The Inside Scoop

Joan Balinson, Executive Director, Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival

2012-02-21T05:14:00.000-08:00

Interview with Ms. Joan Balinson, Executive Director
Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival
Volunteer's for Success ...

For many festivals and events, it is critical to have volunteers! As part of my conversation about the Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival, I asked both Ms. Balinson, Executive Director and Mr. John Terence, Producer of the Tattoo, how many volunteers they required for the Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival and did they have any systems in place to “keep the volunteers happy”.

Joan Balinson, Executive Director, Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival shares with us, “CITA (Canadian International Tattoo Association) is a not for profit registered charitable association. As such we operate with a very limited budget. All planning and execution of the production is done by volunteers. From our board of directors, down to senior managers, Festival and show weekend volunteers, we utilize 80 people to help us put on the largest military tattoo in Central Canada”.

Mr. John Terence added, "quite simply the show would not go on without Volunteers”! Approximately 40-50 volunteers work with John alone, not to mention all the other teams. There are various co-coordinators in place and coordinators that liaison with all the Cadet services. The Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival holds a wonderful Volunteer Appreciation night. I mentioned to John that I felt Volunteers are the upmost importance to the ultimate success of a festival/event/production and John said “that’s absolutely it! It is important to keep the volunteers happy! You will ultimately end up working with higher quality people with high quality work ethics”. John says “these volunteers take a lot of pride in doing their job well, no matter how menial”. Again, John repeats his comment that “he tries to instill in his volunteers that no matter how small or menial a job might be, it most likely is critical to the intricacy of the overall performance. If the visual cues are not on time, it could affect in a major negative way”. I said to John, there must be a “Lot of Trust”! He replied … “no kidding!” I very excited to continue this conversation with Mr. Terence and Ms. Balinson, as they both have a lot of great advice to contribute to this topic..

(To Be Continued)

Joan Balinson, Executive Director, Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival

2012-02-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

Interview with Ms. Joan Balinson, Executive Director
Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival
This Year at the Tattoo ...

The SCOOP Joan tells us ...“Central Canada’s premier Military Tattoo featuring the pageantry of massed military bands, pipes and drums and special guest performers is very pleased to announce our 21^st Military show for 2012. On Saturday June 23 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday June 24 at 2:30 pm, we will be featuring a commemoration of the 200^th Anniversary of the start of the War of 1812-1814, and the 150^th Anniversary of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (WR). Invited performing groups include the following: Special Guests- Pioneers of Canterbury Marching Group (Christchurch New Zealand)…The Windsor Regiment Band (Windsor): The Royal Regiment of Canada Military Band (Toronto): The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Military Band (Hamilton): The Military Band of the Ceremonial Guard (Ottawa): …The 48^th Highlanders Pipes and Drums (Toronto): The Lorne Scots Pipes and Drums (Brampton): The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Pipes and Drums (Hamilton): The Pipes and Drums of the Ceremonial Guard (Ottawa): The Dundas Pipes and Drums (Dundas):…The Tattoo Dancers: 13^th Regiment of Foot (Hamilton Re enactment Group): Winning Cadet Band in Ontario: 1812-1814 Re enactors (Hamilton): Danielle Bourre (Singer): The Fiddle Kid (Liam McGlashon)"

"The Tattoo is a registered Not-for-Profit charitable organization and is a 2 ½ hour show with over 500 performers composed of military bands, pipes and drums, dancers, song, pageantry and special performing groups. Special emphasis is always given to our veterans from all theatres, and they are included in the show. There is no other show of this scale west of Halifax, and we provide the experience for the general public to connect the public to the military through music.”

Joan tells us that the “Tattoo Buffet Luncheon usually accommodates 400 people at the Hamilton Convention Centre. This year, we are serving a typical pub style lunch with Steak & Kidney Pie, potatoes, vegetables, shortbread dessert. We have door prizes, live entertainment and two pipers who escort the guests to make the ten minute walk to Copps Coliseum where they go to their seats to see the show”.

“The adult ticket price is $48.45 per person. Senior/Group ticket price is $37.15. Veteran’s ticket price is $25.85. (All prices include facility fee and HST). You will also have the option of purchasing a ticket to the Tattoo Luncheon prior to the Sunday performance. Ticket price of $33.90 (includes HST) will give you a hot buffet luncheon, entertainment, and a chance for a door prize. We will then have a few pipers lead everyone down the street to the arena, and as you already have your Tattoo ticket, you will be able to go right in to your reserved seat.”

Next week I will be reporting on one of my favorite discussions with Ms. Balinson ... The Inportance of Volunteers. My interview article will focus on Volunteers for Success!
(To Be Continued)

Joan Balinson, Executive Director, Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival

2012-02-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

Interview with Ms. Joan Balinson, Executive Director
Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival

Introducing Joan Balinson ...

For this edition of THE INSIDE SCOOP, I am pleased to share with you some of the insightful information from one of the leaders in the Festival and Event industry, Ms. Joan Balinson, Executive Director of the Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival. We met, in person, with Joan at last year's spectacular Tattoo, where I found her to be quite knowledgeable and well informed. Ms. Balinson has a lot of information and SCOOP to share with others ... A bit about Joan … “In 1989, Joan established About Town Event & Meeting Planners, an independent full-service company specializing in the co-ordination of logistics and marketing for conference and event management. She also offers consulting services to small non-profit organizations on board and organizational development, marketing and fundraising practices. She has been an instructor for all the local community colleges and the Ontario Tourism Education Council, and delivers seminars to private agencies on special event management. Presently she serves on the Board of Directors for Tourism Hamilton, PATH Employment Services. Her memberships include IMPAC (Independent Meeting Planners of Canada), Canadian Public Relations Society and Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.”

“The Canadian International Military Tattoo, an inspiring 2-1/2 hour show of stirring music, dancing, pipes & drums and military displays, will feature a commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the 1812-1814 War; the 150th Anniversary of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (WR); along with International Guest Performers. A Signature Event in the City of Hamilton.”

(To Be Continued)

Festival & Event "Web World Strategies"

2012-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Part 7 - The “5” most important steps in developing a “Good Website”!

1.      Define the goal of the website!
. What do you want to accomplish
. Who is your target audience?
. What are your desired results?
2.      Decide how you are going to achieve your goals.
. Once your goals have been defined, decide if you going to work with your web designer to achieve these goals or maintain yourself.
3.      What is your theme?
. What is your desired look?
. Are you “branding” your look?
4.      Bata development!
. You need to test out applications before you finalize your website.
. “Dryon” – have a few “focus sessions” where five people test out the website and give feedback.
. Does your website make sense, is it fluid.
. You will need to “work out the bugs” at this stage.
5.      Launch and Manage!
. Press Release is a good way to advertise the launch of your website.
. Launch parties are becoming common an effective way to advertize.
. Manage and maintaining your website plan must be in place.
. It is VITAL to keep up-to-date relevant information.
. Keep your website FRESH!

If you are considering starting or growing your festival/event website, Shawn offers (through his website Web World Strategies Link: http://webworldstrategies.com ) some of the following which may help to identify some of the areas of a website that can be considered: Web Design, Ecommerce, Open Source Frameworks , Graphic design, Optimization, Marketing, Custom PHP/MySQL programming, CSS/(X)HTML, XML/JavaScript (AJAX), JS Frameworks (jQuery, MooTools), Actionscript/Video Streaming, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing. Good Luck with your Festival and Event Promotions!

Festival & Event "Web World Stratagies"

2012-01-24T04:32:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies
Part 6 - Costs, What “They” Know & Utilizing Search Engine Statistics?

How much should a “Good Website” cost?

With much thought, Shawn states that … A good website doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars. A good website can cost as low as $500, but, you have to know and understand what you are getting! The costs are vastly different then even 5 years ago. Most programming designs can be built in a day and are self installable.

What does a Web Designer have that you don’t?

As mentioned, there are many ways to design a website. I asked Mr. King what were some important points to consider when designing your website. He states the following …

. Know your "demographics"

. Identify your "Search Terms"

. What is your “Landing Page?”

. What is the “Bounce Rate” (how fast do visitors get off your page or as I like to ask, how long does a web visitor to your festival/event stay on your page!)

. What is the average time spent on a site by a visitor?

. What “Reference” is there to another site?

. What are your “Key Words and Key Word Phrases?”

What is the best way to utilize your statistics from the Search Engine findings?

There are tools for finding out your Optimization results. Once you identify your audience, you can adjust to suit your festival/event needs. You can adjust your “target audience” accordingly. Some of the terms a web designer uses are …

- Snippets, HTML, Applications – need to have a purpose, Mobile website, Android Applications that are free to customers, Applications – for Browsers, Chrome is the “Google Browser” android name, I Phone charges, E-Commerce sites, Word Press + Juma, U-Tube video, HD media share, Interface own site, “Google Ad Words” – set up a free account, Pay per click

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

2012-01-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies
Part 5 - Choosing qualities in a Website Designer
for your Festivals and Events Website?

Mr. King states … "I can only speak for myself. I listen to what the customer wants instead of telling them what they want. Then I tell them what is possible and what is not. Some designers try to sell customers the “Razzle Dazzle”, however Shawn cautions, if it’s not going to get you the EXPOSURE then no one will ever see your website anyways and money will be lost in poor design choices".

For those who don’t know what questions to ask when setting up a website, a consultant, such as Shawn King would be a good start. Shawn goes on to tell us … "You may not know what you want in a website, but, you do know what is important to your festival/event! If you can identify what is it that you want to achieve or looking to solve something (i.e.: how to bring more visitors to your festival/event), you may be able to come to clear conclusions.

Shawn continues with his advice … If you are looking for a Basic Website it should only take a reasonable amount of time. It will be pretty quick designing once all the elements you wish have been defined, taking about only 2 weeks. I would help build a website and then teach the client how to manage it. This would be financially more economic for the customer. Your choice of “who” you want to manage your website will depend on your needs. You may want to choose someone who is available to maintain the website with updated important information in a timely manner. It should be someone though who knows there way around".

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

2012-01-10T03:53:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies
Part 3 - Should you Optimize Your
Festivals and Events Website? continued ...

Shawn goes on to share with us … that drawing people to your website is important as it creates more activity and it stands to reason you will get more visitors out to your festival/event. The Search Engine Optimization can be expensive. Many festivals/events are run by volunteers and/or minimal budgets and financial constraints.

Part 4 - What should a GOOD WEBSITE includ
for Your Festivals and Events Website?

I asked Mr. King, what he thought a GOOD WEBSITE should include. Shawn replies … “When I think of a Festival/Event I think of fun! The website usually gives a good reflection of what people can expect when they come out to visit. If your website offers lots of pictures and video, it will be a great asset in promoting and enticing visitors to attend. Testimonials of people having a great time would be of benefit!

Shawn feels a poor website is one that is “too cluttered”. A website that does not focus on the actual event will not be as successful. It is important to be clear and have prevalent information about your Festival/Event including details about the time, location, costs, phone numbers, maps and other relevant information. (Such as are pets allowed on the grounds to- are the grounds accessible to all?)

If you see the contact information predominantly posted on your website it is inviting. It also states that you have nothing to hide and welcomes questions to assist with visitors. It is vital to have a contact telephone number at the site on the days of the Festival/Event. This will allow visitors to ask any challenging questions (from the Festival/Event being cancelled due to weather, re-located to different location, time changes, etc.) It is important to keep promoting your Festival/Event all year around. Visitors sometimes plan their outings and schedules well in advance. If they see your website and your’ Festival/Event, it may just prompt them to “pencil you in”.

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

2012-01-03T03:42:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Part 3 - Should you Optimize Your
Festivals and Events Website?

Having a website is one thing … having a GOOD WEBSITE is another! Part of having a Good Website, Shawn tells us, "is maximizing your website's visibility by using techniques of “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”. My understanding of Search Engine Optimization is that you use different techniques to maximize how Search Engines see your website in certain categories or "key words/key word phrases". The Search Engine rates your website for these key words, the higher the key words the higher the placement on these internet websites. To optimum is to be on the "first page" of the major search engines' websites for specific "key words" that relate to you and the web visitor you wish to reach. If ,for example, you go to “Google” on the internet and type in the name of an event you wish to attend, you may not find it right away (or at all) or. If the website has been properly optimized, you might find it right at the top of the first page. There are hundreds of pages of listings of similar names and types of events listed. Sometimes, festivals and events authorized websites are not listed until many pages deep into the search. There may be articles written about the event, “You Tube Videos”, or many other postings on the search engine that will show up before yours. These are not the “official” website of the festival/event, but still rank higher".

Shawn King shares with us … “You want to draw people to your website. As much as people are looking for information, they don’t like to read. If you know your demographics (the visitors you are looking for, their age, diverse income levels, types of interests, families, couples, young, old, etc.) you can identify your Search Terms and the Key Words that you can use in your Optimization". I wondered then, how a festival/event would know if their website was best “optimized”. Shawn tells us “that if you simply use a search engine to find your event, you can see where you stand in the listings. Part of knowing how well you are doing is by understanding the importance of having a Good Website in the first place! There are programs to help you track your ratings on the internet and through Search Engines. The attendance of your event increasing may be an indication of how well you are getting your word out there”.

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

2011-12-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Part 2 - The Importance of a Good Website
for Festivals and Events

A few festivals/events do not have websites, which I think is a big mistake. With those that do have websites, some are very difficult to maneuver through and lack important information, such as contact names and phone numbers, while others are very welcoming for their visitors. I asked Shawn King why he felt having a Good Website was important for Festivals/Events. He answer, summarized … “EXPOSURE”! "A website might attract stable clients, clients that know about your Festival/Event. With an aging clientele your website visitors may decrease. A poor website will not attract new clients unless referral by word-of- mouth. Shawn tells us “that it is vital to attract new clients/visitors to your website! Through our Social Media World today “Exposure” is the “Virtual Bible”! You need to be seen in the millions/billions of choices out there”.

