeline".
• The Mahone Bay Centre Society will receive $2,000 for "Dream in the Park," a performance of the final two acts of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
• The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg's recreation department will invest its $5,000 in the Lunenburg YTV/Web Project, which offers youth the chance to write, produce, direct, shoot, edit, host and perform their own show.

Cape Breton

• The Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique will invest its $4,800 in a program titled Introducing the Roots and Branches of Cape Breton Music.
• Chestico Summer Days Festival will receive $800 for Chestico Days Summer Festival.
• Comunn Féis an Eilein will spend $5,000 for the 12th annual féis.
• Le Theatre Sans Detours, Inverness County, will receive $2,500 to send four participants to the Globe Theatre Festival performance in France.
• Whycocomagh Summer Festival will receive $5,000 for its 2002 summer festival.
• La Société Saint-Pierre will use its $1,000 to help produce the 2002 Festival de l'Escaouette, an annual community cultural celebration for the region of Cheticamp.
• Conseil des Arts de Cheticamp will invest its $3,000 in Le Conseil des arts Presente 2002, a series of cultural performances and events throughout the summer months.
• Island Roots Society based in Cape Breton County will use its $5,000 investment to assist with costs for Minglefest, a rock and blues music festival.
• Clan MacNeil Association, based in Victoria County, will receive $5,000 for its Barraman's Feast, an event which celebrates 200 years of Gaelic settlement in Cape Breton.
• Glen Breagh Quilt/Craft Guild will use its $775 to organize workshops on quilting, rug hooking and weaving.
• Lake Ainslie Weavers and Craft Guild in Inverness will receive $900 to assist with costs for the One Hundred-Year-Old Trousseau.

Halifax Regional Municipality

• Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festival will receive $2,850 for the 2002 festival.
• Société Grou Tyme Festival will use a $30,000 investment for Festival Grou Tyme, a large Acadian event.
• The Unicorn Theatre Society will receive $925 for the Halifax Regional Library summer drama program.
• The Maritime Fiddlers Association will spend its $800 for a One Day Fiddle and Piano Workshop.
• The Nova Scotia Mass Choir will receive $5,000 for its 10th Anniversary Gospel Sunday.
• The Halifax Chapter of the Canadian Music Competition will receive $2,500 for participation of Nova Scotians in the 2002 Canadian Music Competition.
• Nations in a Circle will receive $5,000 to host the First Nations event Nations in a Circle.
• Atlantic Filmmakers Co-operative will use its $5,000 for the One-Minute Film Scholarship Project.
• Live Art Productions will receive $5,000 for its community outreach activities in dance.
• Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia will spend its $5,000 on New Generations: The 2002 Preston Cultural Festival.
• Preston Area and Dartmouth African Nova Scotian Women Entrepreneurs will receive $5,000 for its Embracing the Ages Down Home Festival.
• St. Cecilia Concert Series in Halifax will use its $5,000 investment to produce the St. Cecilia Family Concert Series.
• Conseil Communautaire du Grand-Havre based in Halifax will spend $5,000 on "Fureur de lire" a major francophone cultural event.
• Nations in a Circle will receive $250 to help showcase aboriginal art.
• Halifax Pop Explosion Association will use its $3,000 to help produce a three-day festival of rock and alternative music.

Provincial

• Dance Nova Scotia will use $3,750 to produce the Dare to Dance project.
• The Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra will receive $5,000 for its 24th Anniversary Gala Concert.
• Le conseil culturel acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse spent its $5,000 for an Acadian delegation at the Liverpool International Theatre Festival.
• Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia will receive $5,000 to assist with costs for producing MacTallah, a tabloid-style publication to promote Gaelic language and culture.
• Conseil culturel acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse will use its $3,400 for an Acadian tent at the Word on the Street festival in Halifax.
• Conseil culturel acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse will also receive $5,000 to help produce Programme de diffusion d'arts de la scene, a series of performing arts presentations staged in different Acadian communities around the province.