 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON January 30th, 2013 The Burlington Art Centre (BAC) appears to be going all out to raise funds and promote the work of regional artists.
They are holding three different auctions that involve 105 Canadians artists.
 A Yukon Indian fishing creel done by K. Crowder. One of the auctions is a live event that takes place on February 8th at 8:30 pm. Reception before the bidding begins. A couple of glasses of wine should goose up some of the bids.
The second is a silent auction that runs from the 6th to the 8th of February.
And the third is an on-line auction. This is the first time the Art Centre has auctioned art on-line. We set out below some of the questions – with answers – you might have. It can be kind of fun to look for an item you like and watch the bidding climb.
 Bless your wee cotton socks; a delightful folk art ceramic by S. Merritt. Each auction will offer 35 pieces – tying into the 35th anniversary of the Art Centre.
The on-line auction has already begun and will continue to February 7th. Slip over to the BAC website, register and begin looking at what has been put up for auction.
Doors will close on the silent auction and live previews at 5 pm on February 8. The pre-auction reception open to anyone with a ticket starts at 6 pm and offers a final chance to bid on silent auction items, while mingling and enjoying a drink and hors d’oeuvres before the live auction.
You’ll need a $40 ticket that lets you take part in both the silent and live auctions. That ticket gets you into a reception prior to the live auction on February 8.
The online auction at theBAC.ca/35online is ongoing until February 7 and already has bidding wars. Register now and join in.
Tickets can be purchased online at theBAC.ca/auction, by calling 905-632-7796, ext. 326, or at the Art Centre , 1333 Lakeshore Road in Burlington.
The Art Auction is a fundraiser for the Burlington Art Centre Foundation, in support of BAC programs.
Photographs are courtesy of the Burlington Art Centre and copyright is held by the artist. Seek their permission before using please.
How do I place a bid?
To place a bid, you must first be logged into your account. Once logged in, simply select ‘Start Bidding Now from your Account Profile or go to the Auction Items page. Click on the auction item you are interested in to see the full description and bidding box. Place your bid and optional comment and hit the button ‘Place Bid’.
 The BAC has the best collection of Canadian ceramics in North America.This bowl by Scott Barnim comes out of that tradition. How does the bidding Process work?
By placing a bid, you are committing to this amount and the actual amount displays immediately. The system does not use a maximum bid feature (like eBay), where a bidder enters the maximum amount they wish to spend and the system bids incrementally on their behalf until reaching that maximum. This means you need to monitor your bids. This is easy to do, as you are notified by email each time you are outbid.
What is the Bid Increment?
The Bid Increment signifies that the next bid placed must increase the current bid by a specific amount. For example, if an item is currently at $100 and the Bid Increment is $25, the next bid must be at least $125.
 B Darcy is offering this painting: Harvest time Will I get email confirmation messages during the auction?
Yes! We will send you an email when you have been outbid. Auction emails will come from do-not-reply@dojiggy.com so please add this email address to your “acceptable email list” to help avoid spam filters.
Can I delete a bid?
If you accidentally place a bid, please contact your auction administrator.
How I change my password or other account information?
By logging in to your account, you will be able to:
- Update your profile (including editing your email, address and phone)
- Change your password
- Review your Bid History
- Donate an item for the auction
What technology do I need? What browsers are supported?
Please see our requirements page at: https://www.dojiggy.com/app/services/requirements.cfm
** If you have any questions about specific auction items or the organization holding the auction, please contact the auction administrator directly. **
Pension day – the funds are in the bank if you’re using automatic deposit. If you’re on a fixed income then every dime counts. Walter Byj, our newest correspondent has discovered that the theatre prices are better in Burlington on Seniors’ Tuesday.
 By Walter Byj
BURLINGTON, ON. January 29, 2013 Want to see the latest blockbuster movie at a price that feels decent and leaves you a couple of coins for popcorn? And you don’t know which theatre offers the best deal? I’ve some helpful tips for you.
Believe it or not, Burlington has better theatre prices on Seniors’ Tuesday than Oakville.
Pricing is not uniform in the theatre offerings. If you want to go to your local (Burlington) Cineplex theatre, know that if you are 14 to 64, the price for a ticket at the Silver City in Burlington is $11.50 while the same ticket is $12.25 at the Silver City at Oakville, a difference of $.75 per ticket.
The pricing for children and seniors is lower, at $8.99, for both theatres. Those prices don’t apply to Imax or 3D movies.
 Some of those first dates were a trip to the movies – for seniors there are deals in Burlington on Tuesday’s. Perhaps you want to go on a Tuesday night when prices are discounted. The pricing at the Silver City in Burlington is $6.99 for everyone, while at the Silver City in Oakville the ticket price is $7.25.
If an evening outing is not your style – there are afternoon presentations. Burlington does not do afternoon screenings except in July and August, vacation periods and school breaks
There are two additional theatres nearby that offer seniors’ discounts. The Ancaster Silver City where the admission price is $6.99 or to the former AMC theatres located in Mississauga. They are now known as Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas and the admission price is $7.50.
If you’re taking in a movie at one of the Cineplex locations (we call them Silver City in Burlington and Oakville) and you’re over 14, be sure that you sign up for a Scene card. It is free and offers a number of benefits. You will get 250 points when you initially get your card and will earn 100 points each time you purchase a ticket. Note that if you purchase a ticket for a child, you will get an additional 50 points. However, if you purchase a ticket with an accompanying adult, you will not get points for their ticket. Get a separate card for your wife – that way you both get points. You also earn points on concession purchases along with 10% discounts on movie snacks and 10% discount on Tuesday tickets.
When you reach 1,000 points, you are eligible for a free ticket that can be used anytime. Go to the Scene web site and register for your card.
There is another theatre in the Burlington/Oakville area that offers good prices: the Encore theatre , in Oakville on Speers Road. General admission is $9.00 while children and seniors pay $6.50 on a regular basis. On Tuesdays, everyone pays $6.00.
 Walter Byj has been a Burlington resident since 1975. Raised in Brantford, a job at Dofasco brought him to the city and he has been here ever since. Walter “took the package” after 31 years with a consumer products company where his last position was as Sales Operations and Planning Manager. He serves as a volunteer tutor with the Literacy Council. Married with two children and the one grandchild, Walter and his wife usually cannot be reached on Tuesday – they’re at the movies.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 29, 2013 Did you know that CoBALT Connects is the managing partner of the City of Burlington’s public art program? They are! And they are going to be “on hand this Thursday and Sunday at various Burlington locations with New Brunswick artist Peter Powning as he makes “Cultural Mulch” with the community’s prized possessions, turning those objects’ outlines into the bronze cast that will form the facade of his piece.
Jeremy Freiburger, the media friendly maestro who sent us this information about the Cultural Mulch might be the only person in the room – along with the artist of course, who we are looking forward to meeting.
The city does not appear to have spent as much as a dime promoting this event.
The Spiral Stella sculpture that is going to be placed outside the Performing Arts Centre is going to be around for at least 100 years – if this world lasts that long. Tens of thousands of people will look at it and see what we thought was important to us as a community to tell the story of our past.
 Powning wants to take artifacts the people of Burlington bring in – make a mold and then a casting that will be used in the sculpture. There have to be hundreds of people who have “stuff” in the attics or their basements that artist Peter Powning would like to consider.
 Touchstone was above all a collaborative community enterprise. My idea of asking the community to take part in creating it’s own narrative was the germ of the project. By providing me with objects and artifacts that had a part in defining Canmore for them personally, people gave me the source material for the bronze relief that is at the core of this sculpture. I wanted to encourage community involvement. But if people don’t bring out their artifacts – there won’t be anything to make a casting of and nothing for the public of the future to see.