I have my own opinions as to what constitutes a Good Website, but I wanted to know from Shawn what he felt made a Good Website. Again, Shawn was concise with his response … “How clearly and how quickly it emphasis’s its point!” "If you are searching for a Festival/Event to attend and you use a search engine (like Google) to find it, and it takes too long, you may give up looking. You may see other Festivals/Events listed on the first few pages that may catch your attention and choose attend them instead. Even with the fast speed of our information highways today, people do not have a lot of time or patience to look for things. If you don’t catch the attention of a client/visitor to your Website in 7 seconds, you have lost them. Shawn said “Speed is no longer really a case now, unless you are in a foreign remote country”. Dial-Up- Rural is what it is and is getting left behind”

(To Be Continued)

Festival & Event "Web World Strategies"

2011-12-20T05:41:00.000-08:00

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Introduction written by Judi McWilliams

Ontario Visited - Part 1

During high school, I was fortunate to have had “Typing 101” as my introduction to what today are computers. I had an amazing teacher who encouraged the students by supplying the “fastest typing row of students” with a large Laura Secord Chocolate Bar. I became so fast at typing that the other students in the class fought to sit in my row, because they knew I was going to win the competition and they would receive the chocolate bar too. In college, my two year course was called “Computer Science”. I called it a glorified secretary course, (secretaries now referred to as Executive Assistants). Back in the day, typewriters used ribbons, hand pushed return handles, black carbon paper, rice paper copies and more. During college, we progressed to what I would liken to an “x-ray” type of memory. It was an unprotected piece of flat “x-ray like” item inserted into the “computer”. We had to share this memory stick with the entire class. Back in the day, I could type (correctly) about 96 words per minute. I wonder today, if “spell check” would correct any errors and make me even faster? Today, of course, there are clouds, chips, discs, and items I can’t even begin to comprehend. Technology though, is what is keeping Ontario Visited and our various websites “linked” to our visitors and organizers of the fantastic festivals and events throughout Ontario. Our website has grown over the years and now attracts over 400,000 web Festival and Event visitors per year.

Today, I am fortunate to share with you some SCOOP from a leading “expert” in the “Web World Strategies”! These next few INSIDE SCOOP blogs will focus on Festivals and Events websites. Shawn King has been a colleague of Gary’s and mine for about 5 years. He was willing to share some of his years of experience with us. I was able to ask questions about WEBSITES… the IMPORTANCE of WEBSITES for FESTIVALS & EVENTS, WEB OPTIMIZATION and much more!

(To Be Continued)

Special Anecdote from Jan Bonhomme ...

2011-12-13T05:45:00.000-08:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Birector
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance
Experienced, Insighful, Knowledgeable and fun!

Finally, it would make sense, that since during the course of the year I have been collecting some "special anecdotes" to publish...that with Jan’s vast experience, I was sure she would have something she would like to share with us in our THE INSIDE SCOOP special “anecdote” section … and of course she did … “I have learned that as event organizers we take our event and its activities much more serious than our visitors do. They come for the unusual experience, to spend valuable time with their families/friends in a fun way, and to try a new activity. With this in mind, I changed all of our event contests to activities instead. Contests mean judges, prizes, unhappy parents and/or kids. Why do that to yourself as an event leader? By changing your contests into participating activities where everyone gets a ribbon – you keep costs down and management headaches to a minimum. We changed our scarecrow making, seed spitting, watermelon eating etc. contests into family activities and our numbers went up and challenges down! Another thing I have learned is to never say why but why not! When African Lion Safari contacted Pumpkinfest to say they wanted to bring their elephants to our event, my first reaction was what do elephants have to do with our event. But then I started thinking “pumpkins so big we need elephants “and Pumpkinfest goes wild. Instead of saying no to all the stuff that comes out of elephants, why not sell their waste as a new type of manure for our pumpkin growers. Over the years, the elephants have added a wonderful experience for young visitors with not only the rides but the popular elephant tug-a-war. And last but not least, elephants eat pumpkins whole just like we would eat a chocolate bar – it’s one of their favourite foods – who knew!”

Stratageis in Obtaining & Keeping Sponsors

2011-12-06T05:12:00.000-08:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

The Festival Nomad and I have seen some very successful festivals/events that take the time to properly acknowledge their sponsors. The Railway Chocolate Festival in Smith Falls is a perfect example of this. They have professional signs for their sponsors all along the rails at the boardwalk by the waterway. These signs are in clear view for all visitors and participants to see. During these times of economical challenges that we are experiencing today, I wondered if Jan had any strategies in obtaining and keeping sponsors, and, how do you acknowledge their support? Jan shares with us … “My experience has taught me to treat your sponsor like a partner. Sit down and talk to them about the event, what you are offering and what they have to balance that – is it food, clothing, equipment, people or prizes? Then work together to create some arrangement where they supply product or equipment or cash to balance one of your event needs. Let them have ownership of that aspect – they are the stage sponsor, or the tickets, or the refreshments or info booth etc. I break down the event in every possible way and find the best sponsor/partner to enhance each aspect. Therefore COMMUNICATION is the key in developing and keeping good sponsors.” For myself, I feel you should treat Sponsors like your Volunteers! Treat these folks with respect and kindness at all times.Don't forget to acknowledge them prior to, during and after your festival or event.

The Importance of Volunteers

2011-11-29T13:53:00.000-08:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

By now, you may be aware how I myself realize and appreciate the importance of VOLUNTEERS! For many festivals and events, it is critical to have volunteers! I like to ask our leaders in this industry how many volunteers they require for their events and if they have a system in place to “keep them happy?” Jan replies… “ We truly understand the importance of volunteers especially re-enactors who give up just about every weekend, work their butts off all weekend long, sleep outside on the ground, etc. Our Flight of the Royal George signature event on the July 1st long weekend in 2012 expects to have more than 1000 re-enactors involved. Our plan is to treat them like kings not servants providing good meals, good supplies, constant support and appreciation gifts. For the IPM, we created a Volunteer headquarters for our 1500 volunteers (the Sunshine Team) where they could go to relax, get fresh food and drink, share their stories and re-group. We made sure to train, identify, cloth, feed, and thank each and everyone in a special way!” Jan is very much like-minded with me on this issue! Fortunately, for many other wonderful festivals and events, they too have the realized the importance of volunteers, and in part, how their success is based on the dedicated, hardworking, committed volunteers efforts!
(To Be Continued)

Problem Solving ...

2011-11-22T05:15:00.000-08:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

Ms. Bonhomme is experienced, to say the least, when is comes to creating “problem solving techniques” used during a special event! (For example … weather conditions, volunteers/re-enactors/staff being absent due to unforeseen emergencies, etc.) The story she shares with us now sums it up well! … “When our event site went down in a “microburst” just hours before thousands of visitors were expected, it was a nightmare that we had to turn around quickly. Cleaning up the site and salvaging what we could became the priority – forget having tents and pretty decorations etc. However the shock and learning point that came forward a few hours later, was that our visitor was very flexible. They still came in droves, had a good time and liked our new “open air site”. Go figure after spending thousands of dollars on large tents that we learned that we didn’t have to put everything under cover which had limited the number of visitors who could see the activity. Events are meant to be outside – it’s part of the Canadian experience. Give your visitor credit that he will dress accordingly and not criticize you if the weather isn’t perfect! Learn to go with the flow and remember to keep things fun!” This is great advice! For visitors, it is right in keeping with my TIPS that I have written about over the years for festival/event goers. (You can check out my refreshed issue about the TOP 10 TIPS at http://www.ontariofestivalsvisited.ca/top10_festivaltips.html ).
(To Be Continued)

Which Way To Go ...

2011-11-15T05:31:00.001-08:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

One of the challenges we find in visiting events, is that the town/city/location does not put out Proper Directional Signage to the event/festival site. I think organizers assume that most folks know their way around the town, however, we are usually “out-of-towners” and we often get lost. I asked Jan what she would suggest to combat this issue, and what has worked for you in the past? Her solution is fantastic! … “I have always believed in the importance of the visitor’s perspective and meeting their needs, so welcoming and directional signage is always a priority! When we opened the Special Events Resource Centre, our signage improved drastically as it doesn’t need to say Pumpkinfest washrooms or gates, it just needs to say Washrooms or Info or Parking etc. All our area events combined their signage – from large structures, to “A” frames, to prong signs and banners and now they are able to sign the whole town and highways leading in with adequate signage to leave a good visitor impression.” My thoughts also reached to the visitors to our festivals/events and I wondered if Jan had ideas about how to “Keep Things Fresh!” Ms. Bonhomme was right to the point here … “By taking what traditionally happens and adding a new spin to it each year. It might be an extra activity, a personal touch or interview, a prize or a souvenir. Take your theme and build on it!” I wanted to share my two-cents with you also on this issue. I believe that “Keeping It Fresh” is important for your volunteers and staff also, they are the key to success, and, if you keep them excited and interested, it too will go a long way in making your festival/event successful!
(To Be Continued)

Insights ...

2011-11-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

As I mentioned, Jan is busy these days as the Executive Director of the 1812 Alliance. Her role is to co-ordinate, facilitate and support any War 0f 1812 Bicentennial activities happening in Eastern Ontario over the next few years. As you can see, Jan has been and is very successful when it comes to all aspects of our wonderful festivals/events in Ontario. I asked her if she could share some of her “secrets” with us! She tells us …“My event experience has shown me that bigger is not better – you are better to do 10 activities well than 20 not well. Other tips include the importance of keeping your event fun, family and affordable. Your theme should be front and centre in all ways so that the experience becomes memorable – the wackier the theme, the better! Finally don’t be afraid to let other non-profit groups become involved in your event – these partnerships will help your event grow to a new level and add to your volunteer base”. With all that being said, I asked Ms. Bonhomme what “the most critical step in planning an event” were… Jan replies ... “Developing your theme – not only creating an event that is unusual and special, but make sure your visitor becomes immersed in what you are selling. Colours, smells, decorations, activities, food, vendors and marketing all should showcase your theme. Never compromise your theme or dilute your package!” Wow! … I told you this would be great SCOOP! Jan Bonhomme is very generous with this article and helping us get THE INSIDE SCOOP! I wondered what Jan thought would be the largest factor in making a festival/event successful? Jan was quick with this response … “Recognizing the importance of details! Take every aspect of the event and break it down so you know who is doing what, where, when and how. Not only have all the event requirements needed but a back-up plan if someone gets sick or the weather plays havoc or someone/something doesn’t show. One of my biggest mistakes when I first started out was having too much in my head and too many people standing around waiting for me to tell them what to do. I have never wasted a volunteer’s time again. I have also lived through my event site being wiped out hours before the gates open and still managed to go forward because of planning!”
(To Be Continued)

A Whole Lot of Experience

2011-11-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

For this INSIDE SCOOP article, I thought you would like to know a little about Jan Bonhomme, the Executive Director of the St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance. Jan shared with us the following, which just may be the most “insightful and useful" SCOOP you might have enjoy to date … “I have spent the past 35 years planning events and working with volunteers in every way possible and have more “getting down and dirty stories” than anyone else I have ever met. My experience has also taught me how to do a lot with very little – limited facilities, limited funding and limited volunteers – what every small town in Ontario faces when staging successful events. My first 20 years was working in municipal recreation organizing sporting tournaments, jazz recitals, beach concerts, gymnastics meets, Canada Day etc. - a good lead up to the next ten years of my career. I then became the Event Co-ordinator for our local Chamber of Commerce with Port Elgin Pumpkinfest being my main responsibility. Playing a part in that event growing from 200 to 50,000 visitors taught me so much about the value of community involvement and volunteer efforts. At the same time, I also saw the benefits of all of our community groups sharing event supplies which led me to open the first Special Events Resource Centre in the province. The success of this facility then led to a position with Festivals and Events Ontario as their Network Development Manager, going across the province providing event training, and promoting the benefits of working together regionally. While in this position, my husband retired and we moved to the other end of the province – Eastern Ontario – where I was asked to co-ordinate the International Plowing Match in 2007 that was being staged in my new home town. After three years of putting my heart and soul into that massive event, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism & Culture started planning the 1812 Bicentennial and I was approached to lead the Eastern Ontario efforts. Throughout the past 20 years though, the highlight of my career has been going into small town Ontario sites and teaching volunteers learn how to stage successful events. I have visited more than 300 towns to date and hope to continue in this wonderful mentor role for the years to come”.
(To Be Continued...)

Interview with Jon Law

2011-10-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Jon Law
Manager
Peterborough Concert Band

Vital Community Link

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I feel that such a group is a vital link to a community. It helps promote fellowship, economic strength and provides a forum for the community citizens and visitors alike. I asked Mr. Law if he thought the Peterborough Concert Band is an important part of our society today and what role do you see as its importance? He tells us that … “Concert bands like this one are vital. They provide a place for musicians to grow after formal education and can be a stepping stone to a fully professional career”. I asked him to tell us about the importance of youth today and their role of being in “the band”. He states that … “It is absolutely important and we encourage youth. We always include some music younger audiences will enjoy. We have several high school aged members, and when they go off to college or university, their place in the band is waiting for them when they are home for the summer or are finished their education”. As many of you know, I like to get THE INSIDE SCOOP! I asked Jon if he could us the “scoop” about the process of booking the Peterborough Concert Band’s performances …“Choosing a date, to the location, to the content for each Concert. Gigs come to me in many ways. The first are our annual dates like the St John’s Anglican Church Strawberry Social which the Band has done since the Strawberry Social started. The second is organizers contacting us; this could be a new festival or another group looking for a joint concert. The last way is the Band contacting events when there are important dates in our calendar not filled by the other ways. We need a space large enough for 40 people plus our percussion about 20 to 30 feet from the audience. The program is built by the person who will be conducting the show and will always contain as much variety as can be fit into the show. Inquiring about a date is as simple emailing me at jlaw8@bell.net or calling me at 705-876-8773”. You can also view the Peterborough Concert's Band website at http://www.peterboroughconcertband.ca/I recommend taking the time to hear the“Peterborough Concert Band – Celebrating over 150 of musical excellence playing music from Beethoven to Glee”.

