Last year was an eventful one for the local arts council — the renovation of the Miners’ Hall attic and a Canada 150 celebration alongside the attic’s grand opening — and this year the council is celebrating two decades of arts and culture in Rossland. And last year’s programming hasn’t even wrapped yet.
The Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC) still has three events left in its 2017-18 performance series.
The first is a Youth Improv Workshop that will be put on by the Vancouver TheatreSports League on Friday, Feb. 9 at the Miners’ Hall, starting at 1 p.m.
Tickets are $10 at Out of the Cellar or $12 at rosslandartscouncil.com/event/youth-improv-workshop/?event_date=2018-02-09 and include admission to the Vancouver TheatreSports League’s evening show at 7:30 p.m.
That event will also take place at the Miners’ Hall on Friday, Feb. 9.
Tickets for adults are $20 at Out of the Cellar or $22 at rosslandartscouncil.com/event/vancouver-theatresports-league-performance/?event_date=2018-02-09.
The third performance is Remi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble presents: Swingin’ with Oscar, Friday, March 2 at the Miners’ Hall at 8 p.m.
Jazz saxophonist Bolduc and his ensemble will pay tribute to Oscar Peterson, “one of the most important pianists in the entire history of jazz.”
Tickets are $27 and can be purchased at rosslandartscouncil.com/event/remi-bolduc-jazz-ensemble-presents-swingin-with-oscar/?event_date=2018-03-02.
But though the performance season has yet to wrap, the RCAC’s board is already looking ahead to the 2018-19 performance series.
“All the grants are due in the next few months,” says Theshini Naicker, a member of the board. “So we’ve got to get cracking with the programming for the next year.”
The RCAC will be looking for grants to cover touring, operations costs and youth programming.
The organization will also be applying for the Warming Up the Act (WUTA) grant, which it first received last year.
“A grant for local artists to perform prior to the touring group,” explains Naicker.
One of the local artists benefiting from this season’s WUTA grant is Alisha VanWieren from Mythopoeic Productions, who will be opening for the Vancouver TheatreSports League.
The council is also still working on the creation and installation of an original sculpture outside the Miners’ Hall.
That project also requires a grant, but Naicker says the RCAC hopes to have it complete before the end of the year.
This year’s programming will likely include a celebration of the RCAC’s 20th anniversary, but Naicker says that still needs to be planned out.
Looking back at the RCAC’s past 20 years, two of the founding members, Laura Pettit and Renate Fleming, are still on the board, but Naicker says the board could use some more members.
Kate Garlange joined the RCAC board at the organization’s annual general meeting last Thursday, but that still only makes for six board members plus executive administrator Samantha Parrot, who the RCAC recruited last April.
“We’ve been working with such a limited number of people and for the amount of work we do, I mean I think it’s pretty incredible, but we’re all kind of on the edge of burning out, so we desperately need more board members,” says Naicker.
Kimberley Pegg and board member Bob Reardon have been leading the way on a recent membership drive for the RCAC, which Naicker says have increased the council’s membership tremendously — but they are still looking for more people to join and for more people to join the board.
“It goes a long way to supporting our grant applications,” says Naicker.
To learn more or to become a member of the RCAC, visit rosslandartscouncil.com/membership-new.