At some point in the future there will be a tourist standing in front of the sculpture and asking: “Is that all this city has to show us about their past?”
Burlington has this annoying habit of getting the Mayor out there to have his picture taken every time there is a donation or an award being given. Last night he was at a table signing the Freeman Station Joint Venture document – a project he really didn’t get behind. At least we didn’t hear him say very much when the Friends of Freeman Station (FOFS) were struggling to find a home for the structure.
 Peter Powning on site in Canmore, Alberta where he installed touch stone, a sculpture along the same lines as the planned work for Burlington. Powning will be in Burlington so dig through the keep-sakes trunk and bring an object that matters to you. It’s a great way to be a part of the artistic process and to either contribute an object, or simply watch the process in action. Objects will not be damaged in the process, and will be returned after the mold is cast (about five minutes).
Sessions are on:
Thursday, January 31st: Burlington Public Library, Central Branch, 10 am to 3 pm
Thursday, January 31st: Burlington Performing Arts Centre, 7 pm to 9 pm
Sunday, February 3rd: Burlington Art Centre, 2 pm to 4 pm
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON January 31st, 2013 Looking for something a bit different to do with the family or grand-parents on a cold Saturday morning this winter? Bundle up the gang and head over to the TERRA Greenhouse on the north side of Dundas Street between Guelph Line and Brant Street.
Perfectly situated on the dividing line between North and South Burlington, the downtown lake-side crowd will be pleased that they don’t have to venture too far up into the ‘unknown hinterland’ of the escarpment. North Burlington country folk will be pleased that they don’t have to ‘dress up’ to descend into the tony suburbia of Burlington. This well-placed winter market is casual, inviting, and tasteful. Literally.
- Large & lush TERRA Greenhouse welcomes vendors and visitors on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm.
As you stamp off the snow from your boots, your tootsies will soon warm up in this well-heated sun-lit huge glass greenhouse. You’ll be welcomed by tasty samples of a wide range of delectable consumables, like raspberry-saturated truffles or mouth-watering bacon-smoked fresh salmon. Taste testing is encouraged by most vendors, but careful what you nibble. I had one mouthful of the smoked salmon pate and promptly plunked down ten dollars for a critical winter’s supply …
 Smokeville’s husband-and-wife team offer mouth-watering smoked rainbow trout and a variety of delicious smoked salmon products. Exotic highly spiced teas compliment a wide variety of freshly baked ‘local’ pastries. Hardy rustic uncut sour-dough bread loaves beckon, as do delicately decorated orange-chocolate cup-cakes. Fresh meat pies can be had with a quart of well-scrubbed late-harvest turnips or beets. And don’t forget to get your quota of concentrated sour cherry juice: an excellent all-round good health elixir.
 A familiar face from the Burlington Mall summer market, this mother-daughter team offer concentrated sour cherry juice, guaranteed to fix what ails you. Artfully arranged around the greenhouse’s bubbling fountain, strategic floral arrangements by TERRA green the space. Tables are stacked high with local wares by food and craft artisans. There’s really something for every taste. Yes, a tad more expensive then your local super-market, but frankly, it’s such a pleasing mish-mash of enticing stuff, you’ll soon find yourself enthusiastically supporting these local mum-and-pop enterprses.
Tired of standing? Rest your bones in the convenient festive TERRA garden furniture displays. You never know, you just might decide to re-do your summer patio. TERRA attendants are on hand to assist with your purchase if you do. I found their service helpful and informative, not pushy.
 The Little Truffle Maker offers her wares. Taste testing is obligatory! If you’re not interested in the excellent food produce, you can always sniff exotic expensive hand-crafted soaps or hand-made packets of room freshening lavender. Or, try on a well-knitted toque and scarf combo in a wide variety of joyful colours. Grab a budding cactus or ruby red orchid on route.
It’s always great when a new venture hits pay dirt. Timing is everything. Would this IDEA have worked two years ago? Hard to say. But today, the TERRA greenhouse on Dundas Street has a ‘hit’ on its hands. So much so, there’s talk of opening another Winter Market up in Milton.
Nothing succeeds like success. Without a doubt, this is a win-win venture. The TERRA greenhouse could well have remained dormant over the winter months, but this resourceful interpretation of ‘space’ welcomes all who seek an enjoyable and novel Saturday sojourn. Local food vendors now have a warm and inviting place to sell their specialty items without incurring a crushing overhead. Visitors won’t be disappointed. It is a festive and welcoming event.
- Pies ‘n Such offered great gift packages of 5 tasty items for five dollars.
Do head over earlier rather then later. Doors open at 10am on Saturday and close at 3pm. The place was packed last Saturday by 10:30am.
The Winter Market runs until the end of March. Free parking. Free entry.
And don’t forget to try those FREE lip-smacking taste-testing morsels.
Don’t miss the Winter Market on Saturdays @ TERRA Greenhouse in North Burlington.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and a community activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions, which are her own, that she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks. All photographs are by MLH unless otherwise indicated.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 29, 2013 Finally, the document was signed and the Friends of Freeman Station (FOFS) could get on with the task of moving the structure from its storage site the couple of hundred yards from where it sits beside the Fire Station on Plains Road to its restoration home on property they have rented from Ashland Oil.
The City of Burlington and The Friends of Freeman Station have signed a joint venture agreement that outlines the shared responsibility for relocating Freeman Station, the city’s historic train station.
 Much of the railway level thinking that is part of the FOFS task, was done by the John Mellow, shown here talking to the Mayor. On the far right Reg Cooke. In between is Ron Steiginga , ther man at city hall who stick handled all the paper work between the city and a multinational corporation located in Burlington that owns the land. The Mayor signed the agreement on behalf of the city. It has been a grind – but it’s done and now the team moves on to the next step. And it didn’t take this crowd long to get a move on. They signed contracts to move the building onto the new site and they signed a contract with the company that is going to oversee the actual restoration less than two hours after the agreement with the city was signed.
The building will get moved onto its new location and will then have the basement dug and put on its new foundation. The idea is to get the structure moved – it’s been sitting in sort of storage for far too long.
FOFS station expect to have the move done late in April
Freeman Station, built in 1906 by the Grand Trunk Railway, is being moved from the Burlington Fire Department headquarters on Fairview Road to corporately-owned land nearby, thanks to an agreement between the city, the Friends of Freeman Station and manufacturer Ashland Inc.
Signing what is called the Joint Venture Agreement – a JV in city hall lingo – is the start and the document sets out who is to do what, and, when and where the chips fall if and when the wheels fall of the venture.
James Smith, President of Friends of Freeman Station, and Mayor Goldring signed the agreement, which includes moving details and costs for the move, expected to take place in April or May. Further agreements are being negotiated to cover the restoration and operation of the station as an educational facility and community space.
JV’s are relatively new to the city – each organization out there using a city owned building or a structure on city owned land will have a Joint Venture agreement with the city. This practice is one that was introduced by General Manager Scott Stewart. ‘There was a time when the city had all kinds of agreements, some done on not much more than a handshake, with no one at city hall really know what was really going on.” That practice has stopped.
The city recently passed an evaluation framework for all Joint Venture operations – it will be a sort of report card type report – council wants that document ready for sometime late this year.
Getting the Freeman Station stabilized and then moved is what is going to occupy the FOFS crowd for the immediate future; then the fund-raising that is going to be needed to make it all possible.
Oddly enough – the even bigger step is to determine what they want to do with the building once it has been restored. Saving the structure has been the focus – and it has not been an easy task. Much of the credit for giving the FOFS station the time they needed to find a home for the building goes to Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster. It was their effort that convinced city council to give them more time. The city had totally screwed up the Stimulus grant it had gotten from the federal government and it looked as if the building was going to end up as kindling for someone’s fireplace.