Interview with Jon Law

2011-10-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Jon Law
Manager
Peterborough Concert Band

Band Manager Jon Law (Part 2)

Not only are “back up plans” important and “contingency plans critical”, it is also wise to have “layout reconfigurations” ready at hand. For many festivals and events, it is critical to have volunteers! I asked Mr. Law "how many volunteers do you require for your Concerts and do you have any systems in place to keep them happy”. He replies … “Our volunteers are our members. I make sure the truck is there and that our host has chairs out for us and they gladly take care of the rest”. With the exception of chairs, the band comes in a delivery truck. We also have our own sound system". I wondered if the Peterborough Concert Band Manager had any ideas about how to “keep things fresh” for the patrons and performers alike? As mentioned before, the Band can perform music from Beethoven to Glee. Jon states that … “Our folder is changed a lot during the winter months and contains enough music for about 2 completely unique shows”. I was wondering how many people were active with the Concert Band, we did mention the ages of the members, but I also wondered what the criteria was to belong to the Band. The Peterborough Concert Band … as Jon tells us is “currently have 40+ active members ranging in age from 15 to 80 and beyond. We accept anyone who can handle the level of music we play. There is a trial period for new members to make sure they fit well with the band”. We practice once a week from September to mid August”.
(Conclusion of this interview next week)

Interview with Jon Law

2011-10-13T03:58:00.001-07:00

Jon Law
Manager
Peterborough Concert Band

Band Manager Jon Law (Part 1)

As Manager, and to share some SCOOP, I asked Jon to tell us about logistical challenges … dealing with outdoor elements, parking issues, band members not attending at the last moment, etc? He replies … “If the gig is to be outside, we like to have an indoor alternative if possible. We obviously cannot play if it is too windy or raining. We need to be able to get our truck close to the stage. Moving all our percussion equipment any great distance is very challenging. We also need enough parking for our members. Members not attending at the last moment are a very rare thing for us; we have a sufficient member base to cover anything truly unexpected”. When we had arrived at the concert, it seemed well organized. The band was up in the Gazebo playing and the audience was spread out throughout the park in lawn chairs, on blankets with umbrellas for shade or under the trees at picnic tables. There didn’t seem to any challenges. I wondered if there ever were some of the challenges that the “audience” does not see. In addressing Jon’s concern about the challenges of “moving all our percussion equipment any great distance” … we did notice that the Peterborough Concert Band’s van was parked beside the Gazebo. Jon told me other challenges …“The biggest challenge is usually space and making sure the band is set up for the best sound for the audience. The second biggest is instrumentation. Not all our members can make every concert. Luckily we have a large percentage that plays more than one instrument”. The SCOOP here the Manager says is saying …“We have a few preset layouts for the band that we pick from depending on the space and its acoustics”. This tip might help other organizers or coordinators!
(To Be Continued)

Interview with Jon Law

2011-10-04T14:56:00.001-07:00

Jon Law
Manager
Peterborough Concert Band

The Peterborough Concert Band

Now that is some SCOOP that shows commitment to community involvement! Back to the Peterborough Concert Band. We were treated to a concert at the Riverview Park and Zoo in Peterborough. The highlight for me was a piece of music performed by the entire band that was composed by Jon Law. I wondered how he came up with such an amazing arrangement. Jon tells me, “The Otonabee March was written over ten years ago and didn’t really have a title and had never been performed. Our lead conductor Peter Sudbury was more than willing to have the band play it and it found its way into our concert folder”. I asked Jon if he had a favorite performance piece and why? He replies … “In this year’s folder it’s our big “wow” number “Malaguena” from the Adalucian suite. The arrangement we play shows everything that makes us a great band, dynamics, technical challenges, and soloists”. Jon also shares that his favorite composer is … “Hands down, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and not just for his well known works with W.S. Gilbert for the Savoy Theatre. He wrote some amazing pieces, including one for his dying brother”. As Manager of the Peterborough Concert Band, I wondered what Jon’s duties were prior to and during a production. Jon states simply … “As the manager I arrange for our gigs, negotiate fees, and make sure we have a large enough space for both band and audience. The day of the gig I make sure our truck arrives an hour ahead of the gig so we can set up and be ready to start warming up 30 minutes ahead of the gig”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with Jon Law

2011-09-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Jon Law
Manager
Peterborough Concert Band

JON LAW... COMMUNITY PARTICIPANT
The current Manager of the Peterborough Concert Band is Jonathon Law, who has been an active part of this group since January 2011. Music is not new to Jon, as he has being playing the trombone during his high school years. He also participated with the Newmarket Concert Band and several smaller groups. It is interesting that Jon was part of a festival that Ontario Visited owner, Gary McWilliams (aka The Festival Nomad), founded in the Port Hope area. The Great Farini Festival ran for three years in Port Hope back in 1998-1990 and included musical entertainment at several gala’s held during the event. The Newmarket Concert Band made the journey to Port Hope and preformed during the festival. A testament to Jon’s strengths, as a contributor to community, is his innate nature of helping others. Before his concert, one year at The Great Farini Festival, there was an urgent dilemma. The organizers had not been able to find a “human” to wear the Great Farini costume. It required a tall slender person, who had the courage to walk around greeting visitors and “kids”. The head of the costume was extremely large (made of paper mashie). Jon stepped right up to the plate and volunteered to wear the costume and “save the day”!
(To Be Continued)

Interview with Jon Law

2011-09-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Jon Law
Manager
Peterborough Concert Band

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE … GOOD OR BAD

In today’s society we seem to be getting used to the idea of change! With festivals and events these changes are constant. Some groups or organizations prosper, some find the need to amalgamate to combine their efforts, in order to succeed, and some dwindle in membership numbers, as an aging population is not replenished with youthful vibrant folks with fresh ideas and concepts. And, sometimes, once in a while, you may come across a group of folks, members of an organization, who hold festivals or events that have remained a vibrant constant in a community. I feel that such a group is a vital link to a community. It helps promote fellowship, economic strength and provides a forum for the community citizens and visitors alike to have comradely. One such group, we found, is the Peterborough Concert Band. We were told that they are one of the longest continuous bands, performing for over 150 years. It is interesting that the members range in age today from youthful to 93 years old, yet exist as equals. Jon Law, the Band's Manager, tells us that the “Peterborough Concert Band – Celebrating over 150 of musical excellence playing music from Beethoven to Glee”. We recently had the pleasure of listening to the Peterborough Concert Band at the Riverview Park and Zoo in Peterborough. With this being said, I thought, since I know a member of the band, that I would get the INSIDE SCOOP and share some insight into this vibrant community organization.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

2011-09-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART SIX

My final question to Minister Chan made him chuckle, as he told me that he had just, the other morning, had the same discussion with “himself”. The Festival Nomad and I had been discussing if it were possible to have too many festivals and events in Ontario. We found ourselves conflicted recently by being asked to attend two different festivals in two very far away regions of Ontario! We wanted to attend both, but this was not physically possible. Minister Chan feels that this question is a challenge indeed. He feels that the key to success for everyone lies with "CO-ORDINATION”! He feels that communications and co-ordinated efforts will benefit all communities with their efforts. Mr. Michael Chan states … “that organizations need to seize efficiencies, seize opportunities to better coordinate efforts, locations and communications. He feels the whole province can be vibrant. That not one or two have just is the destination, but all of them being sustainable. The government obviously has many priorities; however it would be best to streamline efforts. We need to focus on results. Question ourselves as to “are we getting the preferred targeted expected results?” Minister Chan feels that from our diverse culture we can constantly be learning new ideas and perspectives. As Muku pointed out, our society today lives their lives as “just in time lives”. It took a moment for me to digest what Muku had said, however I feel he is right. With technology, our fast pace of life, our cultural diversities, our own interests and values … both Minister Chan and Muku are right. We need to “seize the moments”, “get out of the box”, “engage people” to Ontario, its Tourism and Culture!

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

2011-09-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART FIVE

Minister Chan seems very excited about the upcoming War of 1812 Bicentennial Celebrations. As you may know, Ontario Visited has a dedicated website for these celebrations and to the future beyond. (link: War of 1812 Celebrations). What the Scoop here is, that Michael Chan is a first generation immigrant himself. He feels the War of 1812 gave Canada an identity and that it is important to remember the War and the heroes of that time! Minister Chan was emphatic again as he stressed the importance of engaging New Canadians, as it will enhance the integration of these people into Canadian life and society. He said he would like these celebrations to be highly promoted to help “pull the new immigrants from their own box into Ontario”. It will be an opportunity to enhance integration, Mr. Chan states. He considers himself a “pioneer voyager”. He reminds us that in 25 years from now, these New Canadians will not be new. They will be integrated and form our Canadian communities. These folks will continue to immigrate and become the supply of the new people. Michael Chan said he appreciated the effort and direction that our Prime Minister. Apparently Prime Minister Harper is a War of 1812 fan.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

2011-08-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART FOUR

Our discussions led to the topic of the newly formed Regional Tourism Organizations. At first the leaders in these regions were apprehensive and a little anxious about the unknown and outcome of this new strategy. Minister Chan believes that the vibe of these regions was “we alone can’t do it, but now we can work together cohesively”. Minister Chan tells us that if the Regions package the best they have to offer, visitors will come to stay and enjoy all that the communities have to offer. Michael Chan said “it is really no use to have people stopping by, snapping a few pictures, then leaving without shopping, enjoying the restaurants, theatres, museums, attractions and so on”. I laughed as I have to confess that I was guilty as charged! I recently “snapped a few pictures from the sunroof of our car while at a red light”. We were heading home from the Canadian International Military Tattoo in Hamilton. It had been a long day and we did not have time to stop and enjoy the Dundurn Castle that day. Minister Chan feels that each Region has diverse skills to contribute to create a great organization. The role of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture is, as Minister Chan states, “not to tell the Regions what to do". He hopes “that the funding from the Ministry will only add to the excitement of promotional efforts in the Regions of Ontario”. He continues, "The role of the Ministry is not to administer the RTO Regions, however, there is a mandate of the RTO’s to advertize and promote tourism and culture".
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

2011-08-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART THREE

I’ll now switch gears a little and give you more INSIDE SCOOP about Tourism and Culture from Minister Chan. I have written a lot about volunteers and the importance of these dedicated people to our society! Minister Chan added to this issue by saying “can you imagine going to a festival or event (or even our local hospitals) without volunteers!” Michael Chan feels “Ontario is one of the most generous jurisdictions in Canada and (he) is very proud of this”! He states these volunteers greatly help our economy. Minister Chan was emphatic that he was correct on his statistics, as he himself worked on them. They even surprised me! As many of you may know, I have volunteered at Lang Pioneer Village and Museum in Keene, Ontario for the last couple of years. Here, I help the 120+ volunteers during the course of the visitor season. I was surprised, when speaking with Melanie Fernandez the Director of Community and Educational Program’s at the Harbourfront Centre in downtown Toronto, that she is responsible for co-ordinating 4,000+ volunteers for Harbourfront's events and activities. Minister Chan’s, statistics state that approximately 5 million volunteers, in Ontario alone, are helping our economy, by not only increasing revenue into our communities, decreasing personnel costs, but, by adding a work force that Minister Chan goes on to say "this adds 8-10 billion dollars in time costs alone". All this done by the hard work and dedication of these volunteers!
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

2011-08-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART TWO

I wondered how Minister Chan became the Minister of Tourism and Culture. He shares with us that his portfolio with the government started as Minister of Revenue, then Minister of Citizenship & Immigration and now Minister of Tourism and Culture in 2010. He tells us that the government found it a natural choice to combine Tourism and Culture. Muku adds here that “it is the Premier's prerogative to appoint a Minister, but they wanted to put someone with an economic background to the portfolio and someone with a business mind. Mr. Michael Chan met all these requirements and more”. The Festival Nomad and Minister Chan had a chat about both of their backgrounds. Michael Chan spent over 30 years as a leader in the insurance business in the Mississauga and Markham area. The Festival Nomad’s family is now in its fifth generation of insurance agents. Here though, Minister Chan went on to give us the Scoop, that he likes the business “because of the people he dealt with”. His brokerage offered both life and general insurance at competative and large quantities, which few agencies can offer. What Michael Chan enjoyed was “engaging the people all the time!” He tells us he “enjoyed the flexibility of time and enjoying life all at the same time!” Michael Chan shares that it was his own choice to go into politics, as he feel “it is also a way of engaging people”. He seems proud of the fact that he has trained himself over the years. It appeared Minister Chan is well received within the political field as he won the past election with the approval of 33% above others. Minister Chan states that “once people understand your style … like an Out-there-Person who likes to talk about issues and concerns of others, you get to engage with them”. He tells us “that regardless who the people are, what their philosophies are, whether they agree with him or not, he still enjoys his challenges”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Honourable Michael Chan
Miniter of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

On this warm sunny Wednesday morning in July, the Festival Nomad and I traveled to downtown Toronto to get “THE INSIDE SCOOP”! It was with great anticipation and excitement today as we were being offered Scoop from none other than one of the main leaders in the industry, The Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture! Much preparation went into this occasion. The Minister is fortunate to have a remarkable advisor helping him with coordination and details. I must say that Mr. Mukunthan Paramalingham, Director of Communications, Office of the Honourable Michael Chan is incredible at his job! Muku (as he prefers to be called), is completely thorough, responsible, knowledgeable and kind! I had pre-sent Minister Chan a list of INSIDE SCOOP questions to ponder prior to our meeting. I might be a little “thorough” myself. Some of my pre-questions had been answered through our ever changing society and its rapid media availability. Fortunately, I had time to adjust my questions, which, in the long run, turned out to be much more genuine and I hope will help give you the best INSIDE SCOOP!

A day in the life of Minister Chan usually begins at 6:15 a.m. and he doesn’t return home until 9:30-10:30 p.m. Many times, he tells us his dinner hour starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes on for a long, long time as he is often required to attend up to 4 or 5 dinners per night. He laughed when he told us one of his nicknames is “The Honourable Ministry of Food Tasting”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with THE MANTRACKER

2011-08-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Terry Grant
aka THE MANTRACKER
Visit Terry's Website to learn more (Tracking with Terry)

PART FIVE

I asked him if he sold his furniture in a store or elsewhere, and he tells me he “only makes custom furniture for people who ask him to”. He helps out at the Calgary Stampede at the Chuck Wagon Races. Of course, I was not surprised when he told us that his job was to round up the loose horses. I told him about my exciting experience, when I sat on a beautiful horse right on the first corner of the dirt ring where the chuck wagon races took place. The first time the horses and wagons came barreling down towards me, the ground and my horse shook! I hated to admit to The Mantracker, I was terrified! He just smiled across the table at me. Oh well!

I finally asked The Mantracker if he gets tired of all the interviews, and all the questions he gets bombarded with. He admits to me, “yah, sometimes!” … and without letting any negative thoughts get to him, he smiled and marched on his way to the autograph signing and the long line-up of anxious folks waiting for a chance to meet The Mantracker! For those of you who didn’t get a chance to meet The Mantracker, Terry Grant is as genuine a cowboy and man, as genuine can be!

