October eNews

IN THIS ISSUE

Board News - Message from the Chair
Message From Executive Director
Membership Renewal Time
Arts On Tour Web Directory Registration - Begins November 1
New! Improved! Block Booking Site – Training Begins November 12
Showcases Selected for 2010 Pacific Contact
Registration for Pacific Contact Online – Begins November 16
Job Postings
Member News
Industry News

BCTC Board News - Message from the Chair

Pacific Contact is undoubtedly the BC Touring Council’s most anticipated, visible, annual activity, but of course there is so much more going on throughout the year.

A no less important activity of the board is the annual fall regional meeting, which in many respects carries on the work of Pacific Contact. This is our opportunity to get into a community to meet with friends and colleagues, and to introduce BCTC to those who are new to our services. We are able to make new connections, continue networking and, importantly, focus on the issues that are present in the region.

This past September nine directors and Joanna travelled to Smithers, in our North Central region, to meet with colleagues who live along a stretch of Highway 16 spanning more than 600kms.

Three key elements for BCTC – networking, collaboration and professional development – converged to produce an exceptional weekend made possible through partnership with 2010 Legacies Now, which organized its second Arts Summit to coincide with BCTC’s retreat.

We had the opportunity to ask our regional friends about their successes and challenges and, not surprisingly, we heard what we all experience: building and sustaining audiences, boards and volunteers, and too much work to be accomplished with too few resources.

Nevertheless, the challenges did not overshadow the passion, perseverance and tenacity that these people bring to their work as they provide arts, culture and entertainment for their communities.

The annual regional meeting also provides an important opportunity for the BCTC board to get together for in-depth conversations. Of course, the current state of funding cuts was a dominating topic as we heard of the wide-spread impacts throughout the province.

The BC Touring Council is committed to raising awareness around the impacts and educating the public and the politicians. The board adopted a resolution that expresses the importance of public taxed-based funding for the arts as an essential ingredient for the health and vitality of communities, and urges the reinstatement of funding to the BC Arts Council and the BC Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch.

(On a side note, BCTC is active in many areas and is working in partnership with other service organizations to deliver this message to our elected officials. With the support of CAPACOA, we have solicited our colleagues across Canada to rally in support.

Already the impact of the recent cuts to arts funding is significant, and the indication is there are more to come. My colleagues on the board and Joanna join me in strongly urging you to write to your MLAs and the Premier, and to speak with your audiences. The arts community was swift at getting out a message of concern and fear, but we have a long way to go.
Please feel free to contact Joanna or me if you would like available information to help you with your letter campaign.)

Brimming with conversation, collaboration and passion, this weekend was emblematic of the values and benefits BCTC brings to artists, communities and touring in our beautiful and vast province.

With best wishes,
Paul Gravett
Chair, BCTC

Special thanks to Trish Farrow, Ken Eng and all the volunteers of the Bulkley Valley Concert Society and to our co-hosts 2010 Legacies Now’s Sheryl McGraw and Lori Baxter

Minutes from the BCTC Board and Community Meeting can be read at: http://www.bctouring.org/NW_Arts_Summit.html

Message From Executive Director Regarding Provincial Funding Cuts – As Paul so clearly stated above, this is a very serious time for the arts in British Columbia. Since news of cuts to Direct Access and potential cuts to the BC Arts Council, BCTC has been active in letter writing campaigns, presenting to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, consulting with colleagues and preparing for future strategies. In the next week BCTC will launch it’s own advocacy campaign to BCTC members. We will be looking for full participation from our members. Though we may all be feeling a little weary and wonder if our efforts will have impact remember the great quote by Margaret Mead “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”.

BCTC Membership Renewal, November 1 - Current BCTC membership expires October 31st and we're looking forward to a strong renewal of memberships for the new fiscal year beginning November 1st. As a special incentive for membership renewal we'll put your name in a draw for a free registration to Pacific Contact 2010 if you renew before November 30th. Renew your membership online at www.bctouring.org/membership/ and pay via credit card utilizing Paypal. If you decide to make payment by cheque and get it in the mail by November 30th you will still be eligible for the draw.

Your membership with BCTC has many benefits including discounts to Pacific Contact and Professional Development, member communications, venue, presenter and artist listings, job postings, block booking and networking with you peers for advice and support. We want to thank you for your ongoing support of the BC Touring Council. By supporting the BC Touring Council through membership you ensure a strong voice for professional performing arts touring in British Columbia . Now go ahead - take a few minutes and renew. Hey, you could be the one coming to Pacific Contact 2010 for free!

ArtsOnTour is a comprehensive web performing artist and agency directory. It is a member benefit of the BC Touring Council for artist and Agents and includes free listings with membership. Registration for the 2010 directory begins November 1st. Full details about ArtsOnTour can be found at www.artsontour.com.

New! Improved! Block Booking Site – Training Begins November 12 - well, it’s been a long time in the works but BCTC’s coordinated online block booking upgrade is complete and we’re ready to begin training Nov 12th. Presenters will be notified by email with instructions and exact dates and times of training. The program is open to all BC presenter members in good standing. If you are a B.C. presenter and only hearing of this program for the first time please contact Joanna at the BCTC office at fyi@bctouring.org. Thanks to 2010 Legacies Now, Canadian Heritage and the BC Arts Council for partnership support of this program.

