Final Report: Arts in the ParksArtsBC/Assembly of BC Arts CouncilsPrepared and submitted by Sheryl McGraw, Executive DirectorSpring 2012

OverviewBC Parks 100 - Arts in the Parks grants were made possible by The Ministry ofthe Environment and Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.The purpose of the program is to assist arts organizations and First Nationsarts organizations throughout B.C. with project and events that celebrate the100th anniversary of BC Parks in 2011.

Applicant OverviewThe total number of applications received by the Assembly of BC Arts Councilswas 26 with a total dollar request of $146,660.

The number of applicants funded was 22 with a total of $100,000 fundingallocated.

Applications were submitted from the following communities (in some casesmore than one applicant applied from one community). A list of successfulapplicants is included below.

• Abbotsford• Ashcroft• Brackendale• Burnaby• Gabriola Island• Golden• Hope• Kelowna• Maple Ridge• Meadow Creek• Mill Bay• Nanaimo• Peachland• Penticton• Prince George• Prince Rupert• Princeton• Queen Charlotte• Quesnel• Revelstoke• Sechelt

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• Smithers• Sooke• Tumbler Ridge• Vanderhoof

Adjudication MeetingThe Assembly of British Columbia Arts Councils used a peer assessmentprocess for determining funding support. Requests were reviewed by theorganization’s staff, the program coordinator and assessed by an adjudicationcommittee comprised of professionals chosen for their knowledge in the artsand culture sector. The committee was selected to represent a broad range ofexperience and to provide fair representation of gender, generations, regionaland cultural diversity.

The adjudication meeting in Richmond was held on November 18. It wasinitially thought that two days would be required to review all applications, butthe adjudication committee was efficient and required only one day to allocate$100,000. Prior to the meeting, the committee had reviewed the applications indetail and members were well prepared for the meeting.

Members of the committee included:• Ken Blackburn, Executive Director, Campbell River Arts Council,

Campbell River, BC• Julie Fowler, Executive Director, Island Mountain Arts & the ArtsWells

Festival of All Things Art, Wells, BC• Dolly Hopkins, Creative Architect, Vancouver, BC• T'Uy'Tanat-Cease Wyss, Ethnobotanist/Environmental Artist/Educator

and Activist, Vancouver, BC• Sheryl McGraw, Arts & Cultural Consultant/Program Coordinator

Adjudication ResultsThe following organizations were allocated funding to host numerous arts andcultural events in celebration of the BC Parks Centennial. Events took placebetween March and December 2011. A total of $100,000 was allocated.

Bamberton Historical Society/Seeds n’ Salt Theatre Company $5,000BC Boys Choir $5,790Crimson Coast Dance Society $5,000Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre Society $5,000Gabriola Arts Council $5,000Golden and District Arts Council $5,000Hope & District Arts Council $3,800Lardeau Valley Opportunity Links Society $3,000Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Arts Council $5,000Nechako Community Arts Council $5,000Okanagan Artists Alternative Association $3,500

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Prince George Symphony Orchestra $5,000Prince Rupert Community Arts Council $5,000Princeton Community Arts Council $5,000Queen Charlotte Island Arts Council $1,410Quesnel and District Community Arts Council $5,000Revelstoke Arts Council $5,000Squamish Arts Council $5,000Sunshine Coast Arts Council $5,000The Friends of Fintry Provincial Park Society $4,000Tumbler Ridge Community Arts Council $5,000Ullus Collective $3,500

Recognition of FundingAll successful applicants were instructed to acknowledge funding support in allpromotional materials, and verbally at the event when making speeches orannouncements. They were provided with contact information for both theMinistry of the Environment, and Ministry of Community, Sport and CulturalDevelopment.

In addition, they were also asked to acknowledge the support of the Assemblyof BC Arts Councils in all promotional materials.

All logos were to be used on posters, brochures, print ads and where possibleon media releases and signage related to the funded project.