Interview with THE MANTRACKER

2011-07-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Terry Grant
aka THE MANTRACKER
Visit Terry's Website to learn more (Tracking with Terry)

PART FOUR

We did ask a few questions about “the game” and Terry tells us that many athletic teams try to beat him these days and they are young and cocky. He is friends with most contestants after the game is over. There is one thing I know that The Mantracker said “you can mess with me, but don’t mess with my horse”. He talked about this today saying that “he’d ruff it up with anyone who challenged, this is true, and it is true “don’t mess with my horse”, respect seems to be the main issue for Terry.

We asked him about his search and rescue efforts working with the R.C.M.P. He does not “track criminals”, never. He has assisted with search and rescue efforts. He told us though, that even if it is he himself who finds the victim, it is truly a “team effort”. He says “it has to be a team effort”.
As you may have read or seen reported lately, the Mantracker series is in its final season. Terry said there were challenges going on right now. Terry says OLN want to keep the series going, but without him! As The Mantracker told before, he ALWAYS keeps positive! He shrugged his shoulders and said, “we’ll see”.

Like I mentioned, Terry doesn’t seem to let negativity creep into his life. So, I asked him what he would do after Mantracker. He was quick to respond … “go back to what I did before Mantracker, carpentry, building custom furniture, doing renovations and helping people drywall, and leading the life of a cowboy just north of Calgary”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with THE MANTRACKER

2011-07-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Terry Grant
aka THE MANTRACKER
Visit Terry's Website to learn more (Tracking with Terry)

PART THREE

I asked Mantracker how he learned respect and the work ethics he has adapted to over the years. He said “once you spend 8 to 10 hours every day out on a horse, come in to do your chores and take care of business, you learn quickly”. Terry tells us that when you are all alone in the bush, you need to be able to take care of yourself, there is no one to rely on but you!.
We asked the Mantracker how genuine he was while filming the TV series, was it just an “act” for the cameras? He quickly responded … “no acting, no script, it all comes right from my heart”.

A question you might not know the answer to is that Terry has never come across any serious danger in the bush. There was a cougar sighting by the “prey” and a black bear sighting, but other than that, nothing exceptional to speak about.
After talking about the youth of today and realizing just how negative our society seems to be (in parts), I asked Terry how he stayed positive. He actually seemed surprised by this question, as if it were a redundant question. He says “I have always been positive. Negativity doesn’t even entre into my life” An example Terry told us, was “if you loose you keys in your house, why get all upset and frazzled, eventually you will find them, they are there”. Another answer to this question he tells us that “I feel is VERY VERY positive … I very seldom say I lost! I’ll say I just didn’t get there first!” We mentioned to the Mantracker that he seemed to be “upset” when he lost to a competitor. He admitted that “you do get cranky if you don’t win the game, especially when you think you should win”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with THE MANTRACKER

2011-07-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Terry Grant
aka THE MANTRACKER
Visit Terry's Website to learn more (Tracking with Terry)

PART TWO

My next question for Terry started out by asking him … it seems that you respect people who they themselves have respect for nature, horses and other humans. It also seems you respect people who have courage and perseverance. How much do you perceive the youth of today and their concept of the importance of these qualities? With this Mantracker said … “tough question!” “I don’t get to see many young kids and the kids that I see don’t have the skills or work ethic that we had at kids”. He went on to tell me that “when he was a kid, there was no back talk, you went about your day knowing that you had chores to do. If your parents said go feed the chickens, you went, “no backtalk”. Terry said that “Kids today don’t seem to have any kind of drive anymore”. “Kids seem to have poor attitudes and are very cocky. They have no respect for elders and no discipline”. Mantracker totally believes that “kids should “be yourself”, but, that you should learn respect.” He says that “time outs” just don’t cut it” He feels that “parents/caregivers keep treating our kids like kids, “like sissies”, and that the grown ups want to keep the kids, kids. Later, as the kids become young adults and still act like kids, the parents wonder why they act the way they do”. He says “the kids are not taught to respect, be mature and aren’t learning to care and fend for themselves”. Terry was raised in Creemore (near Staynor, Ontario), with his Uncle who stepped in for his Dad. At the age of 10 he lived with his grandparents until he was 17 when he moved to Alberta.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with THE MANTRACKER

2011-07-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Terry Grant
aka THE MANTRACKER
Visit Terry's Website to learn more (Tracking with Terry)

PART ONE

It was with great anticipation that the Festival Nomad and I sat in the boardroom at the Lindsay Agricultural Society Exhibition grounds during their recent event “All About Horses”. Bev Roy, event organizer, had arranged for us to meet and interview none other than The Mantracker! Terry Grant was appearing for both days at the show, to sign autographs and talk. If you are horse lover and a lover of adventure and excitement, you will know The Mantracker! He appears on the television series Mantracker on OLN.

I gave a great deal of consideration to the questions I was going to ask Terry. I wanted my INSIDE SCOOP interview, with The Mantracker, to be different from others. When asked one particular question, even Terry said... “that’s a tough question”! Here is my interview.

I asked the Mantracker if he thought his “talent” was a dying art! He said that “it is a dying art! Through my efforts of the television series, it has just has brought it up to the top of the water”. He does as much educational training and workshops, but, cautioned that, in his words, “I can teach anybody to track, but you have to go into the bush and us it!”
(To Be Continued)

Interview with Laurie Siblock (Part Five)

2011-07-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Laurie Siblock
Special Events & Community Liasion
Lang Pioneer Village Museum

I asked Laurie if she could share some “problem solving techniques” used during a special event! (For example … a busload of visitors that were not planned for, weather conditions, volunteers/staff being absent due to unforeseen emergencies, running out of “treats” during an event, etc.) … She tells me … “One thing that you can count on when running big events is that something is going to go off the rails. To help ensure a great event, I do what you can to plan in advance for “unforeseen” events. I make sure that I consider a rain plan. A back-up plan for every aspect of the event that could be affected by rain needs to be detailed in advance and communicated to the people involved. You hope you don’t have to use it, but you’re sure glad you’ve got it if you need it. It is also important to prepare in advance for medical and/or fire emergencies. Senior staff at Lang Pioneer Village are trained in First Aid response and Defibrillation (in the event someone on site has a heart attack) and seasonal staff are trained in how to contact First Aid Responders. Having a well-thought out Fire Plan and extinguishers throughout the Village and staff and volunteers who are trained in how to use them are also important. Finally making health and safety a priority in the Village helps cut down on smaller accidents. Statistics show that organizations that are able to reduce the number of small accidents also show a corresponding lower rate of serious incidents. In terms of how we handle volunteers and staff not making it into work, the critical thing about the Special Event Task List is that, should someone not make it into work for an event, all we have to do is look on the list for what that staff/volunteer was responsible for and divvy up the tasks to ensure that everything that person was responsible for gets done. In any emergency or challenging situation, I think the most important thing is to keep a level head and get as much information as you can given your situation. Listening and having clear lines of communication can go a long way to diffusing an emergency or challenging situation”. With all of these great suggestions, tips, words of wisdom and experience, my final question to Laurie was how far in advance did she “plan”. I know the answer in part because as a volunteer at Lang, I have been busy cutting out material for a craft project these past few winter/spring months for their Spooky Halloween Event in the Fall. But, Laurie does say that …“As I’ve been in the Special Event and Community Liaison position for almost five years now, I’ve increasingly been able to plan further and further ahead. My first year in the position, I was just one step of the event in planning. That was a stressful situation. Now, four and a half years later, it’s January and I’m doing all the bookings for musicians and community guild and demonstrator groups for all the events for the season. Why today I was even planning the Halloween event kid’s craft activity!” And, that my friends, is this edition of THE INSIDE SCOOP!

Interview with Laurie Siblock (Part Four)

2011-07-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

Laurie Siblock
Special Events & Community Liasion
Lang Pioneer Village Museum

Getting “THE INSIDE SCOOP” focuses on specific questions that may help festivals, events, organizers, and others interested in SUCCESS in their endeavors! You are very good Laurie at problem solving, managing people and as hectic as it is with all the chaos you seem to maintain your professionalize and composure. With 10+ people at a time calling out your name with questions at peak moments during an event (problems that need immediate answers), you still seem to manage. It is my understanding that you have a system to help you stay organized … could you share some of your “secrets” with us! Laurie tells us … “The single most important thing that I do to stay organized is to write EVERYTHING down. Even the most mundane and seemingly small things get written down on a Special Events Task List and each item on the list is assigned to a particular person so that one person is taking responsibility for that item. It’s amazing what can fall through the cracks when no one in particular is responsible for making something happen. For example, I’ve heard of a culinary event at which, after all the guests had gone home, the organizers discovered that the desserts hadn’t been served! As an event organizer, I’ve got to think of every last detail to support each aspect of the event. EVERYTHING needs to go into the task list right down to who is bringing and setting out soup spoons to accompany the soup. Getting everything down, assigning ownership and then checking in with people to make sure things are on track are very important before every big event”. “In order to organize volunteers for events, all volunteers complete a Volunteer Availability Form at the start of the season on which they indicate which Special Events they wish to help with. I use that list to fill volunteer needs for each event and contact each volunteer weeks prior to the event to ensure they are still available and to discuss their role at the event with them. I also have a database, Volunteer Works, which tracks what skills and knowledge volunteers have so that when I need a volunteer who can spin, for example, I can look up in my database and see who might be able to help with that. I know the volunteers quite well, so most of that is in my head anyway, but it is important to have it down so that if I am not here someone, who may not know the volunteers, could easily take”.
(To be continued)

Interview with Laurie Siblock (Part Three)

2011-06-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Laurie Siblock
Special Events & Community Liasion
Lang Pioneer Village Museum

To get THE INSIDE SCOOP, I really wanted to understand why “living history” was important? Laurie tells me that “an important aspect of “living history” is that it helps preserve the knowledge of how objects of the past were used. If an artifact, say a rope-making machine, is only on static display and no one is operating it then it won’t be long before the knowledge of how the artifact was used and the skills to use it are lost. In museum terms, the artifact is tangible heritage and the knowledge of how to use it and its cultural significance is intangible heritage. Living history helps preserve both tangible and intangible heritage for future generations.” I asked Laurie, again, why this was important … I really wanted to understand and get SCOOP! Laurie seemed to be very reflective when she replied … “part of understanding history is to help us not repeat the mistakes of the past. It helps us gain appreciation for what we have today”. Laurie says it is important to get into the mindset and understand the personalities of the people before us! Laurie herself states she is just intrinsically interested in “living history”. Our ancestors paved the way for us and she appreciates what we have. Laurie mentioned the fact that it would have taken three days to journey, of about 55 kilometers (about an hours drive today). The richness in the past can inform you and help you understand the present. An example of the past influencing our future today is the weavers “loom” at Lang Pioneer Village. It is similar to our modern computer, with Laurie saying that it’s amazing that the origin of computer technology (in part) came from the textile industry.
(To be continued)

Interview with Laurie Siblock (Part Two)

2011-06-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

Laurie Siblock
Special Events & Community Liasion
Lang Pioneer Village Museum

THE INSIDE SCOOP allows me the opportunity to really obtain insight and get the answers to perhaps question you too have wondered! I got to ask Laurie what helped make Lang Pioneer Village so special and different. Laure says …“I think it’s the “living” aspect of the Village that makes it so engaging for guests when they visit Lang Pioneer Village. Having interpreters in costume demonstrating 19th-century living creates a vibrancy and energy in the Village that you just wouldn’t get with static displays or digital interactive units. We consistently hear from visitors that the interpreters were “so welcoming” and “informative” and “friendly”. It is one of the things that keep’s people coming back”. What Laurie hears from the visitors is that “they get to reflect on simpler times, (not that these times were simple) and they learn to appreciate what they do have themselves today”. Laurie says “people get a sense of peace when they visit the village. It’s a time when families get to connect, stop and reflect!” With visitors coming back to the Village to re-visit from time to time, I wondered what Lang does to keep things fresh for these visitors? Where does Laurie get additional ideas and information from? She tells me “I think the most important thing I do in my job to keep things “fresh” at Lang Pioneer Village is to listen. My coworkers and the volunteers at Lang Pioneer Village have lots of great ideas and when they pass them on I’m grateful. Even if I’m not able to bring an idea to fruition right away, I always write it down in my resources and ideas spreadsheet so it’s there to pick up on later. The other thing I do is to constantly keep my eyes and ears open for performers, demonstrators, collectors, potential partnerships, craft activities - in a sense I’m always on the job as I seek out these things wherever I go. It’s also important to keep in touch with what is happening at other museums and events. To stay in touch with that I surf the web but also attend conferences and workshops to network with other event and museum professionals”.
(To be continued)

Interview with Laurie Siblock (Part One)

2011-06-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Laurie Siblock
Special Events & Community Liason
Lang Pioneer Village Museum

Lang Pioneer Village Museum was established by the County of Peterborough in 1967 to celebrate and preserve the rural history of the area. Each year, thousands of visitors from around the world take a trip back in time to discover how the pioneers lived.
Nestled along the banks of the historic Indian River, Lang Pioneer Village Museum features over twenty-five restored and furnished buildings constructed between 1825 and 1899. Many of the buildings were donated by townships within the County of Peterborough and were moved to their present site when the Museum was founded.

A photographer's paradise, the Village is complete with lanes and pathways, farm animals, rail and stump fences, vegetable and herb gardens, as well as other authentic details of a 19th century hamlet. Villagers of all ages, dressed in authentic historical costume, go about their daily chores contributing to the authenticity of this living history experience.

The vibrancy that visitors find at Lang Pioneer Village Museum is made possible through the efforts of over 170 volunteers who contribute their skills, time, energy and passion to bringing the Village to life and to preserving the buildings, artifacts and knowledge for future generations.

This is the world that this weeks interviewee, Laurie Siblock, lives and works in!