The city ran an advertisement trying to get someone to just haul it away – even with that there were no takers. There were some less than generous comments made by a number of councillors during the debates on what to do with the building. Councillor Sharman’s behaviour was not one he will put in his resume.
All that is behind us – isn’t it – or will we see everyone on this Council taking credit for “saving” the Freeman Station?
Despite a council that couldn’t figure out a way to save the building it has now been saved and while the ceremonial signing of the Joint venture was a quiet event – it is a significant one for Burlington. Citizens moved in and took over when their council was unable to do what needed to be done; something that needs to be remembered. Citizens are the last resort.
 From the left John Mellow, James Smith, tucked in behind him is Less Armstrong, then Mayor Goldring, then Brian Aasgaard, Councillor Blair Lancaster, Reg Cooke, Councillor Meed Ward and FOFS member Jacqui Gardner. This picture would never had been taken were it not for the work of Meed Ward and Lancaster. The Mayor was never a strong supporter of the idea – he just went along with the rest of council when he was just a member. Now what – building is saved; it will be restored, expect the guys doing the job to provide the city with an exceptional restoration. The bring passion, energy and enthusiasm to the task.
 Les Armstrong on the left knows better than many people in the city what it was like when the railway line ran along the edge of the Lake west of Spencer Smith Park. Armstrong talks with James Smith, president of the FOFS and a former candidate for the ward 5 seat at the council table. Is he gearing up for another shot at that brass ring?
While it will sit on a site that is far from where the station will eventually rest – the longer term challenge is to get the station into Beachway Park alongside the old railway embankment where it truly belongs.
That will take some effort on the part of FOFS but they have shown this city council, and this city, that they can get things done.
Their fund-raising drive will start soon – be generous, it is your heritage you’re paying for. A city that has struggled with what it wants to keep and doesn’t want to keep in terms of buildings took a big step in the right direction last night.
For Burlington to have a Heritage Advisory Committee that is doing great work and to also have a citizens committee that stepped in when its city council couldn’t put one foot in front of the other without tripping – this is a good day for Burlington. Celebrate!
The Friends of Freeman Station will be at the Burlington Heritage Fair, on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Burlington Central Library, 2331 New Street. Visitors can see pictures of Freeman Station, get updates on the big move, and view train-related artifacts. Supporters can buy a T-shirt or print of the station, became a member and sign up for email updates.
BURLINGTON, ON
January 24th, 2013
Dear Sir:
In the beginning there was a plan for a partnership between the city, senior levels of government and interested citizens of the city to build a Performing Arts Centre and then have it operated by a separate and independent board. As years past the estimated cost of construction grew without any government commitment to maintain or increase their share of the costs. Private groups came forward saying they would hard to make up the difference but there were no tangible dollars put down.
As estimated costs grew without a plan to pay for them I wrote council and the Post about the financial peril of the project. Unfortunately dreams prevailed over facts and the project went ahead.
 Ward 4 resident Jim Barnett says: “The mayor now says this slow start-up is normal. If it is normal, then it would have been anticipated. It is abnormal, thus the city is being asked to bail the project out. It was not that long ago the city was touting the independent board that would make handouts unnecessary.” The business plan as presented never did have a realistic ramp up in revenues in the early years, but with out this incorrect forecast, the project might not have gone ahead. Therefore it was ignored and the praying started. Well the praying did not work and there is a substantial shortfall. Not only in 2013 but likely for some years to come.
The mayor now says this slow start-up is normal. If it is normal, then it would have been anticipated. It is abnormal, thus the city is being asked to bail the project out. It was not that long ago the city was touting the independent board that would make handouts unnecessary.
Having to hire two more people at this time again points out the flaws in the plan to date.
Let us all remember that only a small cross-section of the citizens use the facility.
When all costs are in, the pier will exceed $20 million and you will not be getting anything back in insurance.
I fear that Performing Arts Centre will also become a drain on the city’s resources, making plans for the hospital more difficult, and increasing taxes for the people who do not use the facility.
Unfortunately I do not have a solution. I hope someone can come forward with a way to save the project and prevent another embarrassment for the city.
In the meantime, I hope the city going forward gets out of the business of building structures that they do not know how construct, finance, budget or manage.
Jim Barnett
Letters to the Editor are welcome. Please include a telephone number at which you can be reached. We qualify each submission. Include illustrations if you wish.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON January 24, 2013 While hockey is the sport that drives our passion – winter is what really makes us Canadians. To get outdoors when there is snow and just plain play is a large part of what this country is all about. The Lowville Winter Games take place this Sunday from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. There is plenty to keep you active, interested and busy and outdoors with snow on the ground.
 Getting the hang of how to use a cross-cut saw on a cold winter day – part of the Lowville Winter Games. There is a log sawing contest – if the city’s fireman show up they could take this one.
There will be Horse drawn wagon rides.
 Not sure quite who is having the most fun here – but hot chocolate is going to go down well after this tumble. It looks like there has been enough snow and it certainly has been cold enough for the snow to stay which means tobogganing.
Winter weather and outdoor activity means tummy’s that want filling; frequently.
 Now if this child could be as focused while doing homework – but this is the Lowville Winter Games – that marshmallow comes first. The Lowville Bistro will be operating full tilt; the United Church will be holding a BBQ and the Gorilla Cheese Truck will be on hand as well.
The Body Zorbs Race Track, the Human Gyroscope and craft by Momstown are part of the day’s events
Conservation Halton will be putting on a Birds of Prey Show.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. January 24, 2013 It was early in the term of this city council. She forced a recorded vote on six different items knowing full well when she asked for the vote that she was going to lose every one of them. Her fellow council members rolled their eyes and went through the exercise.
While very little of the brashness has left Meed Ward, she is wiser than she was that first year and has her ear to the ground not only in her ward but across the city.
She has major issues with the close to $1 million the Burlington Performing Arts Centre is asking the city to cough up. Part of the money is to cover the $225,250 short fall from last year’s operations and some additional money to hire additional staff, which Meed Ward feels is using the solutions that haven’t worked in the past to solve problems before the BPAC staff now.
 Meed Ward at her old city hall office – the desk is as cluttered in her new space where she tends to fill up her voice mail box and overspend her postage allowance. She promises to get back to people within 24 hours – and delivers on that promise. Now she wants to deliver on her promise to keep spending in line with what is in the bank. Meed Ward doesn’t think public money should go into making up the losses on commercial acts that didn’t pay for themselves. Those losses should come out of the reserve BPAC has suggests Meed Ward, who believes the city can and should provide funds that will go towards helping community groups use of the space. One of the problems community groups have is the cost of the facility while they are doing their set up; they haven’t had to deal with those costs in the past. Meed Ward thinks the city can provide an amount BPAC would make available to community groups as a sort of set up subsidy.
In our conversation with Meed Ward, whose position on the ask for increased funding is well-known, we asked: What do you do?
“Tough question” she responded. “I am wondering if the people in place now have the expertise to get the programing right – and it is about programming. Do the people running the programming side know Burlington’s culture well enough to be able to discern what the community wants” is one question Meed Ward asks.
“Are the price points for the commercial entertainment what this community can pay? Is the programming mix right? Meed Ward wants to see data on what the attendance has been and where the people attending these events come from. “Are we serving our market or are we drawing people from other communities?”, asked Meed Ward.
Meed Ward admits that the task of running a cultural operation in its second year is a challenge and says the solution can’t be to keep coming to the city for more money: “ If the skills needed to program the place are not at hand, then we need to find those skills elsewhere”.