Final ReportsSuccessful applicants were required to submit a final report on February 24,2012 that included audience attendance, number of youth attending, copies ofpublications, pictures and letters of support. There was one report outstandingat the time of this submission. Despite our numerous requests, we have notyet received a report from the Tumbler Ridge Community Arts Council. We willcontinue to follow up with the applicant and will submit a copy to the Ministry.

It is the recommendation of the Program Manager for future programs that ahold back of 25% of funding be in place to encourage submission of the finalreport and to offset any potential surplus of funding. At the time of this reportfour final reports were outstanding. ArtsBC/Assembly continues to follow upwith these applicants to obtain the outstanding reports.

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Event Information: Arts in the Parks

As part of the Arts in the Parks program to celebrate the BC Parks Centennial in2011, 22 organizations including First Nations participated in celebrations inprovincial parks around the province. Although audience numbers are difficultto keep track of at free, public events, applicants reported audience figures ofover 19,000 people. The percentage of youth attending was reported at 29%,which help demonstrate that the events and projects appealed to people of allages.

As part of this report we have enclosed a map of the province with the Arts inthe Parks celebrations noted. This helps to demonstrate the events were far-reaching and broad in scope.

Bamberton Historical Society/Seeds n’ Salt Theatre CompanyEvent/Project: Bedtime Stories: Dreaming of Vancouver IslandJuly 1 to 23, 2011, Strathcona Provincial ParkTotal Audience: 1453 Youth audience: 450

This event was a live theatre production that celebrated the 100th anniversary ofPrice Ellison’s Strathcona Expedition. The original show brought to life the storyof BC’s first park, built province pride and ensured visitors and residents alikeenjoyed the event. A DVD of the performance created a legacy component andvisual documentation of the project. The production included a variety ofmusical styles, which appealed to all ages. The production was performed inboth Goldstream Provincial Park, as well as Strathcona Provincial Park (ButtleLake) and the BC Parks head office.

British Columbia Boys ChoirEvent/Project: Songscapes – A Choral FestivalMay 2 to June 27, 2011, Rathtrevor Park and Porteau Cove ParkTotal audience: 1500 Youth audience: 670

The 80-member British Columbia Boys Choir presented SongScapes – AChoral Festival in May and June 2011 in two provincial parks. On Monday, May2, twelve choirs gathered to sing at SongScapes on the Beach in RathtrevorPark in Parksville to celebrate the BC Parks 100th Anniversary and InternationalMusic Day. Over 1000 people attended the May 2nd event. It was a wet and windyday but as the festival began, the sun arrived, a rainbow appeared over thebeach and the deer came out. Each choir performed and then togethereveryone sang the Canadian classic song, Hymn to Freedom by OscarPeterson.

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On Sunday, June 27 the British Columbia Boys Choir presented SongScapesin the park at Porteau Cove near Squamish presenting two free one-hourshows for the public. Over 500 people attended these performances.

When this project began, the goal was to perform outside of the GreaterVancouver area, however BC Parks officials in Victoria requested we performour June Songscapes festivals in Greater Vancouver, as there was less activityin the region. The BC Boys Choir approached several Park Managers in regardto dates but because of routine maintenance or other events taking place, theproposed dates would not work. Further to this, late June meant no schools orcommunity choirs could participate as they were on a summer timetable bythen. The event on May 2nd was a true representation of the originalSongScapes proposal.

Crimson Coast Dance SocietyEvent/Project: Margie Gillis Residency, Dancing in the Heart of the OutsideWorldMay 15 to 18, 2011, Newcastle Island Provincial ParkTotal audience: 75 Youth audience: 5

Dancing in the Heart of the Outside World, a 4-day workshop and publicshowing featuring dance in a BC Park. Participants attending the residencygain the experience of creating an outdoor site-specific dance that honouredthe shape, texture, integrity and history of the land. The location was chosen, asit was fortuitous. The location, particularly in mid-May, was awakening from itswinter closure and provide a tranquil and beautiful place to host the workshopsand residency.

Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre SocietyEvent/Project: Arts in the ParksJuly 16, 2011 in Tyhee LakeTotal audience 110 Youth audience: 20

Arts in the Parks at Tyhee Lake featured performances by the GidahmesDancer as well as the Bear Lake Pow Wow Dancers. In addition to performingartists, two visual artists demonstrated and displayed their work, and one of thelocal songstresses gave a half hour performance as part of the entertainmentfor the day. There were traditional war canoe and dragon boat rides throughoutthe day followed by bannock served with traditional tea. Even an eagle made anappearance to top of the day.

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Gabriola Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Park It!August 1, 2011 in Gabriola Sands ParkTotal audience: 500 Youth audience: 150

Gabriola Arts Council celebrated the BC Parks 100th Anniversary with Park It! - Afree, live concert at a local waterfront park where 10 local acts representing 31musicians were engaged for a series of 15-45 minute musical sets. Five of tenacts represented groups who performed their own original materials to anestimated audience of 500-600 people over an 8-hour period. This familyfriendly event was judged to be a huge success by the audience, musiciansand committee members. GAC is happy to report that there is a groundswell oflocal support to repeat the event again this year.

The MC for the event introduced the event with a brief history of Gabriola SandsProvincial Park and included a larger overview of the history of BC Parks. Eachperformer also began their set with a brief anecdote of what BC Parks meant tothem. Several musical acts either wrote music specifically mentioning the roleof parks in their lives while many others used BC Parks 100th Anniversarytheme for their selection. Several times throughout the day severalspontaneous variations of “Happy Birthday” to BC Parks burst out with lots ofenthusiastic support from the audience.

“…as darkness descended I looked over my shoulder for the last moment beforeI left the park, and I could feel the spirit of the community.”Sas Jelford, Executive Director, Vancouver Tap Dance Society/MC for Park It!

Golden and District Arts Council/Kicking Horse CultureEvent/Project: The Bugaboo – A Celebration in Story & ImagineApril 1 to December 31, 2011, Bugaboos Provincial ParkTotal audience: 1500 Youth audience: 300

Kicking Horse Culture received support for a mixed media exhibit of art thatdocuments and celebrates Bugaboos Provincial Park. During the curatorialprocess, we name the exhibit: The Bugaboo – A Celebration in Story & Imagineand focused on a mixed media combination of photography and text asrecounted by photographers who had experienced the Park. We designed andcreated 12 30”x 40” printed panels that constituted the physical exhibit in KHC’sArt Gallery of Golden. A documentary catalogue was published in a 14-pagesoft cover full colour edition and on our website at:http://kickinghorseculture.ca/art-gallery-of-golden/the-bugaboos-a-celebration-in-story-image/

The curator was renowned mountaineer Pat Morrow and featured the work ofacclaimed mountaineering professionals and hobbyists alike. We specificallywanted to provide the personal experiences and the history behind the

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expeditions to the Bugaboos. We were also proud to receive permission fromthe Whyte Museum in Banff to use a handful of historical images taken by AlbertMacCarthy in 1916. Tay Hanson, a climbing ranger for BC Parks a theBugaboos wrote a personal forward for the catalogue and online exhibit andwas on site for the opening reception an spoke to the more than 100 peoplewho attended the opening reception.

The exhibit has been booked to travel to Pynelogs Cultural Centre in Invermerefor their spring festival Wings Over the Rockies in April 2012. We are also indiscussions with the Whyte Museum for an exhibit run in Banff.

Hope and District Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Arts in the Parks – Birthday CelebrationJuly 23, 2011 at the Othello Tunnels at Coquihalla Canyon Provincial ParkTotal audience: 1,200 Youth audience: 200

On July 23 from 11am to 4pm over 1,200 participants from our community andelsewhere in the Lower Mainland enjoyed an event celebrating the BC Parks100. They enjoyed the natural beauty of the park, entertainment for all ages,speeches by local and provincial dignitaries, birthday cake, tours of theinfamous tunnels and art projects. Several local artists including the KettleValley Brakeman, Positively Puppets and Ishdafish performed anddemonstrated their talents during the day. The feedback was overwhelminglypositive and encouraging.