Showcases Selected for 2010 Pacific Contact - Congratulations and thanks to all those who applied to showcase. Selection for 2010 showcases at Pacific Contact is now complete and can be found on the BCTC website. Check out the great line-up of music, dance, theatre, variety and family showcases scheduled for Pacific Contact 2010, March 26 -28.
http://www.bctouring.org/pacific-contact/index.html

Registration for Pacific Contact Online – Begins November 16 – Preliminary Schedule and General conference information can be found online at http://www.bctouring.org/pacific-contact/index.html

Job Postings - See the latest jobs posted to the BCTC website at http://www.bctouring.org/job-opportunities/ . To submit a posting please send to fyi@bctouring.org

MEMBER NEWS

Key City Theatre Hires New Manager – Patrick LeBlanc has been hired as the new Manger of Key City Theatre in Cranbrook. Patrick was previously the touring/education manager at Vancouver Opera.  He can be contacted at manager@keycitytheatre.com 250-426-7006

Executive Director Hired For New Chilliwack Cultural Centre - Michael Cade has been hired as the Executive Director to run the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, which is slated to open in September of 2010. Michael was formerly the Artistic and Managing Director for the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre. Michael has worked in theatre production and management in BC for 21 years and was selected as the ‘British Columbia Presenter of the Year’ by the BC Touring Council in 2005. Michael can be reached at cade@chilliwack.com For more information about the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, visit www.chilliwack.com.

Congratulations to Marie-Catherine LaPointe, President and CEO of Boulev'Art from Quebec City, who won the Special Prize "International" at the Quebec Business Women 2009 Gala. She was also finalist in the category "Entrepreneur, Small Business". The selection committee of the Réseau des Femmes d'affaires du Québec recognized her dynamism, her creativity and her sense of entrepreneurship. http://www.boulevart.ca/

INDUSTRY NEWS

A Vital Piece of Cultural Heritage - Planning is underway for a new secondary school in New Westminster. This is great news. But, the future of the Massey Theatre is now threatened by site selection proposals for the new school. The landmark Massey Theatre is a unique and valuable asset to New Westminster. At 1260 seats, it is the largest theatre outside Vancouver filling the gap in available venues between 800 and 2000 seats. The theatre hosts 200 performances and events each year. It has been an inspiration and home to generations of artists, students and community members for 60 years now. The loss of the Massey Theatre would be a huge loss. Read reports, articles and what’s being said at http://savethemasseytheatre.blogspot.com/ or visit http://www.masseytheatre.com/

ArtStarts Postpones Annual Showcase until February 2011 - For many years, ArtStarts has brought together artists and school district delegates from around BC for an exciting Spring Showcase.  The event helps arts programmers select from a diverse range of professional arts groups when booking performances for young audiences in their communities.  However, after careful consideration, ArtStarts has decided to postpone the April 2010 Showcase until February 2011. This decision is intended to strengthen the organization in the face of uncertainty about arts funding in BC.  This is the best course of action for a number of reasons, one of which was the timing of the 2010 Showcase.  Its proximity to schools' Spring and Easter breaks, as well as the conclusion of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, was not ideal. For more details please contact Wendy Newman, ArtStarts in Schools newman@artstarts.com, 604-878-7144, ext 5

Canada Council for the Arts invested $158 million in 689 communities in 2008-09 - Over $158 million was awarded to more than 4,400 artists and arts organizations in all regions of the country last year, the Canada Council for the Arts announced in its 2008-09 Annual Report. The Annual Report, detailed profiles of Canada Council funding by province or territory, the searchable grants listing and the list of peer assessment committee members are available on the Canada Council’s web site at: www.canadacouncil.ca/aboutus/organization/annualreports.

The Prince George Regional Performing Arts Centre Society requests proposals from qualified consultants to prepare a five year business plan for the operation of a performing arts centre and ancillary operations, The PGRPAC Society recently completed a Feasibility Study to determine the market demand and initial operating and space requirement models for a new Performing Arts Centre in Prince George. Further information on the complete scope of work of the other consultants engaged by the Society can be obtained by contacting Kirk Gable at kirkgable@shaw.ca

2010 Legacies Now Arts News -   John McLachlan has been contracted to oversee Innovations intake this fall.

Centre for Sustainability – Arts Capacity Grants Fall 2009 - The Centre for Sustainability has announced that the BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver Cultural Services, Victoria's Capital Regional District and Vancouver Foundation have renewed their former POD grants fund and they are now accepting Letters of Inquiry from arts organizations. The deadline for Letters of Inquiry is October 30, 2009. Information regarding the Centre for Sustainability’s Arts Capacity Grants Fall 2009 program can be found at http://www.centreforsustainability.ca/programs/index.html.

Joanna Maratta, Executive Director
BC Touring Council
PO Box 547
Nelson, B.C. V1L 5R3
T. 250-352-0021  F. 250-352-0027
www.bctouring.org
Pacific Contact 2010 - March 26-28