Meed Ward’s issues however are not just with staff. She feels the Burlington Theatre Board has let everyone in the city down and tells of an experience she had with the hospital board where she serves as the city representative.
“There was a meeting at which the hospital Board was discussing the agreement the hospital had entered into with the city related to the $60 million Burlington is putting up for the hospital re-build.
Meed Ward, who doesn’t know what a “small measure” is, was ready to get right into the discussion. You can’t take part in this one she was advised – you sit on city council and ‘you have a conflict of interest’ she was told.
You can imagine how Meed Ward took to that comment – but the chair discussed it with legal counsel and the decision of the chair was that Meed Ward did have a conflict. “I didn’t agree with the decision but I respected the view of the chair and left the meeting.”
“There were no hard feelings because of the decision. The chair had a view he was able to substantiate and I respected the chair; that’s what governance is all about.”
Meed Ward discussed the situation with Mayor Goldring who agreed that Meed Ward had a conflict. He understood the position the hospital board chair had taken.
 Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven – half of what Councilor Meed Wards describes as the Rick and Rick” team – who she thinks have a conflict of interest over the BPAC budget they approved as members of that board and now want to vote on at city council  Mayor Goldring – the second part of the `Rick and Rick`team that Councillor Meed Ward thinks may have a conflict of interest on the BPAC ask for close to a million dollars this year. Meed Ward now wants “Rick and Rick” which is how she describes the Mayor and Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven, to be just as mindful as she has had to be. “They can’t sit on the BPAC board and agree with the budget they want to put forward and then attend a city council and note vote for that budget at city council. They have a conflict and Meed Ward is waiting to see if they will step outside.
Her view is that the Theatre Board doesn’t operate quite as professionally; that they see themselves as a group of people who go along with each other to get along with each other – and that Meed Ward will quickly tell you is not what Board members are in place to do.
They are there to ask the hard questions on behalf of the community and Meed Ward doesn’t see that happening. The Board is supposed to ask the tough questions and give tough directions.
Meed Ward doesn’t see very much, if any, cooperation between the Burlington Art Centre and the BPAC people. Ian Ross, Executive Director of the Art Centre is, according to Meed Ward “one of those guys that can think out of the box.” There isn’t much in the way of a working relationship between Ross and Brenda Heatherington, Executive Director of BPAC. The two are in the cultural business, selling what they have to the same audience and many feel there should be both a close bond between the two of them.
 Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward thinks the people working to make the Performing Arts centre work need to remember that part of the purpose was to create a space for local cultural groups and not to subsidize commercial acts. Meed Ward, whose ward takes in most of the downtown core believes there should be a group of people responsible for creating that cultural centre that is the BPAC and the BAC and to some degree the RBG and the Museum. “There is a need for all these people to collaborate and create that sense of a district:, said Meed Ward. She doesn’t believe that is happening and wonders if Ross and Heatherington have gotten together for as much as a cup of coffee.
And where is Tourism Burlington in all this? They put out the literature and market the city – do they do this in concert with the major cultural institutions in the city or do they hustle for just RibFest and the Sound of Music /
One wonders if anyone has suggested that the two boards, BPAC and BAC, meet together to share experiences and ideas and look for ways to share resources. Marketing is marketing and getting people to attend a performance or to take in an art show is fundamentally the same, so why aren’t the two looking for synergies and savings? When they fund raise they are both looking for the same deep pockets – could they collaborate and have a donour split a donation between the two organizations?
The BAC wants an additional staff member as well – Meed Ward says they should work with what they have. The city has committed to not adding any staff in the 2013 draft budget. “If the city can hold the line – then the local boards can do it too,” said Meed Ward.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. January 22, 2013 It`s taken awhile but Don Graves is holding his first solo show at the Burlington Art Centre. Titled Canadian Landscapes it will be at the Fireside Lounge Gallery of The Burlington Art Centre and runs from February 1st to Feb 28th with an opening reception on February 3rd in the Fireside from 2-4.00 pm.
 Don Graves, who will hold his first solo event at the Burlington Art Centre in February sells a piece of his work during an Art in Action show last year. The show features work from Ontario, Quebec and the local area painted since the fall of 2012. This is Graves’ 9th year as a full-time painter.
Full time isn’t quite correct; Graves writes book reviews for the Spectator and is a part of the Art in Action collective that puts on the superb house tour every fall.
Graves has been supported by Burlington residents Mr. & Mrs. W. B. Russell of Interprovincial Corrosion Control and Framecraft of St. Catharines.
Like many artists Graves gets out into the field with his sketching kit. In the Spring he intends to take a sketch trip to the Ottawa Valley following the A.Y. Jackson trail from Barry’s Bay to Renfrew. Might be enough from that trip for a second solo show. Expect to see some of the results from that sketch trip in the 2013 Art in Action show.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. January 21, 2012 Well you have to give them some credit for having the temerity to ask the city for close to $1 million to tide them over until we get into an election year when all hell will break loose over just how much the Performing Arts Centre has cost the city so far.
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) is asking the city for the $637,310 operating grant is usually gets.
It then wants the city to cover the $225,250 shortfall from last year.
Then add in $68,100 for a full-time technician and $63,600 for a full-time sales associate.
Those add up to $994,260 which is as close to a cool million as you can get when you have your hand out.
Can we expect these two additional staff members to require funding every year as things go forward?
While the Burlington Theatre Board, that group that oversees the Performing Arts Centre, will offer a justification for the amount they are requesting – one hopes that the council committee that will hear this request requires every blessed member of that board to be present in Council Chambers, the bald fact is that BPAC hasn’t figured out what it has to do to make the venue viable.
Their solution seems to be – just ask for more money. The Mayor who sits on the Board seems prepared to go along with the request.
Just so we are sure who to watch for in the room – the members of the Board, based on the most recent information we have, are: Allan Pearson, Chairman; Rick Burgess, Vice-Chair; Peter Ashmore; Robert Ban; Councillor Rick Craven; Ilene Elkaim; Jeff Fielding, City Manager; Mayor Rick Goldring and Denise Walker
You know for certain that if the Performing Arts Centre had a surplus to show for the 2012 fiscal year they would all be sitting there in their finest preparing to take their bows and accept the kudos of a grateful city.
Do we have artists trying to do accounting? It will be interesting to hear what the Performing Arts people have to say when they explain the need for additional funds. The city’s approach to budget development now is to require a Business Case for every increase in funding. In the document that council members now have BPAC sets out the base budget contribution as
$1,014,100 in 2014;
$1,034,400 in 2015 and
$1,055,100 for 2016
The base contribution just keeps inching higher and higher. The public wasn’t told to expect this when they bought into the project. It’s too late now to go back – the building is up and operational – the question now is – can we afford what we have? Are we doing this the right way? Are the right people in place?
BPAC staff are predicting that attendance from the 2013 – 73,000 will rise to 90,000 in 2013 and 96,000 in 2014.
And that ticket revenue will climb from the 2012 $549,450 to 656,000 in 2013 and $669,100 in 2014
Advertising, sponsorship and fund-raising will go from the 2012 – $250,000 to $260,000 in 2013 and 265,200 in 2014. These numbers appear to have some reasonableness in them.
Rental revenue is predicted to climb from the $280,000 in 2012 to $368,675 in 2013 and then to $376,000 in 2014. Given the difficulty with rentals to date these numbers just might have been written by an accountant whose fingers were crossed.
Everyone wants the Performing Arts Centre to succeed. But wishful thinking serves no one – we need a Centre management that tells city council what they need to hear and not what they think council would like to here.