Laurie Siblock has been with Lang Pioneer Village since August of 2006. She has many responsibilities and varied duties. She tells me “there is never a dull day working at Lang Pioneer Village Museum!” Laurie plans the Special Events for the season, manages the Volunteer Program and develops community partnerships. The Village is closed to the public from January to April and that time is a crucial planning and development time for her! This is when all the bookings of performers, demonstrators and crafts people for all the season are completed. Needless to say, Laurie is extremely busy during this time! I asked Laurie how they kept things fresh and new for visitors who frequented the Village! Laurie tells me that it’s really important to find new and interesting things (that are still in keeping with the representation of 19th-century living)! She says… “We have a terrific team of 170 dedicated volunteers, but as we grow, it is a challenge to find enough volunteers to meet the needs and demands of the Village. Also, there are fewer and fewer people out there who have the traditional skills that are needed for demonstrations such as tinsmithing, blacksmithing, butter making, spinning, weaving, broom making, etc,. It is important to keep these skills alive so training the volunteers becomes more and more important. Finally, in order to engage the community and provide diversity in programming, it is important to develop partnerships with community groups and organizations. The Manager, Joe Corrigan, and I do presentations to community groups, meet with other museums and organizations to partner and reach out to Guilds, trades groups, and specialist organizations to stay connected with the community. I am also one of the Professional Development Directors for the Peterborough Chapter of the Association of Managers of Volunteer Services. In that role, I create learning opportunities for and network with other Volunteer Managers in the area”.
(To be continued)

Interview with Madeleine Marentette (Part One)

2011-06-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

Madeleine Marentette
Founder
Grail Springs & Grail Lady Faire

“SITTING ON THE FENCE!”
When I heard about The Grail Lady Faire, I wondered what it was all about! After exploring their wonderful website (http://www.grailladyfaire.com/), I still was “on the fence” whether I would like to attend. Clearly I had some questions. Fortunately, through THE INSIDE SCOOP, I am able to talk with interesting leaders and organizers of festivals and events across Ontario. So, I thought I would speak to the founder of The Grail Lady Faire, Madeleine Marentette.

Madeleine is the Author and Founder of Grail Springs a retreat that lies in one of the most enchanted regions of Canada. Located in Bancroft Ontario, it is nestled amongst a stunning setting with a spring-fed lake, meditation gardens, horses, wildlife and hundreds of acres of forested trails. Healthy forests, hiking trails, abundant wildlife and breathtaking scenery. The Grail Lady Faire is a wonderful opportunity for women to gather, as Madeleine states, “to be inspired and inspire others”! The photographs on the Grail Springs website were a little intimidating to me. I felt the visitors to the festival had a certain fitness level (as Yoga is a part of the events offered). Madeleine was quick to clear this up this misconception by stating, "you do not require any fitness level nor other previous experience to join in this journey. There is something for everyone to participate in". There is just so much to choose from, I recommend you too check out their website for all they will be offering at this great Grail Lady Faire!

I still had a few questions for Madeleine that I found helpful when making up my mind to attend. I have never tried Yoga before, nor experienced a lot of what will be offered at this event. I did not want to be naive, but asked a simple question to Madeleine, "What is the “Grail” and what was her goal for this event?" As I understand it, from speaking with Madeleine, "The Grail concept is basic, if you ask, you will know! It goes back to ancient times, with discussions in King Arthur’s time and the Nights of the Round Table. Esoteric spiritual schools were based in finding the truth, seek and she will find! Madeleine explains that our experience is the human journey". She said "that is not until we ask the questions, do we begin to follow on a path." What Madeleine is excited about with The Grail Lady Faire, is that a “whole bunch of individuals can get together, a networking opportunity as it where”. Madeleine went on to say, "It is an opportunity to meet potential future business partners, investors in your own projects and goals, women sharing visions and finding answers to make changes in their lives, to grown and prosper. This festival attracts women looking for change and support in their lives. The Faire is looking for women are ready to roll up their sleeves and answer the call to action. Women, who are looking for support and to co-create, invest and collaborate to be the change." I asked Madeleine if she herself had some “answers” and had been able to “make changes”. She shares that "she has had challenges in the past, but, when she decided to stop trying to fix her body, and focused on fixing her way of life did her body heal. She said she had resolved her challenges and feels that everything has a solution, in body, mind, spirit and relationships." For Madeleine, she tells me "she has reached a sense of peace and there in nothing she wants for." Here is the INSIDE SCOOP; Madeleine said “life is a journey. We need to learn to love the mystery of life and enjoy the feeling of discovery." I felt right then that I connected with Madeleine. I feel sometimes, people spend a lot of time focusing on the “whys” in life. It is not until we embrace all we have, good and bad, and all the challenges that we can move forward. I feel most people stay stuck in the past. I know I have, but, with love and support, I am learning to do exactly what Madeleine is trying to do. She says “I live to be inspired and to inspire others”. So I say, enjoy the journey, learn to love the mystery. At The Grail Lady Faire, Madeleine hopes to inspire participants/attendees to help them reflect upon their own personal passions and drive in health and well being. Madeleine is just there to “drive the bus” … I recommend going along for the ride!
(To be continued)

Interview with Ian Farthing (Part Four)

2011-06-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ian Farthing
Artistic Director
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Focusing on THE INSIDE SCOOP, I wanted to help other organizers get a feel for some of the challenges the audience/visitors to a festival/event do not see. Mr. Farthing’s comical side started his reply and went on with “Now that would be giving away some of the secrets that make up the magic of theatre! Joking aside, probably the largest challenge is raising enough money each year to ensure our survival. Ticket sales only make up 24% of what it costs to put the festival on in the summer, and it is important to us that we keep our ticket prices affordable. So that means we have to do a lot of additional fundraising – applying for grants from differing levels of government, foundations, and our very generous individual and corporate donors – people who believe that we are making a difference in our community and want to support our vision.” As Artistic Director, Ian Farthing perhaps was the best person to get THE INSIDE SCOOP from regarding how many people audition for the season’s performances and what the process entailed. I had heard rumors that the competition is fierce! Ian tells me, “We get in the region of 600+ submissions from actors who want to audition. Because we like to have a mix of returning actors and new faces, that means that we are usually looking to cast about six new faces each year. So there’s a one in a hundred chance to start off with!” Oh my goodness, from all the reality competition shows we see on television these days, we see how tens of thousands apply and it gets down to the final 20 elimination. The odds at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival seem good in comparison, but the stakes are so high and the competition of professionals fierce! Mr. Farthing goes on to explain the audition process, “We hold auditions in Toronto and Ottawa and we can usually see about 60 actors over three days. They are asked to prepare one or two Shakespeare monologues and a short song”. Yes my friends, these people/actors at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival are among some of the most talented singers I have ever heard! Ian says, “If we think they might be a good fit for us, they will be asked to read from scenes from the two plays. It’s a tricky process because we perform our shows in repertory, so we need to make sure the actors are right for both plays. And that they’re right for Prescott. Not every actor is suited to living in a small town for 10 weeks in the summer!” I will have to ask Ian another time if the outdoor amphitheatre creates any bearing on choosing an actor as their voices would have to have great projection to be heard over the sounds of nature!
(To be continued)

Interview with Ian Farthing (Part Three)

2011-05-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

Ian Farthing
Artistic Director
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

What you may also not know about Mr. Ian Farthing is that he is a professional singer and has had the opportunity to perform with the acclaimed men’s choir Chor Leoni! Since this group is primarily located in Vancouver I asked Ian if he was active with them still. Ian shares with me that “The choir are very generous and allow me to slip in and sing concerts whenever I’m back in Vancouver (which isn’t often). I started singing with them about 6 years ago when I was going through a thin period on the work front and I found that I got amazing artistic sustenance singing all of that wonderful music. I love the fact that we sing everything from Canadian folk songs to classical to Queen!” I wondered if Ian had a preference of Directing versus Performing and his reply was “Not really a preference, as I enjoy both processes immensely. If I can continue to do both alongside each other, I will be very happy!” Ian seems to be happy. When I have seen him, he always has a continuous smile on his lips and a gleam in his eyes! Getting more SCOOP, Ian shares his role as Artistic Director at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, “involves working year-round to ensure that the summer is a success. Although the summer festival is just over 5 weeks of performances, we have to start planning a year in advance”. (This sounds typical of most festivals/events throughout Ontario, where the dedication of volunteers, staff and the community play a critical role in the success of a festival/event!) He goes on to say “Whether it’s fundraising, marketing, planning the performance schedule or organizing other events during the year, there’s never a dull moment! Although part of the AD's job is to be “the face of the festival”, that is only the tip of the iceberg and administrative tasks take up 90% of the time.”
(To be continued)

Interview with Ian Farthing (Part Two)

2011-05-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ian Farthing
Artistic Director
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Ian had the privilege (so well earned and deserved) to perform with the Mirvish Production “The Sound of Music” for the entire 18 month run. He not only was in the ensemble, and to quote Ian, ”and yes, amongst other things, I did play a nun!” He was also one of the two understudies for Captain von Trapp and as Ian tells me, “I treasure the memories of the times I was able to go on in the role. How many times in your life do you get four $800 dollar suits hand-tailored for you?! Sadly, we weren’t allowed to keep them!”If you have seen Ian, you will know that he is tall and slender, so I would imagine the role and suit could be filled by others. I am lucky that Ian shares with us a story about his favorite production and to see it from the eyes of a professional so to speak, getting THE INSIDE SCOOP, as it were. ”Favorite show that I’ve been in was probably the recent Toronto production of The Sound of Music. It was a career highlight to be part of such a fantastic production. Although the run was nearly 18 months long, we had such fun on that show that I could have done it for another 18 months! Of the shows that I’ve seen, my top three include the National Theatre production of Cat on a Hot Tim Roof in London – such powerful acting, Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd, a masterpiece, and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Titus Andronicus – I arrived and saw the play was going to be 3 hours and 55 minutes with one intermission and my heart sank. But I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I went back to see it twice more. An interesting link to SLSF – the actor playing Lavinia in that production was Sonia Ritter, who ended up directing Comedy of Errors for us in Prescott in 2004!” As a professional, I wondered if Ian, himself, had a favorite performer. He tells me … “Dame Judi Dench – apart from being extraordinarily versatile, whether it’s Shakespeare, James Bond, sitcoms or classics, she also has a reputation for being a wonderful company member and a very cheeky sense of humour. It would be an honour to work with her someday.”
(To be continued)

Interview with Ian Farthing (Part One)

2011-05-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

Ian Farthing
Artistic Director
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

After getting THE INSIDE SCOOP, with Greg Berra, Marketing Director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, I thought a wonderful opportunity was waiting right there for me to interview none other than Mr. Ian Farthing, the Artistic Director, since 2006, of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. Not to mention he is an amazing actor/singer extraordinaire! Ian was born in Vancouver, Canada (so accomplished for being still so young, I’ll get the SCOOP for you shortly)! He trained in the UK and worked there for 10 years, only returning to Canada in 1999. I asked Ian how he came about embarking on a journey to the UK and what eventually brought him back to Canada. Mr. Farthing states … “Family stuff took us over to the UK when I was a kid, so I ended up doing all my schooling and training over there. After about 8 years in London, struggling to find work as an actor, I decided I needed a year out to take a break and re-assess whether this was the career path I should be continuing. I knew if I was to do it properly, I needed to leave London, as my Joe job was working in a box office in the West End and many of my friends were in the biz. So I thought I might as well come back to Canada, as I had the passport. And I went to Vancouver because it was the only place I knew! As it turns out, I knew by the end of the year that not only did I still want to be an actor, but that I wanted to stay in Canada and I’ve been back for 12 years now”.
(To be continued)

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part Five)

2011-05-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sandra S. Lawn

Festival Chair

St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

It would be remiss of me not to ask Sandra about her favorite performer was. She goes on to say that … “I also love how we incorporate music into every performance. Kris Josef in addition to being a great actor also did an amazing rendition of Bob Dylan – about whom I knew little – now it seems that every morning on the CBC they play at least one song that I loved from our festival. I cannot really say I have a favourite performer – they are all so unique and put so much talent into it. I may know certain actors more than others and have a special relationship for a variety of reasons. One reason is the way a certain actor has really turned around the life of the person she was billeted with – it is so heart warming to witness this sort of interchange with the wonderful people of this small town”. Some of the fun for THE INSIDE SCOOP is collecting special anecdotes to share with you. Ms. Lawn indeed did have something to share with us … “One of my own favourite anecdotes took place on closing night of Romeo and Juliet when my young grandson (he must have been about five) at the curtain call, ran onto the stage and threw his arms around Perry Mucci. This boy wants to be an actor because of Perry; he never wants to miss a play when he visits frequently from Ottawa”. With this response my final question to Ms. Sandra Lawn was if the St. Lawrence Theatrical Company/St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival encouraged the youth of today to attend performance? Again, I was not surprise by her response … “For some of us, children and youth are why we do this. Children 12 and under are admitted free and youth are always at a lower rate. My husband, a retired educator, is fervent about the attendance of youth. Our artistic director does as much outreach in the schools as possible. We hold the Young Artists training program every summer and then showcase them as part of the Sunday Series. At the Connect Youth forum at South Grenville District High School, we sign up volunteers and let our regional youth know more about why this is not just educational and enriching but a lot of fun too. Those of us who are in the community year round work at convincing parents and grandparents that this is critical for their offspring’s future and we truly believe it!!”

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part Four)

2011-05-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

In our War of 1812 Celebrations website, I have been writing about "Living History" and its importance to understanding the present. I was curious to see what importance the St. Lawrence Theatrical Company had as part of our society and what role did Sandra see as its importance? She replies … “It is hard for me to put it into words. It is a number of things – it draws people back to the brilliance of Shakespeare and live theatre. It is enriching, it is fun, it is outdoors beside a magnificent river. I greatly enjoy technology but know in my heart that without Shakespeare as part of my world and the world of my friends and family we would be all the poorer and unable to participate properly in the creative Ontario everyone is seeking in so many different ways”.