To encourage participation, HDAC partnered with Care Transit to offer freepublic transportation to and from the park. Guided tours of Coquihalla CanyonProvincial Park conducted by staff of the Hope Museum featured the history of

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the Kettle Valley Railway, and information about the motion picture filming thathas taken place in the area. The Museum also set up a display at the park withinformation to compliment the tours.

Lardeau Valley Opportunity Links SocietyEvent/Project: A Creative Nature: Celebrating Longevity in BC ParksJune 19 to August 21, 2011Total audience: 100 Youth: 30

A Creative Nature: Celebrating Longevity in BC Parks featured five artistsdisplay their work and interact with the public at Davis Creek campsite eachSunday from June 19 to August 21. The project saw approximately 130 peopletake part, and they would have liked more but the weather did not cooperate.The people who attended loved it.

Each artist who participated explained to visitors that they were there toenhance their experience by sharing tips and techniques to encourage peopleto be more creative and to enjoy the incredible inspiration from the BC Parkssystem. They were provided with materials to experiment with their own creativenature, and investigate the many ways that art and nature intersect. The artistswho participated in this event include Jim Lawrence (photographer), SusanVanRooy (journaling), Cathy Aitken (photography), Maggie Oliver (pencilsketches and oil paintings) and Carol Ross (mixed media and painting).

Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Artists in the Park 100th CelebrationAugust 6, 2011, Golden Ears Provincial Park.Total audience: 3000 Youth audience: 1500

Our event held August 6 was to provide artists from all disciplines to gathertogether and celebrate the beautiful surroundings of Golden Ears ProvincialPark. Inspired by the natural beauty of the park, participating artists encouragedparticipants of all ages to engage in activities with demos, visual art exhibits,displays and interactive art and dance stations. Our celebration was located atAllouette South Beach day use area, which was a perfect location forparticipants for access to our activities and great entertainment.

It was a beautiful summer day, which brought thousands of people out to enjoythe park and our activities. Our musical line up included performances by RickTippe, an award winning country music artist; Denis Leclerc, Fiddler andStoryteller; Ivan Boudreau, Contemporary Folk Musician; and Nigel Tucker,Celtic Musician.

We had a BC Parks booth at our event hosted by staff from the park who werehanding out stickers, BC Parks Moose hats and other promotional materials.

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We also had a BC Parks 100th Anniversary cake cutting ceremony and handedout cake to those who attended.

“It’s fantastic. It’s such a great combination because a lot of artists draw theirinspiration from the outdoors and nature…It’s so much fun to be able to bringvisual arts with performing arts to this park.” said Armstrong, president of theArts Council.

Nechako Community Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Arts in the ParksJuly 16, 2011, Beaumont Provincial ParkTotal audience: 500 Youth audience: 300

We held a one-day event on July 16th in Beaumont Provincial Park. The eventfocused on music and a celebration of the visual arts. The theme was MyFavourite BC Parks Moment. We accepted entries from all genres of artistswho depicted their favourite BC Parks moment through their artistic choice.Most of the entries we received were paintings.

Chief Nooski of Nautley First Nations opened the day followed by a traditionaldance group. The day began around 11:00 am and ended at 10:00 pm thatnight. There were 10 groups that played throughout the day.

Okanagan Artists Alternative AssociationEvent/Project: Geotag ArtMarch 1 to October 31, 2011, Myra-Bellevue Provincial ParkTotal audience: 1000 (on-line)Note: An estimated 10,000 people interacted with the physical works duringCanada Day festivities.