BPAC has a bit of an operating surplus – require them to use that and if they still don’t have what they need to meet the payroll – welcome to the real world. Reduce costs. The Business case suggested that not implementing the additions might result in mice – call the Humane Society and get a couple of cats.
Sometime in the summer a piece of public art will get placed just outside the building. If what we’re being told is true – it has the potential to be quite something – but is the public going to fully appreciate what Dan Lawrie has chosen to put $37,000 into or will it become part of a joke that is attached to a building we can’t afford.
Burlington needs what the building is all about – but Burlington also needs efficiency and prudence with what public money is spent on. Have we not learned the pier lesson yet?
Last time around, in 2012 when Executive Director Brenda Heatherington was asking for $624,814 she told a council committee that they were able to balance their 2011 $1.65 million budget.
Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor responded – “that’s music to my ears” and went on to add that “If you do that this year, you will have exceeded my expectations.” Expect the sound of clashing symbols and beating drums from Taylor, who has never felt the place would pay for itself, when the request to cover the 2012 shortfall gets discussed at council committee the week of February 4th.
 Councillor Lancaster will bring more than a pretty face to the budget committee meting when BPAC explains why they need the cool million they are asking for. Lancaster didn’t think the city was getting value for the $71,000 the Centre wanted in 2012 to hire a fund-raising person. At the 2012 meeting Councillor Lancaster questioned a sum of $71,000 + for someone to do fund-raising and sponsorships with the hope that $90,000 would be raised. Lancaster said that her experience was the fund-raiser would bring in two to three times more than they cost.
 Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison not only does his homework but he tends to be the most direct when it comes to asking the hard questions. Expect him to bring a bit of a hard edge to the discussion over the close to $1 million BPAC wants for 2013. Councillor Dennison, who is always tough on the spending side, wanted to know how the BPAC people managed not to include the parking levy, the need for a janitor, the need for someone to clean the plate-glass in their staffing model. He also wanted to know why they didn’t see the need for a ‘development associate’ “How did we miss these?, he asked in 2012.
“We had a staffing model set up and that was the staffing model you said you needed and now you’re back looking for additional staff,” he said.
Heatherington explained that “you start a business with the staff you think you need to operate . She added “they anticipated adding a position for 2012”.
BPAC projected sponsorship, advertising and fundraising to bring in $250,000 in 2012 – that didn’t happen.
Councillor Dennison commented on the number of “dark nights” which were explained away as staff using the holiday time last year to recover from a very hectic opening schedule.
The BPAC opening events were great. The McLaughlin Gala cost a fortune but most of the cost was covered by the $400 admission price – to which all the tickets were not sold. Some had to be given away to fill all the seats. The Centre and its staff along with the Board were on a bit of a well-earned high.
That allowed them to get what they asked for in 2012 –it will be a different conversation this year.
 Keith Strong, the guy that muscled the building of the BPAC and ensured that it came in on time and on budget. Could have been chair of the Theatre Board – he’d earned it. He almost single-handedly ensured that Jane McKenna got nominated and then elected at the city’s MPP. Can he work some of that tough guy stuff on BPAC’s financial practices? Building the Performing Arts Centre came to $41 million. A very large part of that cost was raised by the team of people who promoted the idea, raised the funds, oversaw the project and ensured that it came in on time and on budget. Keith Strong headed up that effort.
The city provided $743,500 in funding in 2011, came back in 2012 to ask for $490,314 – which they said then they needed to cover ongoing program changes for $134,500, which includes $71,200 for a development associate position and $63,300 for building maintenance costs and payment of BPAC’s downtown parking levy. The parking levy was a contentious issue between the city and the Burlington Theatre Board who at the time didn’t realize everyone in the downtown core paid a parking levy. In this case it really amount to BPAC asking for money to pay the parking levy and then giving it back to the city to pay the parking levy.
The 2012 BPAC budget was $2,864,000 of which the city was asked to kick in $624,814. That year the city put up 22% of the money needed to run the place.
The 2013 budget is $2,938,165 with the ask amounting to $994,260 – which amounts to 34% . And these guys don’t pay rent for the space they use.
Mayor Rick Goldring defended BPAC during the 2012 budget debates. At the time he said: “This is a first-year operation and we want to make sure we create every opportunity for the board and the staff to succeed and I suggest we get out of the way and let them do their job.”
 Mayor Goldring is a tireless advocate for the city. He is out at every event he gets an invitation to attend talking up the city. That’s part of the job – the harder part is bearing down on small problems before they become big problems – and the BPAC funding request is about to become a big problem. That was in 2012 – in 2013 the Mayor is reported to have said: “The reality is this is a new business and it just completed its first full year of operation and it is going to take maybe three years to find the right balance in the community in terms of what Burlington is looking for as far as entertainment and culture,” said Mayor Rick Goldring, who sits on the theatre board. “Also, it is going to take some time to generate additional rental revenues and reach out to the community and beyond to fill in additional dates.”
Different tone between 2012 and 2013.
Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward didn’t support all of the 2012 budget request. Both she and Councillor Dennison moved that portions of the funding request be struck but both were voted down by a majority of council.
We’ve not had a chance to talk to Councillors Craven and Meed Ward.
Heatherington said BPAC would make an effort to find more sources of funding in future. BPAC got a pass in 2012 – they aren’t going to be as fortunate in 2013.
At some point the Theatre board is going to have to introduce a dose of reality into the way they are funded. That may take ‘three to four years’. Council can introduce that reality this year by doing their homework, reading the reports and pouring over the numbers. Their job is not to micro- manage but someone has to look at the problem – the Theatre Board certainly isn’t.
 Brenda Heatherington brought a sterling resume to her interview. She had the reputation and the experience Burlington felt it needed. Her experience in Alberta has the potential to make BPAC a great place. However, she may need some help with the financial management side. Heatherington came to Burlington with a very impressive resume. The city took to her and loved the way she bought into the dream. No one knows better than Heatherington just how hard it is to get something like a Performing Arts centre off the ground. It takes time – and the city has given her some time – she now wants more.
They have missed their targets on rentals to the community despite calling everyone in business who has a telephone and following up on those that expressed even a hint of being interested. Was the rental projection too optimistic? Or was the person doing the selling not good enough? We don’t know.
Sponsorships ad grants have not materialized. Were the projections unrealistic or did the financial landscape change. We don’t know.
Who buys tickets to events? Does BPAC have that data? If they do – they’re keeping it under their skirts. When you need financial counseling – and a short fall of $225,000 plus means you need financial counseling – then you open the books and get the help you need.
Has the Board issued a statement on the condition of the organization they oversee? We’ve not seen one but then we don’t get press releases from BPAC; haven’t had one since we did a piece they didn’t like back in 2011. Before that piece we had one senior member of BPAC staff saying we were the “best thing that has happened to Burlington in a long time”. We said the Board was irresponsible then – looks as if they are still irresponsible.
Being a member of the Theatre Board is not a social plum; it is the recognition by the community that we believe the men and woman chosen are capable of identifying the problems when there are problems and then taking the necessary steps to resolve the problems. We call that good governance.
On two occasions that I can recall while sitting through council committee meetings I have heard city manager Jeff Fielding apologize twice for mistakes that were made. One of them wasn’t a mistake he made but he apologized nevertheless. Brenda Heatherington might be well served by going to the city website and watching a responsible manager do what has to be done – manage openly.
BPAC has indicated they expect to need more than was planned for the next number of years. This is the time to ask the hard questions.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 17, 2013 The folks at Ireland House and the Joseph Brant Museum have finalized the details for the March Break programs they offer
 Ireland House one of the places every child should spend some time at – that and Mt Nemo and they can be known as real Burlingtonians. This year’s camp theme at Ireland House Museum will be “Pioneer Pastimes” learning all about what life was like during the Pioneer days. They will be doing different themed days such as, “Around the Farm”, “In the Kitchen”, “Spring Cleaning”, “Spring has Sprung”, and “Fun and Games”!