I also wondered if she had any roles during a performance itself. She shares with me … “I do not have any role during a production – we used to introduce the play to the audience but with an Artistic Director like Ian Farthing (see my up coming article about Ian Farthing at ----, he is amazing!), this is much more effectively done by him. My husband and I also host a supper at the beginning of the rehearsal period.” Sandra does get to enjoy the performances during the season, visiting every single performance last year. She tells me … “It is a joy to attend and I am learning every single performance”. With that being said, I wondered if Sandra had a favorite production. She shares with me that … “Every year my favourite production morphs into that particular year’s production. However last year I loved Trouble on Dibble Street – as a former mayor and chair of the board I really wanted everyone in town to come to the Festival and love it and learn from it as I did. That just wasn’t possible until Trouble – when so many of our reluctant theatergoers came because it was our bicentennial gift to the town – and they loved it”.
(To be continued)

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part Three)

2011-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

One of my passions, as you may know by now, is to have the ability, through THE INSIDE SCOOP, to inform festival and event planners/organizers about the issues and the importance of VOLUNTEERS! For most festivals and events, it is critical to have volunteers! I have been surprised from my previous interviews in THE INSIDE SCOOP, with the attention and insight, to this issue, that organizers have shared with me. I was not surprised, then, when Ms. Lawn told me that … “We started with just a handful of volunteers – perhaps 30 and are now up to over 300. Recruiting, training and appreciating are key. We have volunteer appreciation nights; offer free tickets on certain nights and at every opportunity value these key people. It is really important to have the right volunteer in the right position – and very, very occasionally we err”. With this in mind, I wanted to find out how the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival kept things fresh for the patrons and actors alike. Sandra says that … “Our artistic director and directors are always surprising us – the level of excellence is always high of course, but there is that special something that comes when you bring favourites back and add new bright stars every season. Our artistic director, directors and actors are all professional – they love the venue and the community and this lively happy spirit keeps things fresh for them and for us”. I’m sure Sandra is correct that “things are fresh” as it is reflected in the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival’s increase in their attendance during the 2010 season. During these difficult economic times, I wondered what Ms. Lawn attributed this increase too. “Having a new play based on an old play, captured people’s imagination - so I think that brought more local people – however the Ottawa audience might have wondered at first what this was all about. Word of mouth is the key factor although I believe our marketing just gets better every year as well as our internet presence. The programs throughout the year like Jake’s Gift coming again on D-Day, June 6th some claim was a life changing experience and we are getting the reputation of doing wonderful unique things”. This information, that I am sharing with you, will hopefully help other festival and event planners/organizers with their efforts to increase attendance!
(To be continued)

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part Two)

2011-04-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Sandra is very busy with her responsibilities as chair of the festival board, leading the meetings and fulfilling any duties that spring from that role. What I was interested in was Sandra’s duties as Chair of Fundraising! She tells me, “my duties are many – from organizing the fund raising team, in many cases making “the ask” and assisting with fundraising events – in some cases leading the effort." Ms. Lawn is very “hands on” and it sounds like her dedication and devotion helps inspire others in the continued efforts to offer such wonderful performances to so many audiences! Fundraising does come with some challenges that perhaps we, the audience and recipients of these great performances, do not see. Sandra states that, “One of the main challenges is maintaining financial stability”. She goes on to say, that “Our fund raising campaigns are run using the experience of major campaigns where I have been able to learn the basics of running a successful campaign, e.g. putting a major expansion on the Brockville and Area YMCA (opened when I was president) and being chair of the Friends of the Prescott Public Library when we put together a $575,000 expansion. Over the years we became better and better at writing grant proposals, mostly as a team.” Other minor “challenges” Sandra has dealt with were the few internal conflicts that she handled smoothly. She is wise however, having a written policy on conflict resolution, which fortunately has yet been used. That would then answer my question about “egos” with all the actors, volunteers, directors, etc. There seems to be no problems to overcome here.
(To be continued)

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part One)

2011-04-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

In one of the most beautiful settings along the St. Lawrence River, in the town of Prescott, you can visit the Sandra S. Lawn Harbour & Marina. It hosts a wonderful children’s play area and a 148 slip Harbour. Sometimes in life you may not be curious as to “what’s in a name”. However, the name of this Harbour/Marina was clarified to Gary and me when we had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Sandra S. Lawn at a Gala evening in the Prescott Town Hall. This was right after the season’s opening performance of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. It turns out that Ms. Lawn was not only Chair of the Festival, but had been Mayor of Prescott for 15 years, until she retired in 1991. What an wonderful opportunity for me to get THE INSIDE SCOOP from Sandra about the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. Sandra was generous with her time and shares informative and interesting information that I will now share with you! One of Ms. Lawn’s duties as Mayor of Prescott, was to facilitate the development of the Prescott waterfront into what is now, as I mentioned above, the Sandra S. Lawn Harbour. As chair of the South Grenville Economic Development Commission, she soon became well aware of the importance of tourism. That is where she and I and the Festival Nomad (Gary McWilliams, Ontario Visited), all share a similar passion! It is interesting that Sandra, a mother of three daughters (who just happen to be all musical), helped Sandra become “aware of the importance of the arts in our small rural town”. Sandra is extremely intelligent and has a sense of humor to boot. She holds a BSc in Biology and a Masters in Public Administration, the humor, she tells me “my study of Shakespeare amounted to about 15 minutes in English 2 at Queen’s”. How is it then that Sandra became so involved with the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival? Sandra tells me that she has been involved almost from the beginning. It happened “when my husband, as a Rotarian and mayor of our town came home to describe Deborah Smith’s enthusiastic presentation about the idea of Shakespeare in our Amphitheatre at the Harbour. In the first season I was a volunteer, and immediately after the first AGM was elected to the board of directors. I became chair of the board in January 2008. I have been chair of fundraising since 2004.”
(To Be Continued)

Interview with Greg Berrea (Part Two)

2011-04-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

Greg Berrea

St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Marketing Director

When asked, as Marketing Director, how he overcomes some of the challenges the audience does not see, he simply replied, “WITH PATIENCE”! One challenge is, as Greg says, “trying to put forth the best professional performances possible with our limited budget. This often requires a lot of volunteer time from our 300 dedicated volunteers who work on their own schedules”. As many of you may know, I am very interested in festivals and events volunteer programs and efforts. For many of Ontario’s great festivals and events it is critical to have these volunteers! Greg tells me … “We have approximately 300 dedicated volunteers who help by doing a number of things, everything from sewing costumes to painting sets to working Front of House. We hope we are keeping them happy! We offer two volunteer appreciation nights throughout the summer where our volunteers are treated to a social hour with refreshments, a few kind words from our Chairperson, and two free tickets to a performance”. I myself am still volunteering at Lang Pioneer Village in Keene this year and in part, the appreciation they give me does encourage me to continue. A “thank you” goes a long way in my books! Speaking of books, the attendance at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival was up over 8% for 2010, and I wondered to what Greg thought they might attribute this to? Simply Greg says … “Word of mouth! We do produce high quality outdoor professional theatre in the most beautiful of locations. We treat patrons to an enjoyable evening at a reasonable cost. When people visit us, they leave telling their friends how they NEED to see a show!" My final question for Greg for this edition of THE INSIDE SCOOP was asking if they encouraged the youth of today to attend performances. Indeed Greg was quick to respond by saying … “YES!! Children 12 & under attend FREE!! We also offer the Young Artist Training Program. More info can be found on our website, www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca.” You really should attend an outdoor performance this season. You can get your own INSIDE SCOOP! a treat not to be missed for sure!

Interview with Greg Berrea (Part One)

2011-03-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

Greg Berrea

St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Marketing Director

Greg Berrea is starting his third season as Marketing Director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. Getting THE INSIDE SCOOP, I wondered how he got involved! Greg tells me that “I was looking for meaningful employment when I answered an ad in my local paper for a bookkeeper/marketing representative position with a local Registered Charity”. It is no wonder that he is a good fit for this job, he has a two year college diploma in Business-Accounting from St. Lawrence College, a degree in Economics from University of Ottawa and three years in sales! Although Greg is “just the marketing guy”, I find him to be interesting to talk with and I’m sure he has some INSIDE SCOOP to share with us all! With the kindness of the folks at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, we have been fortunate to join in on a couple of occasions for their “Gala” evenings held on the first evening of the first performance of the season, opening night as it were! We have seen Greg “tending bar” after some of the performances over the years and I was wondering if he had any opportunities to enjoy watching the performances? He does actually watching the performances 2-3 times each season. This led me to wonder if Greg had a favorite production. Greg replays … “That’s a tough question. My favorite Shakespearean play was As You Like It. The music and feel of the 1960’s along with the language of Shakespeare and the outdoor venue blew me away; it was also my first show. My other favorite was a St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival commissioned play called Trouble on Dibble Street, it was just too funny”. Both Gary and I enjoyed this play immensely! It was too funny and the actors/actresses were top notch! Getting Greg to share who his favorite performer was difficult to obtain as he is a true “politician” with his answer … stating “Any past and present member of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival ensemble!" (To be continued)

Interview with Sam McLean (Part Four)

2011-03-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Sam & Janet McLean

McLean Berry Farm and Buckhorn Maple Syrup Festival

Farm Owners/Entrepreneurs

In The Thick Of It! The shack, where Sam can be found, smells fabulous, but the pans are very hot, so take care! Don’t miss out on the Syrup and Sugar Demonstrations and Maple baking. Toffee on Snow is a great favourite for both young and old. "If fresh snow is available" says Sam, "we can make this treat." According to Sam, there is so much to see and do for the Kids, including a Giant Straw pile, Snow Canon (if snow), 'Kids Corral', tree tapping, kids activities at the fire. Sam is quick to point out, "It's a family affair at McLean's Sugar Bush - so bring everyone (except fido … sorry … please and thank you!)." "McLean's Sugar Bush is an essential part of our working farm. We tap about 1300 trees and collect all of our sap by hand, about 15,000 gallons by the time the season is finished. It is said you can't make syrup without mud and when you drive over the ground with machinery as the frost is coming out - it does get muddy. My suggestion is to bring along a pair of boots." And from my personal past experience, bring along a dry warm pair of socks too! "McLean's Farm Market will be open serving hot drinks Maple Syrup, Maple Baking, Maple Sugar, Maple Butter, Fudge, Maple Popcorn, Hot Chili and fresh bread, Hot Apple Cider. The wood stove is on. You'll be able to dine in the open air or eat your pancakes in the comfort of our Market while tapping your foot to live music." I then asked Sam was what he enjoyed about the festival. He told me that "he enjoys meeting and talking with people, listening to the great live music and entertainment, the horses, and the smells!" However, what Sam enjoys most, are the children! The McLean’s focus their event on the children and try to ensure that they have a wonderful time at the sugar bush! Sam says, as THE INSIDE SCOOP has found out, "that the best part is when the kids leave crying because they have had such an amazing time that they don’t want to leave!" Perhaps not so much fun for the parents and adults, but, as Sam says, "he knows that it worked, that all of his efforts were worth it!"

Interview with Sam McLean (Part Three)

2011-03-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Sam & Janet McLean

McLean Berry Farm and Buckhorn Maplefest

Farm Owners/Entrepreneurs

A Great Year To Attend... This year's event might just be the best year to attend! The McLean's have new and exciting plans for you to enjoy! You can look forward to seeing a pioneer display, which includes boiled down sap in a cast iron kettle and a Wool Spinning Demonstration, on Saturday March 19th. Sunday March 20th kicks off with Grammy award winning duo, Toasted Western Swingband! Two members of the Toasted Western Swing Band, from the Niagara region, will be making their way to the great white north to dazzle you with their second performance at the Buckhorn Maplefest! This Grammy award winning duo is sure to be a huge hit for their first Sunday and the music promises to be superb! This year the Newfoundland Dog Cart Races will delight you on March 27th. The Paddling Puppeteers (Glen Caradus), will be performing with music and puppet shows. You'll be able to enjoy all the fresh air and take part in the Sugar Bush Walking tour. The tour is a well laid out walking trail through the Sugar Bush, with informative sign posts to learn all about Maple Syrup Making - from start to finish and beyond! As Sam points out, "all of our maple sap is collected by hand. No modern pipelines are found on our farm." During all the dates of the Buckhorn Maplefest Sam suggests that "you jump on the horse drawn hay rides enjoy a ride on the wagon from the central parking/market area to the sugar bush, evaporator house and beginning of the walking trail. This is a great favourite with the kids." On the menu this year are waffles with fruit and McLean’s famous Maple Syrup. You can also enjoy a pancake breakfast hosted by the Lakefield Lions Club, with flap jacks standing the true test of our syrup is in the taste. The Lakefield Lions Club does a superb job of serving heaping plates of hot pancakes and Maple Syrup all day long. This is a Lions Club fund raiser and is not include in the admission charge. As always, Sam McLean is the chief “fire stoker” and “maple syrup interpreter”! He is extremely interesting to listen to! (To be continued)

Interview with Sam McLean (Part Two)

2011-03-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

Sam & Janet McLean

McLean Berry Farm and Buckhorn Maplefest

Farm Owners/Entrepreneurs

The Sap Runs...
He says "yes, the traditional way seems to still be going strong for smaller sugar bushes, some even smaller than his. The modern way takes longer in preparation for the season. The modern way of running lines from tree to tree, can take 2 to 3 weeks to set the pipelines up, but these bushes produce hundreds of thousands of loads of sap that are piped directly through the lines into tanks that are shipped on trucks directly to the factories for production. These much larger scale bushes are also much more financially economical." Sam and his team do not take that long to set up for the tapping and hanging the buckets. The labour comes when the collecting starts. Their season usually starts early March and runs through to mid April. The McLean Sugar Bush usually has three people running the buckets during the day while one person boils the sap. They work from 3 to 5 hours each day collection the sap. For every hour, they collect approximately 100 galloons, and sometimes collect 600-800 galloons during a 6-8 hour day. Sam tells THE INSIDE SCOOP that the costs of the maple syrup (and the amazing other maple products including maple butter), vary depending on various factors. They do have their fixed costs, of course (equipment, buildings, etc.), but other costs do fluctuate, such as the fuel to run the tractors. The McLean Sugar Bush uses wood to produce the heat, and that takes time to cut and then there is the actual cost of the wood. The wood is prepared a year in advance in order for it to dry properly. Then there are other costs, such as packaging, retail costs and the wages of employees. Speaking of employees, I was surprised by Sam’s answer when I asked him if his festival was “fueled” by volunteers. His reply was that they had tried running the festival with volunteers in the past “but it did not work out”. The McLean’s family hires about 20 people just for the festival. It is imperative that they have full staff to run this event. The Lion’s Club, who operate the pancake breakfast, has its own volunteers and their profits go directly into their funds used for the community and their projects. You can find Sam around the farm during the festival, mostly stoking the fire at the evaporator station.
(To be continued)

Interview with Sam McLean (Part One)

2011-03-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sam & Janet McLean
McLean Berry Farm and Buckhorn Maplefest
Farm Owners/Entrepreneurs

It's Maple Sugar Time at the McLean Berry Farm!
This week's interview is with Mr. Sam McLean, owner/operator of the McLean Berry Farm. It is a family affair with Sam leading the way! The interview is timely because the Buckhorn Maplefest, held at the McLean Berry Farm, is just a few weeks away! This festival of maple syrup, pancakes, hayrides and demonstrations takes place over three fun-filled weekends! You can find out more about this event at http://www.mcleanberryfarm.com/maple.html.