GeoTag Art allowed visitors to interact with contemporary art beyond the wallsof the gallery through their handheld smart devices, such as iPhones orBlackberrys. Throughout Kelowna and in Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park,location-specific physical installations were combined with QR codes which,when scanned, with a smart device, allowed access to online presentations ofdigital media. This project, focused on work by Okanagan artists exploringcreative connections to the land, include a strong representation from UllusCollective members, which grounded the project in indigenous traditionalpractices of locating artworks and stories on the land. The use of globalpositioning technology created a new media tool that builds on the tradition ofstory poles, pictographs and rock landmarks.

Central to the project was the occurrence of works within the boundaries ofMyra-Bellevue Provincial Park – in itself a significant recognition of the BCParks Centennial. Visitors interacted with the physical art installations andaccessed virtual works through the insitu scanning of QR codes on smartphone devices.

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Prince George Symphony OrchestraEvent/Project: Arts in the ParksJune 5, 2011, West Lake Provincial ParkTotal audience: 200 Youth audience: 50

The Prince George Symphony Orchestra celebrated the 100th Anniversary of BCParks with an afternoon of music and a picnic in West Lake Provincial Park inPrince George.

The Orchestra presented a predominately brass concert with the group In theMood who played in the open spaces of the park to an appreciative audience.Music genres ranged from the period of swing to the contemporary.

We sang Happy Birthday BC Parks and formally cut a large audience-sizedcake that served everyone in the park! Using the large picnic shelter on site, weserved up hot dogs and hamburgers to over 250 people. We also challengedour website audience to research the BC Parks website to find answers to ourtrivia contest.

“The symphony did a bang up job from the burgers, hotdogs, birthday cake andmost of the music…your group needs to stand up and blow your horn more oftenbecause it was very well done.” Area Supervisor, Ministry of Environment, BCParks.

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Prince Rupert Community Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Kitson Island DaysJuly 2 & 3, 2011, Kitson IslandTotal audience: 83 Youth audience: 11

The Kitson Island Days project was designed to promote awareness of KitsonIsland BC Marine Park situated near Prince Rupert. Central to this was thecommissioning of a new work for a concert band to be performed and recordedon Kitson Island by the Prince Rupert Community Band. The Arts Councilpartnered with the Prince Rupert and Region Music Society, which assumedresponsibility for commissioning, scoring, printing, recording and producing ofthe Kitson Island Suite. A very public and widespread search for photos anddrawings of Kitson Island yielded hundreds of results (from 1930s to 2011).These were used in the brochure and CD, and a promotional DVD, which rancontinuously for the month of June in a storefront window across from City Hall.In May, we arranged to meet with a BC Park Ranger to tour the site (he hadnever been there before or was aware that it was a BC Park). On June 11 and12, one movement of the Kitson Island Suite was premiered at Prince Rupert’sSeaFest celebration and a second movement was premiered on July 1 at theCanada Day celebration (despite storm force winds and driving rain).

Because the weather didn’t cooperate much of the live band performance onKitson Island was not useable because of the sound of heavy rainfall on thetent over the band. For this reason, we decided to set up additional recordingsessions at the Lester Centre of the Arts in October. These recordings alongwith the recorded ambient sounds were edited and mixed for the finalproduction of the CD.

The Kitson Island Suite remains in the repertoire of the Community Band andwill be performed by a massed band from Smithers, Hazelton, Terrace andPrince Rupert on Good Friday, 2012. After July 2012, the sheet music will beavailable to download by other community bands. The dedication on the sheetmusic includes acknowledgement of BC Parks 100 Years.

Princeton Community Arts CouncilEvent/Project: The History of Manning to a Backdrop of MusicAugust 18, 2011, Manning ParkTotal audience: 225 Youth audience: 35

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The Princeton Community Arts Council, the Manning Park Resort and theprovincial park staff collaborated to present “The History of Manning” at theLightening Lake area with some performances in the alpine meadow. Theevent surpassed all of our expectations with all of the activities described in ourproposal were realized. We had to adjust our timing as once the sun set in thepark; the temperature dropped dramatically, and potentially affected both themusicians and their instruments.