I suspect many parents will look askance at that session on Spring cleaning – getting their kids to just put their stuff away is a chore – but it’s worth the effort – I suppose.
 The Brant Museum has always offered solid programs for parents that want to add to what their children get in their classrooms. At Joseph Brant Museum the theme will be “Kreative Kids” learning all different arts and crafts with technique and creativity as the guide! We will be doing different themed days such as, “Paper”, “Textiles”, “Paint”, “Clay”, and “Mixed Media”!
Somewhere in the hallways or perhaps the stairs of the Museum, the Spirit of Joseph Brant will wonder whatever happened to him: doesn’t anyone care anymore?
The Museum people expect to have their brochure online soon, soon, soon.
The programs are designed for children between 5 and 12 years of age. It will cost you $25/child per day or $100/child for the week. Program runs from 9:30am – 3:30 pm each day.
Contact Ireland House Museum at (905) 332-9888 or Joseph Brant Museum at (905) 634-3556 for more detail if that’s what you need. Both Ireland House and the Brant Museum offer solid programs. The small amount of space allows for more interaction between the kids that large venues. And a day at Ireland House is an experience every child in the city should have.
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON. January 14, 2013 I have been watching and listening with a great deal of interest over the past few days to the ‘Idle No More’ movement that has erupted across Canada. There are many issues on the table, not the least of which is the desire by the people of the First Nations to be treated as Nations by the current Harper regime governing in Canada. In the midst of this activity – that had me thinking a lot about Canadian colonial history – I received a note from OurBurlington’s publisher, to remark on the recently announced winner of the Public Art Commission for the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. His note to me read, “Can you comment on this in your next column? Be fair, but be very direct as well”.
I read the attached press release. Peter Powning, from far-off New Brunswick, has won, with his design, Spiral Stela. Included in the City of Burlington’s press release was an open invitation to the public to add ‘objects of significance’ or “cultural mulch” to his sculpture. “The artist will make a mould of the object, which will then be cast in bronze and added to a large band that encircles the sculpture.” Three times and two locations were provided so the public can participate: Jan 31, 10-3 pm at the Central Library and 7 pm-9 pm at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, and also February 3rd at the Burlington Arts Centre from 2-4 pm. The final session will include an artist lecture and ‘creating session’.
 The proposed sculpture: Spiral Stela, by Peter Powning, from far-off New Brunswick. Well, here’s my opinion about all that. (Remember I’ve just been listening, watching and learning from the Idle No More movement … )
I agree to participate in the ‘cultural mulch’ ceremony that will ‘imprint’ objects of significance – presumably from Burlingtonians – onto this foreign object, for posterity. To that end, I will bring a swatch of plastic grass to commemorate the winter of 2009 when our City Elders sold out a piece of our irrefutably unique natural heritage, now known as City View Park in North Burlington, at Kerns Road and Dundas Street, to the Pan Am Games organization of Toronto.
The DESIGN for this largest parkland area in Burlington, supposedly protected under the Greenbelt Act and the Niagara Escarpment Commission, was transformed in the 11th hour by City staff and members of our previous – and current – City Council into a ‘sports tourism destination’ without any public consultation with immediate residents, or an Environmental Impact Assessment that analyzes how tons of plastic grass will impact this environmentally sensitive era. Thems the facts.
Initially conceived as a “recreational” diverse ‘natural’ parkland area for ALL to enjoy, this park has – and will – become a ‘member’s only’ fenced-in facility geared towards ‘tournament grade’ soccer. In short, WE, the tax-paying public, have lost OUR park, an important local natural heritage ROOT.
There MAY be an opportunity to regain this park after the Pan Am Games in 2015 when the toxic artificial turf carpets must, by law, go to a hazardous waste facility. (Plastic grass expires every 5-8 years. Two of the plastic carpets were laid in 2011. The ‘tournament’ field and flood-lit stadium will be installed in the fall of this year, or spring of 2014. So, somewhere around 2020, that toxic gunk will have to come out.)
 City View Park: Before plastic grass installation, this once-living landscape had to be scraped ‘clean’ and made pan-cake flat. Photo by Margaret Lindsay Holton. At that time, it will be up to the NEW City Council to determine if taxpayers funds will be utilized to re-carpet this smothered ground again with million dollar plastic turf, OR, alternatively, whether they will finally have the good sense to rejuvenate this slowly dying eco-system with real growing grass, and, by so doing, provide an essential ‘natural habitat’ for animals (including humans), birds, insects and earth-churning worms. If so, they will also have the opportunity to remove the restrictive fences. This action alone would once again allow all forms of life to freely traverse across this unique open landscape. Living creatures could once again forage within this distinct portion of our section of the designated UNESCO Biosphere, known as the Niagara Escarpment.
Will they do it? Who knows.
Perhaps, years ahead, when Burlington has become the utopian Jersey Shore of the Golden Horseshoe, with electric light-rail transit zipping through the landscape powered by solar and geo-thermal energy, and the old-time ‘locals’ are long dead and buried, newly arrived residents will wonder aloud about the lunacy of previous City Elders who covered their ever-diminishing living-giving-breathing Earth with Life-defying plastic, especially in a ‘protected’ PARK. They may wonder why these turkeys so deliberately eliminated a vital and tangible connection to our communal Burlington natural heritage, the Niagara Escarpment. That is, of course, if they know how to wonder at all.
It is a very real possibility that this on-going eco-travesty will just be forgotten. Taxpayers will duly pay the exorbitant replacement costs for a PRIVATE ‘members-only’ tournament soccer facility in a PUBLIC park, and the wildlife that does still roam and roost throughout North Burlington’s escarpment terrain will just quietly die off … A dull robotic monoculture of humans will survive on imported genetically modified foods. Tax-enslaved workers will buy FRESH water from off-shore nations who did FIPA-like deals under Harper’s regime. Children will learn programming before they can speak. And ‘play’ itself will become a forgotten IDEA buried under intense competition to host tournament-sport ‘tourism’.
Still, I have hope.
On the first dawn of this New Year I looked out the frosted windows at the farm in North Burlington and watched as twelve robust wild turkeys emerged from a conifer stand and slowly began to forage across the snow-covered yard under the bright winter sun. It was a stately, near sacred, sight to see.
Where had they come from? Where were they going? And why did there seem to be so many?
I had to do some sleuthing.
 Author tracks multiple wild turkey tracks. Photo by Margaret Lindsay Holton. Wild turkey was originally native to Ontario, but they disappeared at the turn of the last century due to rapid colonization, habitat destruction and unregulated hunting by settlers. In brief, we killed off the species.
 But, in the mid 1980’s wild turkeys were re-introduced at 38 different release locations in southern Ontario through a program to “restore our natural heritage, provide fowl for hunting and viewing recreation, and derive economic benefits.” (Ministry of Natural Resources). Begun in 1984, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, launched a reintroduction program that began with just 274 birds.
Stock from the wild turkey populations of New York, Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee were often ‘swapped’ for wildlife species from this province: moose for Michigan, river otters to Missouri and Nebraska, and gray partridge to New York state. Today, wild turkeys have adapted to our agricultural farmlands totaling somewhere between 60 to 80,000 wild birds.
Turkey hunting season officially began in 1987, and was initially restricted to a spring hunt. But in 2009, a fall hunt was introduced. Only bearded toms, (mature male turkeys), are allowed to be harvested. ‘Turkey season’, (April 25th, after the peak breeding season, until the end of May), has now been established in most rural areas in Ontario. This hunt is also open to hunters from outside the province.