Sam McLean is a leader and expert, especially when it comes to one of my favorite times of year, Maple Sugar Time! Sam has owned the McLean Sugar Bush, in the Buckhorn area just north of Peterborough, since approximately January 1991. They were fortunate to continue with the existing set-up and began tapping right away. This is their 21st year and they will be celebrating the anniversary during the Buckhorn Maplefest. I am anxious to share with you a look behind the scenes with Sam, but first, I want to tell you a bit about Sam. Sam tells me that farming is a way of life, so I wondered what he did prior to owning the McLean Berry Farm. It wasn’t too much of a surprise when Sam told me he had been a cabinet maker for about 15 years prior to this adventure. He is still in familiar territory with all the surrounding Maple trees! Ironically, Sam’s favorite wood to work with for cabinet making is butternut. Getting back to THE INSIDE SCOOP, I wanted to know the correct name for this "quest for maple sugar". Sam tells me the simple version is the maple sugar "harvest". I had heard rumors that this year’s harvest was going to be good, so I asked Sam what he thought. He replies that he just doesn’t know yet, that it is too soon to tell. Part of what determines if it will be a good year collecting syrup depends on what happened last year. If it was a hot, warm summer you get good sap, the sugar stores well in the roots. Once the weather turns mild and gets above freezing it can start to run. Sam tells me that the ideal situation is below 6 degrees Celsius in the night and above 6 degrees during the days. Apparently, the diverse and changing temperatures, creates stress in the tree and forces the sap out. This is where Sam becomes the expert in this industry! He states that he knows his trees, saying that over the years you get to know them. You learn how it varies. They vary in sweetness depending of their size. Last year the McLean Sugar Bush yielded approximately 10,000 gallons of sap, 1,000 liters. The method of tree tapping used is the traditional tree tapping. I asked Sam if this process was a dying art.
(To be continued)

Interview with Spider Jones Continued - "A Man and His Music"

2011-02-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

Spider Jones
Motivational Speaker/Radio & Television Personality

Part of THE INSIDE SCOOP not only allows us to do just that, get THE INSIDE SCOOP, by gaining valuable insight into the organizers, volunteers and leaders of Ontario’s wonderful festivals and events, I would like to think that if we can understand how a positive person processes the ongoing challenges of today, and if we can get THE INSIDE SCOOP with people, we might gain some insight as to how and why they are so successful in their Causes (an event, fundraising efforts, awareness in the communities, obtain volunteers, etc.). I recently had this opportunity while speaking with non other than Mr. Spider Jones, A Man and His Music!
I discovered that Spider is not only an accomplished motivational speaker, fundraiser, and a “man on a mission with this charity Believe to Achieve http://www.believetoachieve.ca/ , but he is also an accomplished musician! Spider Jones has his own band “The Fabulous Web”, who performs the great sounds of Motown, Soul, R&B, and Rock. Spider tells me that Believe to Achieve and helping the high risk youth of today is his mission but his passion is music! Spider’s connection to music and his mission to help “high risk youth” of today, compliment each other. I asked Spider what he thought about the music of today. He states that “it is a sensitive topic”, but he shared with me that he does appreciate the music of Alicia Keys and Usher. Sadly, he states “that the superstars of today seem to be composed of a lot of hype and commercialism. There seems to be a lot of effort put into convincing the public that the music of today is acceptable”. He states “it seems to be the me generation”. “The words used in the music of today seem to denigrate women, glorify violence, bling bling, etc. and actually there doesn’t seem to be many positive messages." “It’s (the words) being justified as creative art” when Spider tells me “that it is foul language which is pathetic, insulting and offensive”! “Today it is easy to get caught up with peer pressure and be associated with the wrong crowds”. “It’s like quicksand … it will suck you in like a powerful vacuum”.

Again, it goes directly back to Spider’s quest to intervene and help the “high risk youth” of today to help them formulate positive goals and pursue their dreams. (See Part II interview with Spider Jones in THE INSIDE SCOOP). My final parting words with Spider were (of course) POSITIVE! He states “as long as I’m breathing I’m going to keep believing and as long as I’m living I’m going to keep giving”!

Interview with Spider Jones Continued - "A Man With A Mission"

2011-02-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

Spider Jones

Motivational Speaker/Radio & Television Personality

THE INSIDE SCOOP allows us to not only do just that, get THE INSIDE SCOOP but, it sometimes allows us to gain further insight into the what, why, and how’s of these interesting people and what makes then successful. I recently had this opportunity, while speaking with none other than Mr. Spider Jones, a man with a mission!
I asked Spider just where he got such a nick-name. He chuckled and said, “Well, my momma didn’t give it to me”. Spider participated in the 1960’s during a Pro-Am Card fight (boxing match) and won the covenanted Golden Glove. It was at Sully’s Gym, where Sully Sullivan gave Spider his nick-name, stating that "Spider fought like he had 6 pairs of hands, just like a spider"! He also won the Golden Glove Champion 3 times and in 1996 was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame. If you read Mr. Jones biography (http://www.spiderjones.com/) you will see his amazing list of achievements and accomplishments. THE INSIDE SCOOP found out that Spider’s greatest accomplishment (as he shared with me) was “going back to school at age 30 with only a grade 5 educations, and graduation from Seneca College”. At this time, he told me “I won the most prestigious award called the Pre-Mayor Award for his contributions to the community”! With this being said, Spider tells me that he feels “education is a great liberator; therefore, we need mentors to help our youth of today”! He believes that the popular figures in our communities need to stand up and take a stand! Although the efforts of mentoring are appreciated, the truth is that money and financial contributions are just as an important part of the equation. Mr. Jones main charity focus is the organization called Believe to Achieve (http://www.believetoachieve.ca/ ) . Spider says it is critical to reach out to the youth of today, particularly children in school grade 5-8. He says “it is important to help these young children purse their dreams. to help feed their creative spirit”! I wondered how Spider and his organization helped these children and he tells me that Believe to Achieve offers workshops to provide different tools and techniques as aids to assist with their ambitions.

What about Spider himself? As a motivational speaker, I wondered how he keeps himself focused, anchored and positive. He simply says “he associated himself with positive people”. Spider says that "in order to be positive and think positively, you need constant repetition, push out the negatives with positives and eventually being positive will be instinctive”. Spider says “its part of my nature to be positive and continue to learn.” “You can be negative or you can take the good things and be happy and feel blessed with what you have”! Again, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with THE INSIDE SCOOP. I would like to think that if we can understand how a positive person processes the ongoing challenges of today, and if we can get THE INSIDE SCOOP with people, we might gain some insight as to how and why they are so successful in their Causes (an event, fundraising efforts, awareness in the communities, obtain volunteers, etc.).
(To be continued)

Interview with Spider Jones (Part Three)

2011-02-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

Spider Jones
Masterof Ceremonies/Motivational Speaker/Radio & TV Personality
Love Train Revue Show

Being “THE INSIDE SCOOP”, I get to do just that, find out “the scoop”! Part of The Love Train Revue Show completes the circle of love by supporting 3 local charities spreading the love into our community: Safehaven http://www.safehaven.to/ ; Believe to Achieve http://www.believetoachieve.ca/ ; and N.O.A.H. Canada – Nurturing Orphans of Aids for Humanity (Canada) http://www.noahorphans.ca/ . Spider himself is most dedicated to the charity Believe to Achieve. As a motivational speaker, Spider completely believes in “Positive Thinking”. He believes in helping others, especially the youth, develop their self esteem, self worth. The tools he has to offer only work with what spider says is “PRACTISE” He helps kids how to think positively, push out the negative with positives and eventually being positive will become instinctive. Spider believes in helping people realize the need to pursue their dreams and feed their creative spirit. You need to set goals and make achievements. Spider will soon be part of opening a drop-in centre in the Jane/Finch area in Toronto. He has the tools to help youth deal with peer pressures through workshops offered. Spider himself broke free from what he said life can be like … “like quicksand, it can suck you in like a powerful vacuum”. Your goal is to set goals, reach for them! Spider is all about associating yourself with positive people. He seems to be convinced (and I agree), that education is a great liberator! We desperately need mentors to help the youth of today realize their dreams. It’s not just about money, (although reality says so), it is also about time, effort and dedication to society.

I will be writing more about my "Interview with Spider Jones" in the weeks to come.

Interview with Spider Jones (Part Two)

2011-02-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

Spider Jones
Master of Ceremonies/Motivational Speaker/Radio & TV Personality
Love Train Revue Show

Spider met George St. Kitts at CFRB Radio and has been a fan of George’s for years. As well. Spider tells me that George is most likely one of the greatest performers around and is an amazing producer as well. They hooked up and wondered about hosting a tribute to Black History Month through music. He tells me that they thought that this production would be a great way to show the “pride in what we gave to pop music”. It’s about recognizing the contributions over the years and to help raise awareness regarding artistic contributions made by members of the Black Diaspora. Spider himself is an accomplished singer (although as a professional world renowned motivational speaker, Spider tells me most people are not aware of his vocal talents). Spider has his own 10 piece band called Spider Jones and the Fabulous Web. Spider tells me that “music is his passion”! He states “music is like opium to him, he gets high on music”. He comes by singing naturally and attributes his focus and part of his success to his strong family unit. Specifically, Spider gives praise to his “closest friend”, his wife, partner of 37 years. He says “she keeps me anchored, she is a great advisor and very logical”. You might be wondering why I asked Spider all of these personal questions. He has led an incredible life and journey. He is a most interesting individual and I wanted to share with you some of his story to help you become aware of the wonders of such accomplishments.
(To be continued)

Interview with Spider Jones (Part One)

2011-02-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

Spider Jones
Master of Ceremonies/Motivational Speaker/Radio & TV Personality
Love Train Revue Show

“York Region’s George St. Kitts stars in The Love Train Revue Show celebrating Black History Month in York Region Friday, February 11, 2011 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Show sold out last year celebrating Black History Month with an incredible performance of music and song!”

Being on the “INSIDE” … I just had the most amazing opportunity to speak with Spider Jones, the Master of Ceremonies for this wonderful night!

I asked Spider why people should attend this evening and what made it different than any other performance?

Spider Jones says that this show is “like climbing aboard a time capsule”. Mr Jones says that it’s like “going back to the first rate performances back in the day”! Spider tells me that George St. Kitts is a multitalented producer, dedicated and focused and Sher St. Kitts is “on fire”. Spider shares all this with me and we can expect an amazing night because of these extremely talented people! With all of Spiders own accomplishments, he told me that he is a “Supper Charged MC who is very flamboyant and you won’t be disappointed”, but, Spider says that he is “just the MC” and “George is the show” and “the band is down”!!! They have 4 great female and 5 great male “backup singers” that “All Can Sing!” Spider states … “I haven’t been to anything this good since being at Fox Theatre in Detroit where the Greats performed” (Smoky Robinson, the Temptations, B.B.King, and many more). To quote Spider … “this will be a once in a lifetime event”!
(To be Continued)

Interview with George St.Kitts (Part Three)

2011-02-04T05:47:00.000-08:00

George St. Kitts

Performer/Producer

Love Train Revue Show

George is known as “the consummate performer”… a multitalented performer, producer and professional! This versatile vocalist/producer delights audiences nationwide. Born in Guyana, South America, George St. Kitts has been singing since he was three. Possessing a rare talent for singing in several languages, George easily connects with his guests. St. Kitts music’s diversity brings the stage alive! George’s vocal performances have led him to a dazzling lifetime entertainment career as singer, show and festival producer throughout the Toronto, Canada, the States and the U.K. Founder of St. Kitts Music Inc., writer-producer George was twice nominated for a Canadian Juno award in the Best R&B/Soul category in 1993 for 'All I Need' from his “SLAM” album and for his 1996 title "Never Stop" album. In 2008, George released his first live big band jazz album entitled “A Lot of Livin’ To Do”, proving his talent and showmanship are nothing less than world-class. This album receives worldwide play.

George is a professional entertainer, giving stellar performances for the long-running Broadway musical “The Lion King”. George sang in “The Lion King” production in Toronto for 3 ½ years in the ensemble, as well as the understudy for the character “Banzai”. George chuckled when he told me about this role as the character Banzai. He also played Sammy Davis Jr. in “The Rat Pack”. George also founded the Motown Boys, The Love Train Revue Show celebrating Black History Month, the Sounds of Motown and the Aurora jazz+ Festival, all under the umbrella of St. Kitts Music. The Aurora jazz+ Festival, which we visited and wrote about last year, has a larger scope than The Love Train Revue Show. As I mentioned before, George supports his community, local charities and artists and, George tells me that for the Aurora jazz+ Festival (http://www.aurorajazzfest.com/), they have indeed taken on another charity called CCAA (Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness). George appreciates their efforts and what this organization offers, including counselling for men. He seems to be very aware of humanity and puts his efforts to contributing to his own community.

St. Kitts produces entertainment for large-scale events like the ROM opening, private parties, black tie charity/fundraisers, festivals/concerts, casino shows and corporate gigs that wow guests year in and year out. His sensational Sounds of Motown Show energizes any event, inviting guests to participate and simply enjoy dancing and singing to the music!
George states, “We honour our multicultural diversity offering songs in Hebrew; Italian & many South African folk songs.” You can contact George St. Kitts at http://www.stkittsmusic.ca/. George puts great effort into the production of his shows and told me that he actually gets to somewhat enjoy the evenings himself, after all the work is done, he just “lets the music speak for itself”! George is a busy man but assures me that he “sometimes” takes time to “relax” with his partner in life, Sher St. Kitts. I can hardly wait to interview Sher St. Kitts for “THE INSIDE SCOOP"!. I’m starting to wonder just how she is … (as quoted by Spider Jones) “on fire, a woman with a passion on a mission"…stay tuned for future additions of THE INSIDE SCOOP!