Our opening speaker Kelley Cook described how the dream of a park wasmore then one hundred years old. She has published a book on its history ofManning Park, which has generated $1,000 to be used for trail restoration inthe park. The Princeton Community Band followed by playing O Canada to theenthusiastic crowd.

The music continued with First Nations singer Tiinesha Begaye who sang herunique blend of Native accompanied by her hand drumming. Otherentertainment included a small group of Princeton Highland Dancers, amusical group from the River Road Theatre in Princeton, readings of historicpoems, and a classical repertoire performed by Concertante Chamber thatincluded a work by an Okanagan composer.

The Arts Council was thrilled with the outcome and is hopeful more events willfollow. President Del Hall said, “…this event was our first venture into ManningPark, but not our last”. There were people attending from Denmark, Sweden,Japan and Germany. One family who were camping said it was the highlight oftheir holiday.

“People were entranced, it appears, by the vision of a string quartet playingoutdoors, with a background of herons flying above, fish jumping, snow on themountains and setting sun…They were also enthusiastic about all the otherperformances! So obviously performing arts at the parks in wanted, needed andappreciated.Elizabeth Lupton, Classical Musician/Participant

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Haida Gwaii Arts Council (formerly Queen Charlotte Island Arts Council)Event/Project: Me and Naikoon & Celebrate Naikoon: Plein-Art Art Day exhibitJuly 2 & 3, 2011, Naikoon Provincial ParkTotal audience: 350 Youth audience: 75

Event 1- Me and NaikoonHaida Gwaii Arts Council offered two nature/photography walks in June; onewith professional photographer Jack Litrell at Two Hill and a second withprofessional photographer Jason Shafto at Misty Meadows. Both professionalphotographers shared tips and photography secrets during the walks. InNovember, we did a call for photos and received over 100 for our island widephoto show.

Two photo shows were held (one at Queen Charlotte’s musical coffeehouseand the other at The Ground Café in Masset) for voting, so people could choosetheir favourite three. The photos were also posted online through our Flickeraccount: www.flickr.com/photos/hgartscouncil-naikoonpark. This enabled offisland contributors to view all of the entries. We had entries from all over BC, aswell as Ontario and Alberta.

Event 2 - Celebrate Naikoon: Plein-Art Art Day exhibitArtists met at Naikoon Provincial Park for a day of walking, sketching, paintingand inspiration. The event was open to everyone and the purpose was tocelebrate the natural beauty of the park and give artists and opportunity to meetand exchange ideas, and be inspired.

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There was an open call for art submissions for the November exhibit titled,Celebrate Naikoon. 15 local artists including two youths exhibited their work atQueen B’s Café/Gallery in Queen Charlotte.

Quesnel and District Community Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Celebrate the Arts in BC Parks 100th AnniversaryAugust 14, 2011, 10 Mile Lake Provincial ParkTotal Audience: 250 Youth audience: 25

The Quesnel and District Community Arts Council partnered with the NativeFriendship Centre to put on a very successful event at 10 Mile Lake ProvincialPark. The event included Aboriginal dancers and singers, Metis Dancers, youthand adult fiddlers and a Chinese ancestry improv singer. Aboriginal womenmade bannock and were busy throughout the event using over 70 pounds offlour. An elder graciously welcomed us to the Red Bluff Indian Band’s territory.The Medicine Walk with elders was only three quarters completed as the raincame down in torrents. The photos of early days in 10 Mile Lake were donatedto the museum. A large framed picture of the Dooley’s who donated the land toBC Parks was donated to the Arts Council. We were thrilled and will hang thepicture at the Arts and Recreation Centre for everyone to enjoy. It was awonderful event that had a significant impact on the community. We alsoenjoyed working with the Native Friendship Centre.