Wild turkeys are known as promiscuous breeders. Most individual adult males will mate with multiple females. Hens lay a clutch of 10-12 eggs during a two-week period, usually laying one egg per day. Young males are commonly called ‘jakes’ and young females are ‘jennies’. They consume a wide variety of wild foods, including hard mast (acorns, seeds), soft mast (wild grapes, raspberries), green vegetation, and insects. In areas where natural habitats have been replaced by agriculture, turkeys may also feed on domestic grains, like corn, buckwheat, alfalfa and/or soybean. Young turkeys (poults) feed almost exclusively on insects for the first several weeks of life. Insects provide poults with the high-protein diet that they require for rapid growth. A 2-3 week old turkey can eat several thousand insects a day. As you can see, wild turkeys, like all wild critters, need a diversified living habitat in order to survive.
 Wild birds die after ingesting bright bits of PLASTIC, mistaken as FOOD. Other predators, besides humans, such as coyote and raccoon, are capable of snatching young turkeys, but most are no match for a mature fighting tom. Wild turkeys can run up to 40 km per hour and fly as fast at 90 km per hour. They can cover over 20 miles per day in search of food. A male tom can be up to 4 feet tall (!), and weigh over 30 pounds. Females are, on average, about half that size. Wild turkeys have excellent vision during the day, but can hardly see at night. They roost high off the ground, usually in trees, at dusk. Conifers often provide thermal protection for roosting turkeys so they can conserve energy under extreme cold and windy conditions.
 Wild turkey roosting in trees at night fall. The sale of turkey licenses per annum contributes over $250,000 to wildlife management programs in Ontario. The annual spring and fall hunts generate economic activity for the province worth $2.3 million. (So says the Ministry of Natural Resources).
As of 1999, the use of live decoys, electronic calls and baiting for the purpose of hunting wild turkeys was prohibited. Finally, only a landowner, with a valid firearm license, may shoot wild turkeys that are damaging or about to damage their property.
 Obese domestically raised 20 pound turkey carcass in a kitchen sink. Can wild turkeys hurt you? Any wild animal when cornered or harassed may attack. So, if concerned, call in an expert. Note, only a registered turkey hunter or landowner (with a valid firearm license) can shoot wild turkeys.
All in all, the reintroduction of wild turkey in this province has been a success. Wild turkeys are thriving once again in Halton County in rural North Burlington. Due to human initiative and determination, this formerly extinct species has re-established a solid toe-hold in this, our home and native land. Their reintroduction has, as promised, added to the natural heritage of Ontario. The growing populations are providing viewing as well as hunting recreational activity and, as such, they are adding revenue to our economy.
If we, as humans, can do that over the short course of twenty odd years, surely we can a) improve our dialogue with Canada’s First Nations, and b) bring back City View Park to a ‘natural state’ for future generations.
I wonder what plastic grass looks like when it’s cast in bronze …
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and a community activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions, which are her own, that she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks. All photographs are by MLH unless otherwise indicated.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. January 14, 2013 It took long enough, but the best of the three finalists in the most recent public art competition was announced today.
Peter Powning’s work, Spiral Stela, has been selected as the winning design for a public art installation at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. Powning, of New Brunswick, was selected from a group of 119 artists from around the world who submitted designs for the project.
 This Cooke-Sasseville piece had a lot of energy and colour and a level of detail that isn’t apparent from a photograph this size. Was there a concern that the colour would fade over time?  This piece by Aaron Stephen was to be installed at the side of the Performing Arts Centre where it would not get the exposure that was hoped for. There was an immense amount of detail for the public to take in but the height on the piece on the side of the building might have made it difficult to fully appreciate. A jury of local residents and cultural arts experts short-listed applicants to three finalists. More than 500 residents gave feedback, online and in person, on the three designs. After reviewing public comments, the volunteer jury selected the winner.
The jury included: Ian Ross, Executive Director of the Burlington Art Centre; Emma Quin, Executive Director of the Ontario Craft Council and Trevor Copp, Artistic Director of Tottering Biped Theatre
Because Burlington has difficulty with artists who don’t “come from here” it might be a useful exercise to show all 119 applications – let the public understand what the jury had to work with.
 The spiral will be 16 feel tall and will be outside the Performing Arts Centre for many,many years. How will Burlingtonians take to the piece and how will the artist decide what to “decorate the piece with? The nature of the Powning piece of art is such that Powning now needs to meet with the community and solicit objects that can be included in the final fabrication. This is a truly exciting aspect of the design. Clearly there will be lots of WW I and WW II medals brought forward for inclusion but what else will the residents of Burlington come up with?
We are about to see just how imaginative the residents of the city can be. Whatever is selected will be part of the sculpture that will be outside the Performing Arts Centre on Locust Street for many, many years to come. Hopefully the city will promote the daylights out of this and use every possible media and not just their favourites. If there was ever an event that could put social media to the test – this is it. City hall doesn’t understand social media and is to some degree afraid of it – this could be their opportunity to see if it will work for them
The artists might have a budget to get his need out to the public and the Performing Arts Centre could, hopefully, turn its promotional guns on this one. Whatever gets brought forward and used in this sculpture will be around for a long, long, long time. At least as long as the Pier and we are going to spend $20 million on that sucker.
 The objects in this illustration are examples of what have been used on other sculptures – this is an opportunity for Burlington to put its memorabilia on display and have it become a part of the public record. A spike from the old CNR line that ran along the edge of the lake? A can from the cannery that used to be on the water’s edge. The only limit is our imagination. Will someone put in a call to the Historical Society and get them involved?
Powning is calling the meetings at which residents bring in their objects “cultural mulch”. The artist will make a mould of the items chosen. There will be a significant number of items used. The molds will them be used to form the bronze castings that will be part of the final sculpture that is expected to be installed during the late summer of 2013.
There will be three “cultural mulching” sessions at the end of January and early February.
Central Library
2331 New Street, Holland Room Thursday, January 31 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre
440 Locust Street, Main Lobby – Thursday, January 31 – 7 to 9 p.m.
Burlington Art Centre
1333 Lakeshore Rd., Lakeshore Room – Sunday, February 3 – 2 to 4 p.m.
Drop by one of the sessions below with an item to contribute to the project. See it as something like one of those Antique road shows that are televised – but this time you’re not selling something or learning what its value might be you – you are becoming a part of the city’s history.
After his lecture in February Powning will be looking at objects people have brought in and. according to a statement from the city, casting the objects that day. People are asked to bring in just one object each.
Powning is not new to Burlington. His work is represented in the Burlington Art Centre’s Permanent Collection with five pieces. The city also saw some of his work during the East Coast Potters exhibit. His work is not currently on display but one can expect that to change.
Powning will give a short lecture about being an artist, whose work ranges from vessels to large-scale public art. He will talk about his experience responding to RFPs and working with municipalities/developers. An opportunity for Burlington artists to hear what a commercially successful artist has managed to do.
Spiral Stela continues the successful career of Powning who has completed several public art projects across the country and whose work can be seen at solo exhibitions worldwide.
This sculpture came to be when long-time Burlington resident and successful business owner Dan Lawrie, decided the Performing Arts Centre should have something outside the building and offered to fund a portion of the cost. Some members of city council wanted a bit more than Lawrie was prepared to put up, and the $37,500 cheque he did write isn’t exactly chump change.
The work is scheduled to be installed in late summer of 2013.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON January 8, 21013 Terry Reardon, historian and former Director of The International Churchill Society of Canada, introduces his bracing chronicle of the collaboration of two celebrated and very complex heads of state. Winston Churchill and McKenzie King.