Interview with George St.Kitts (Part Two)

2011-02-03T05:38:00.000-08:00

George St. Kitts

Performer/Producer

Love Train Revue Show

The Love Train Revue Show completes the circle of love by supporting 3 local charities spreading the love into our community: Safehaven http://www.safehaven.to/ ; Believe to Achieve http://www.believetoachieve.ca/ ; and N.O.A.H. Canada – Nurturing Orphans of Aids for Humanity (Canada) http://www.noahorphans.ca/ . I asked George how he went about choosing these particular charities. He was kind enough to share with us what was dear to his heart. It is the Safehaven charity. He himself has a child that was born premature and has Cerebral Palsy. George knows first hand about the responsibilities, care and nurturing required for support for these children and their families. "Safehaven offers such support right here in our community", he says. As stated on the Safehaven website … “During Safehaven's 18 years of operation, we have become a leader in providing residential and respite care for children and youth with multiple disabilities and complex medical needs. This leadership continues to be demonstrated through the quality of our care, innovative programs and advocacy initiatives. Through these endeavours, we strive to ensure that every child in Toronto and Central East Region gets the care and opportunities they need.” You can see how important supporting this charity is! Spider Jones is a dear friend of George’s and one of Spider’s passions and missions is reflected in the charity organization “Believe to Achieve”. Another dear friend’s N.O.A.H. charity is another worthwhile cause that George supports. George tells me that he incorporates these fundraising efforts in part of every production he does. Although, it just fits in, it doesn’t seem to be the focus for the audience. He wants people to enjoy the music, song and dance! There will be different booths set up in the lobby at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts where for example Safehaven have sold teddy bears. All the "bear" monies go straight to the charity. Arrive early to meet representatives of 3 charities, Artist Robert Small founder of The Legacy Festival, Kathy Grant of The Legacy Voices Project, representatives of Ontario Black History Society, Camille Logan of The Alliance of Educators of Black Students - York Region and Carl Finkle, President of King Township Historical Society, YRP Diversity Officers and more... Many surprise artists will also be "on board" the 2011 Love Train!
(To be continued)

Interview with George St.Kitts (Part One)

2011-02-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

George St. Kitts

Performer/Producer

Love Train Revue Show

York Region’s George St. Kitts stars in The Love Train Revue Show celebrating Black History Month in York Region on Friday, February 11, 2011 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. The show, which sold out last year, celebrates Black History Month with an incredible performance of music and song! As time is of the essence, I’ll get right into “THE INSIDE SCOOP” and share with you some of the reasons you “DON’T WANT TO MISS THE TRAIN”!

This Love Train Revue Show has been produced and choreographed by none other than Mr. George St. Kitts. After speaking with Spider Jones (the MC for the evening), I understood that all the “back-up” singers could “sing”! Upon speaking with George, he was quick to correct me saying that there really weren’t any “back-up singers”! According to George they are all "lead singers" in their own right and that the production of the music is such that they take turns shinning in the spotlight! George’s job, as the producer, is to put the pieces of all the amazing talent together. The biggest surprise George says is that this show is mainly “Local talent”. “These amazing performers are from right here in our own backyard”. I asked George if, with all the artistic combination of folks, do “egos” ever get in the way and how would/does he manage such “egos”. George chuckled, saying … “This is the Love Train, if you’re not on the train, you’re not on the train; it’s not the 'ego' train”. George says that everyone performing is there for a reason and they know their roles and responsibilities. This evening of The Love Train Revue Show not only is a celebration of Black History Month, through music, but a chance for George and others to reflect and appreciate all the great people that paved the way throughout the years in this culture. George takes time to reflect and learn different things about the culture. George wants all the cultures in our community and beyond to enjoy, learn and share the experiences of the music from the Black Culture. It’s not just for Black or African Canadians. “Any chance to enjoy music and learn at the same time”, according to George, “is a good thing”! St. Kitts says “we’re all different, but all the same, and we all have to come together and get along in life”. Mr. St. Kitts promises to deliver a fun filled evening of music and hopes that we all get up and dance. The “music speaks for itself”!
(To be continued)

Interview with David Brunelle (Part Two)

2011-02-01T05:06:00.000-08:00

David Brunelle

Project Director

Southern Georgian Bay War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee

Without hesitation Dave replied “Sergeant James Keating” otherwise known as “One Gun Keating”. James Keating was a sergeant in the Royal Artillery. He was skilful in the handling of a British field gun forcing the Americans to surrender Fort Shelby on the upper Mississippi in July, 1814. He later became Fort Adjutant at the military base in Penetanguishene. He was a prominent figure in the community and, as a promoter of public education, he has the James Keating Public Elementary School in Penetanguishene named after him. I wondered at this point if Dave Brunelle had a nickname. As a matter of fact he does, “1812”. Anyone who knows Dave in his local community knows him just as “1812”. Dave’s football jersey number is “1812”. When signing raffle tickets at his local curling league, instead of signing his name, he just signs “1812”. Perhaps being known as “1812” is less confusing for folks in the community as there is another Dave Brunelle in town. Our Dave told me that he is known at History Dave and the other Dave Brunelle is known as Basketball Dave (as he is coach for the local team). History Dave gets cheques in the mail frequently for basketball tournaments among other mail and phone calls for Basketball Dave. One time there was a full page article in the newspaper about a basketball summer camp in town with History Dave’s photo. History Dave is tall and athletic but not the correct Dave. To this day the two Dave’s have not met. The story is funny, but what is truly apparent is how serious Dave Brunelle, “1812”, “History Dave” takes his “hobby”. I hope you get to meet up with him in the field some day! He is a very, very interesting “Character”!

Interview with David Brunelle (Part One)

2011-01-25T09:42:00.000-08:00

David Brunelle
Project Director
Southern Georgian Bay War of 1812 Bicentenntial Committee

With the War of 1812 Bicentennial celebrations fast approaching and many special activities happening along the way, I wanted to continue my research on the War of 1812 and find out as much as I could about it. It’s not often you get to speak with “1812” personally! That’s just what I did a few weeks ago, when I was treated to a conversation with Mr. David Brunelle, currently the Project Director of the Southern Georgian Bay War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee. Dave is well versed in the War of 1812 as he has been involved in re-enacting for about 20 years now. He tells me it that it was his love of history and the military that initially intrigued him into this life of re-enacting. It has kept him going all these years. Dave was introduced into the “hobby” while he working as an interpreter at Discovery Harbour. Mr. Brunelle is currently with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Bulger’s Company. It is now a Not-For-Profit/Charity group promoting living history. As I spoke to Dave, I began to realize just how much knowledge and information he had to share with me. For those of you who have been on the field in battle or at an encampment with Dave, or visited a re-enactment and have seen him in full uniform, you will see just how serious and professional he is while “in character”. I started my interview with him asking the question “how true to authenticity are you while participating in re-enactments?” Dave said, “as true as possible for all aspects, from all the equipment to the training, drilling and knowledge. Some encampments are out-of-public-sight, so the “authenticity” issue can have some leeway, as is doesn’t play such a role in the effects of the visual observation by the public audiences”. (My “Ten Foot Rule” applies here, I guess!) In seeing Dave at several re-enactments I noticed that he usually wears a particular uniform. It led me to ask him what his favourite “character” was while portraying in living history re-enactments.
(To be continued)

INTERVIEW WITH MELANIE FERNANDEZ (Part Three)

2011-01-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

Melanie Fernandez

Director of Community and Educational Programmes

Toronto Harbourfront Centre

She claims … “great staff” and “great volunteers”. I also asked her how they keep the festival “fresh” … after all, the event is now 15 years old. Melanie tells me … “fresh people. We have an excellent team that keep striving for new ideas, new art and new festivals.” She says she and her staff like to “keep in touch with what’s going on in the city and beyond”. I laughed a little and asked Melanie … “aren’t you the people” (being the Harbourfront Centre is a major contributor and continues with its efforts to awareness and culture). Perhaps they are, but that doesn’t stop Melanie and her amazing team of their never ending search for new and innovative ideas and activities to offer to the public. Melanie acknowledges that Toronto offers a large variety of activities and entertainment at different locations, but points out that the Harbourfront Centre brings them all at one location. The KUUMBA festival is just one example of them putting everything together in an interesting way. It makes for a “diverse” experience for a great number of people. Speaking of many people, I know Harbourfront Centre is large, so I asked how many people were they expecting over the February celebration. Melanie told me that they expect approximately 10-12,000 people. Don’t worry, Melanie tells me that they have enough facilities (restrooms, parking, accessibility and food) for everyone. They will have great signs and volunteers roaming around (with badges on) for anyone needing assistance. There is just too much to tell you all they are planning, so again, Melanie suggests you check out their website. This way you can plan your day depending on you and your family’s likes and interests. The diversity of KUUMBA activities and events is amazing! You can listen to a reading by Shane DeRolf (poet) who will read “The Crayon Box". Children then get to create their own portrait after hearing the poem. In the workshop area, children can create their own Carnival head pieces. This is then followed by “the most vibrant, colourful and festive carnival parade in town”! I’m excited to see the Jaivah Nourel Expose Dance Troupe dance to traditional and contemporary music. They specialize in dance from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo, Southern Africa and Egypt. Then you might want to visit the Black in History Visual Arts Exhibitions! One music performance that I’m also looking forward to is, Amadou Kienou. He will be performing a varied repertoire of music that consists of songs, dance, and musical soundings of the Mandingue rhythms. Amadou was born in Ouagadougou at Burkina Faso to a tribe from the Mandingue Empire. His singing is referred to as Praise Singers (Griots) from father to son. KUUMBA and the Harbourfront Centre offer live performances of music, dance, visual and literary arts, workshops, film and free crafts and activities for children and families. Don’t forget to bring your ice skates! KUUMBA offers a fantastic ice-skating party called “Soca on Ice – with Dr. Jay De Soca Prince spinning hot Caribbean rhythms that will surely heat things up!” Melanie and her team at Harbourfront Centre have worked hard to schedule the activities so that there is little to no conflicting events. As an example, Melanie suggested that a visitor might want to participate in the family activities offered from 1-5, but also catch a film from 2-3 in between. With their schedule, this can be done! Speaking with Melanie has been a wonderful opportunity! You see ... if you ask the organizers … you too can get the "THE INSIDE SCOOP”!

Interview with Melanie Fernandez... (Part Two)

2011-01-11T14:08:00.001-08:00

Melanie Fernandez

Director of Community and Educational Programmes

Toronto Harbourfront Centre

Harbourfront Centre is renowned for their free ongoing artist and literary programmes. Last year, Harbourfront Centre’s “big idea” was to programme events from a more diverse and global perspective. Melanie, being a cultural director and curator, states that curatorial ideas cross. Basically, what I believe Melanie was explaining, is that just because this festival “KUUMBA” takes place just in February, it is an ongoing venture designed to educate and promote Black History Awareness and Culture… “This is not just a single event, otherwise it would be a token, we have worked really hard over the years (40 approx.) to not just be a token.” I was at the Fortune Cooking Festival this past summer and I remember that the “Marketplace” was very diverse. I asked Melanie if this was part of their year-long efforts. She confirmed that I was correct in my observations and that they try to offer “a rich experience, diversity wise”. If you ever get the chance to visit Harbourfront, a stop at the Marketplace is a must! Getting back to the KUUMBA festival itself, I asked Melanie if she relied on volunteers to help make this festival such a success. I must say that I was surprised by her answer! I had no idea the magnitude of their operation. Harbourfront Centre relies on over 4,000 volunteers over the course of the year, with about 100 to help at KUUMBA. Being a volunteer myself, I am aware of the importance of making sure the volunteers are appreciated and cared for (they seem to keep coming back if you do). Melanie says that they just wrapped up their Christmas party, this being one of the four Volunteer Appreciation celebrations Harbourfront offers its volunteers over the year. They even have a Volunteer Newsletter, copies of which can be found on their website. Here’s more SCOOP. I asked Melanie how on earth she is able to pull off such an amazing event as KUUMBA?
(To be continued)

Interview with Melanie Fernandez... (Part One)

2011-01-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

Melanie Fernandez
Director of Community and Educational Programmes
Toronto Harbourfront Centre

It is with great excitement, that I present my inaugural “THE INSIDE SCOOP” Blog article. I was privileged to spend some time talking with Melanie Fernandez, the Director of Community and Educational Programmes at the Harbourfront Centre in downtown Toronto. The Harbourfront Centre is preparing for the 15th year of their “KUUMBA” a celebration of Black History Month featuring, an all-ages festival celebrating African Diaspora. This will be an exciting, fun-filled event for the entire family. It takes place during the month of February on the weekends of February 5-6 and February 12-13, 2011. I didn't know exactly what African Diaspora meant, so I investigated it on the Harbourfront Centre’s wonderful website (http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/) and learned that “African Diaspora” means the movement of Black Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world. I also found out from Harbourfront website that … “During the first weekend of Kuumba presented by , Black in History, you will witness the historical footprints in time by the Indigenous Black Canadian and American experience. The second weekend, Carnival on Mass, witnesses the celebration and fusion of art, history and the energy of Caribbean culture culminating with playing mass”. All you need to know about this festival you can find on their website and Melanie recommends that you do explore it to find the activities best suited for you and your family.
The being "THE INSIDE SCOOP” though, is really what I am excited to share with. This was a rare opportunity to ask some questions that many of us may wonder about. I wanted to learn a little about Melanie Fernandez as she takes on her mammoth role as a Director of the Coomunity and Educational Programmes at Harbourfront Centre and as the organizer of the KUUMBA festival. This is, as I mentioned, the 15th year of this festival. Melanie has been with the Harbourfront Centre for the past 8 years. The KUUMBA festival is one of longest running festivals at the Harbourfront Centre. Melanie department produces the “FREE” summer programmes for which she is very proud. Melanie is interested and invested in the diverse communities in the city and beyond. To quote Melanie … “I feel privileged to have the opportunity to offer free quality programmes to the public. This is one of Harbourfront Centre's most important mandates”. Melanie believes in promoting the richness of cultural awareness, including a whole range of communities. I asked Melanie, with all this intense focus and awareness during the month of February, was it difficult at other times throughout the year to maintain the excitement, growth and ongoing contributions to the culture. She says … “how we work here is really important!" We discussed why we even need Black History Month and celebrations. She states that it is just a condensed period of time. February is a condensed month but the Harbourfront is committed to promoting Canadian/African and cultural awareness throughout the year.
(To be Continued)