Invited guests included the mayor gave speeches. We were pleased that theBC Parks (North Thompson-Cariboo Division) passed out information aboutthe parks, and had “Jerry the Moose” roaming the site. They provided abeautifully decorated 100th birthday cake for the audience.

A PowerPoint Presentation was made to document the event.

Revelstoke Arts Council Event/Project: Blanket Creek Environmental Art Photographic Project-Celebrating 100 Years of BC Provincial ParksMay to December 2011, Blanket Creek Provincial ParkTotal Audience: 1000 Youth audience: 75

After attending a one-day workshop learning about environmental art andphotography, fifteen artists from Revelstoke Visual Arts Society spent time inBlanket Creek Provincial Park during the summer of 2011 creating pieces of artusing natural materials. Participants had the opportunity to receive parkorientation from the Parks Facility Warden and then visited the park on anumber of occasions separately or in groups. They discussed their project withinterested members of the public at the park.

The artists selected their best photographic image for reproduction on a 24” x

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3” canvas and these were exhibited at the Revelstoke Art Gallery for the monthof October following an opening reception. Some of the images were alsodisplayed for three months in the local RBC branch as part of the city’s WinterArt Walk.

Instead of producing a book as originally planned, the images were used tocreate a 2012 calendar and postcards. The exhibit also featured a DVD ofimages.

As an introduction to the exhibition the images and text about the project wereprinted on to an aluminum composite brushed metal sign. This legacy will bedisplayed at Blanket Creek Provincial Park in 2012.

Squamish Arts CouncilEvent/Project: Alice of Wonderland’s Magical Mystery TourJune 26, 2011, Alice Lake Provincial ParkTotal Audience: 450+ Youth audience: 250+

The event, Alice of Wonderland’s Magical Mystery Tour, took place on SundayJune 26th at Alice Lake Provincial Park and was a super success. There werepeople that camped an extra night just to be there for the event with their kids.There were people that came from Lower Mainland and some that came fromWhistler. The event focused around the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party where childrenand adults were invited to sit down and have a cup of tea and cupcake withAlice’s friends. The goldsmith, Martin Vseticka, was also on hand forgingcopper rings and children lined up to receive their own ring. There was aneducational treasure hunt around Alice Lake, facilitated by a self-guidedhandout available at the tea party. The tea party was absolutely a magicalatmosphere; this was created by the professional actors who hosted the partyin full costume and make-up. There were 200 homemade cupcakes made byPatsy Tompkins that disappeared rather quickly. Artists Samera Gibson andLaurel Terlesky facilitated the painting of an acrylic canvas on the beach by thechildren at the event. Dagan Beach created a fotofilm of the event; a time-lapsed still-photo movie that is now a legacy on the Squamish Arts Councilwebsite.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/26980630?byline=0&portrait=0

The only negative aspect is that the public demanded it be an annual event!

There was a front-page spread of the event and a report by reporter MeaganRoberts in the Squamish Chief newspaper.

BC Parks 100 celebration was recognized as part of our event in the postersadvertising the event, in the newspaper articles and in the fotofilm by Dagan

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Beach. The park rangers joined the event with Jerry the moose parks mascot,and the rangers were handing out hats and stickers.

Sunshine Coast Arts Council Event/Project: Young in the ParkMay 21, 2011, Porpoise Bay Provincial ParkTotal Audience: 300 Youth audience: 75

Young in the Park was an event that saw local professional musicians mentoryounger performers, all playing unique versions of the music of Neil Young.After a month of rehearsals, the concert took place on May 21 at the outdooramphitheatre at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park in Sechelt, on the SunshineCoast of BC. The event was a huge success on every level, giving confidenceand exposure to young musicians, as well as celebrating the anniversary of BCParks. BC Park rangers were on hand to give out moose ears and to answerany questions about the park or celebration. BC Park representatives also hadan opportunity to speak from the stage during the intermission, recognizing the100th anniversary, and promoting BC Parks.

The Friends of Fintry Provincial Park Society Event/Project: Fintry Edwardian Fair: Celebrating BC Parks 100th AnniversaryJuly 16, 2011, Fintry Provincial ParkTotal Audience: 1000 Youth audience: 100-150

On July 16, the Friends of Fintry celebrated the 100th Anniversary of BC Parkswith the inaugural Fintry Fair on the scenic lawns of the Manor House. The daybegan with an Early Bird Pancake breakfast. James Dun-Waters and theKalamalka Pipe Band opened the Fair officially. In addition to the entertainmentprovided by actors and musicians, there were 30 booths with artists, potters,and weavers showing and selling their work, as well as local musicians whoplayed during the afternoon. Some donated a piece, which was later enteredinto a raffle. Dignitaries attending gave short speeches recognizing the BCParks 100th birthday including Barry Penner (BC Cabinet Minister) localmunicipal officials, and John Trewhitt, the senior BC Parks representative in theOkanagan Valley. The event took place as we had planned, but with the happyexception that twice as many people attended than we expected.

Tumbler Ridge Community Arts Council - no report submittedTotal Audience: Youth audience:

Ullus CollectiveEvent/Project: Tag Your It! Geotag ArtMarch 1 to October 31, 2011, Myra-Bellevue Provincial ParkTotal audience: 250+ (on-line)

Ullus collective are offered a location-based art experience to wireless

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audiences visiting Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park this summer. In partnershipwith the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, they invited the public toparticipate in the 100-year anniversary of BC Parks, by checking in to an artexperience showcasing first nations video, sound, sculpture and painting.

This innovative platform allowed wireless audience to link to works byOkanagan artists and explore creative connections to the land. The artistsstimulated and entertained visitors as they walked, biked and hiked along theKettle Valley trail.

Geotagging was used via GPS technology use application on smart-phonesand other mobile devices to deliver timely and relevant messages to targetparks visitors with location-specific artwork, on their mobile devices, based onwhere they are at any given time. This tool was easy, efficient, engaging andwas more extensible way of messaging that connected with parks visitors.

Artists can add depth; detail and an interactive experience to their physicaldisplays by using 2-D codes linked to audio and narrative files or may relysolely on the digital experience.

The Ullus Collective shared multi-disciplinary forms of new media so the publiccould engage in how the land speaks to these innovative SYILX artists. It was acreative way to showcase first nation’s art so the public could have liveinteraction with first nation’s artists that is authentic. It also allowed marketingopportunities for the public to engage in a totally new way. Too many times firstnation art is exploited and this is a positive way to showcase authentic forms ofinnovative traditional indigenous art.

Participating artists included members the Ullus Collective: Mariel Belanger,Tracey Bonneau, Warren Hooley, Levi George, and John Terbasket.

Geotagart.com is a portal to contemporary art that challenged all ourexpectations and the potential is exciting to this new online digital world. Theexperience was online GeotagArt.com from June 10 - October 31 where thepublic could upload the works through QRL bar code to find new locations andinteract with artworks.

The event took place in Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park in the summer of 2011.All promotional material had the BC Parks logos on it. The opening took placeat the park where visitors celebrated the park and engaged in a meaningfulonline experience that was innovative and creative.

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General feedback from applicantsThe Squamish Arts Council wishes to thank you for the $5000 funding approval for ourArts in the Parks application and plan. We greatly appreciate your support and lookforward to planning for the event.Martin Vseticka, Squamish Arts Council

On behalf of the Bamberton Historical Society's Seeds and Salt Theatre Co. I would liketo thank you for approving our request for funding. We are thrilled to be able to includea story about Strathcona Park as part of our summer production.Maureen Alexander, BHS President

This is fabulous news! Thank you so much! We will invite the musicians immediatelyso that we can arrest any thoughts they might have (heaven forbid) of vacations orholiday travel!Ruth Langner, General Manager, Prince George Symphony Orchestra