For Churchillians – this is a must not miss event.
 While Canada is still not appreciated as the major player it was in conferences and on the battle fields of WWII – research is bringing to light the role we did play. Prime Minister McKenzie King was a part of two very significant conferences involving US president Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Terry Reardon will talk about the personalities of Churchill and King at the Central Library. With scholarly rigour and insight, Terry Reardon traces the intriguing similarities and the startling divergences in the background and prior achievements of both men, examining their alliance in riveting detail through the war years and after.
Terry Reardon speaks at the next Engaging Ideas lecture and discussion event, presented by A Different Drummer Books in partnership with Burlington Public Library, on Monday, January 21 at 7pm in Centennial Hall, Burlington Central Library.
Tickets are $10, available at the bookstore and at the third floor Information Desk at the Library. This should prove to be a very popular event; To reserve seats, please contact us at (905) 639 0925 or diffdrum@mac.com.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 7, 2012 You see him on the street from time to time; easel before him, fingerless gloves on his hands in the colder weather. Scott Thomas Anderson, a graduate of Central High in Burlington; graduate of Sheridan College and the Ontario College of Art and Design. Anderson added to that a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of Waterloo.
 Anderson uses what is known as a plein-air approach to his art. Years of study and hundreds of art shows later Anderson can now make the time to walk the streets of the city and record what he sees in oil. Anderson has done a dozen Juried Shows and came away with the Best of Show Award at two of them. We first saw Anderson while he was doing a painting of the Riviera Motel as the claws of an excavator were tearing down the walls of the building.
We next saw Anderson in front of the Queen’s Head where we were able to photograph him. So who is this young man who says he is “compelled to paint the landscape as it stands on the brink of change.”
 Where will this piece of art go? Whose wall will it hang on and what story will it tell 25-50 years from now. With art – one just never knows – that’s why people collect it. “Souvenirs” explains Anderson, “ represent dying values. My paintings are an attempt to collect the views overlooked by the majority, who prefer the topography of the future. Using the plein-air tradition that affords me an autonomous immediacy, in order to better experience the spatial relationships which the landscape reveals to my senses.”
“The architectural loose ends I depict are the ruins of a society, or the remains of the canon, which have been lost to the bustle of life without integrity.”
That’s a point of view – well thought out. What impressed me was the painting. Perhaps we will see Anderson in an exhibit at the Burlington Art Centre and hopefully as part of the Art in Action tour next fall. Anderson is an artist worth keeping an eye on.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON January 6, 2013 You live in Burlington; you shopped and therefore you shopped at the malls. I didn’t know Burlington had that many cars until I went looking for a place to park at Mapleview Mall Christmas Eve day – but I found a spot and, as is my habit, did all my shopping in less than an hour – knew what I wanted to buy and where it was being sold. Then I strolled along the different levels and saw a few things I had not thought of and that was my Christmas Shopping – done.
 You didn’t pick up much Christmas spirit along this stretch of Brant Street if you walked along it during the holiday. Earlier in the week I had occasion to be on lower Brant Street and wondered what had happened. There was nothing to suggest that it was Christmas – well yes, there were those pitiful little lights on the street lamp poles. Even Civic Square had a lackluster look to it – until the lights were on and then it looked decent enough.
I thought perhaps it was just the bottom of Brant Street that had been ignored – so walked north to Caroline and then on up to Prospect – and it was even more grim.
So what’s with this phrase we use about having a “vibrant” downtown core that is a pleasant place to shop and meet with friends?
 Once the location for one of the better “hotels” in town this Emshih property doesn’t have even a Christmas twig on it. The pictures that accompany this article show precious little in the way of Seasonal decoration – with the exception being the works who showed some creativity.
Last year the Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA) held a contest for the best displays – several of which were very innovative, Especially the one done up by the condo sales agency on Lakeshore. Did that competition get cancelled this year?
Even with the contest last year, lower Brant didn’t look all that well then either. Emshih Developments owns a number of the properties along Brant; one would have hoped they would put some of the profits back into the community. They found it useful to financially support the Mayor’s One Dream that we are told we will hear more about sometime in January.
 The opportunity to do something really spectacular with this storefront was lost to one of the reputedly better marketers in the city. This was embarrassing.  The Works, a new franchise in town that created a buzz on their opening day by offering a free burger. They have the most innovative storefront look of the Season. Is that because they are new and don’t know any better – Burlington doesn’t appear to “do” Christmas.  It didn’t get any better when you got off Brant Street. One would have thought that a pub with the name Dickens would have taken the spirit of the season in its teeth and done the place up really nice. They opted to spend twenty bucks on stuff from the dollar store. Can you feel the vibrancy?  The Downtown Business Association used to support this effort financially – they had to cut back – Burlington Hydro took up the slack. So what is it that BDBA does for their members? The BDBA had to tell the Festival of Lights people that the $5000 donation they traditionally made to that organization, which sets up the lights that are dotted throughout Spencer Smith Park and along Lakeshore Road would not be forthcoming in 2012. Fortunately Burlington Hydro came to the rescue.
During the Car Free Sunday last summer that saw Brant Street closed to traffic so that people could stroll the streets and ride bicycles in complete safety and shop if they wished – there were stores that didn’t bother to open. There were people at the Caroline – Brant Street intersection close to spitting nickels because of the traffic delays – had they known this was all to aid the objective of getting people out of their cars – and that some stores didn’t open; one wonders how they would have applied the word vibrant to that situation?
There seems to be a mis-alignment here. Is the BDBA an organization that has lost its drive or purpose? Anyone within the BDBA boundary pays a tax levy whether they like it or not. Are they getting value for what they are paying?
Those retailers also pay into a parking levy which in lieu of providing on site parking. That parking levy was used by the Bridgewater development on Lakeshore as the plank on which they built their argument about not having to provide parking space – instead they would pay into the levy just the way other downtown core business people do. With 150 + hotel rooms and two condo’s – there is going to be a parking need. A problem brewing there that someone at Planning hasn’t thought through.
The restaurants were doing a very brisk business on the Thursday and Friday leading up to the start of the seasonal holiday for city hall. Impossible to get a parking spot in the lot off Elizabeth Street.
In the fall the city held a Downtown Workshop that filled the Art Centre as people listened to a consultants report and took part in exercises where they got to trot out their ideas and visions. All good stuff – we suppose but one can`t see any new ideas on our main downtown streets.
Is it even possible to grow our downtown to the point where it is a busy, vibrant, profitable place for retail and serviced people to locate?
Sheila Bottin, the Deloitte consultant the city has hired to advise on what kind of commercial office space can be built on the John Street and Elizabeth Street parking lots has told the city to “forgetaboutit” – developers can’t get the rents they need to cover the cost of providing those underground parking places. And no one is going to take a bus downtown – they would rather take the GO into Toronto.
 Brian Dean, Executive Director of the BDBA works his tail off for his association. Is he beating a dead horse The Village Square is up for sale with much gnashing of teeth on the part of the public, or so we are told, but the location no longer works for many retailers. There was a time when it was THE hot spot in the city but some less than wise management practices resulted in many restaurants fleeing to Brant Street where rents were more manageable. Brian Dean, president of the BDBA, will tell you the biggest favour Jack Friedman, owner of Village Square, did for him was when he revised the rental agreements: “those people moved to Brant Street suddenly the downtown core had a future.
But that future is stymied. Management mistakes by others are not what one builds a business plan on. Dean is tireless in his work for his association – it would be nice to see his association members doing as much for themselves as he does for them. Perhaps Dean has done all he can do and someone else should take the helm? Something isn’t working.
Jody Wellings has toiled tirelessly at city hall on the city’s core commitment and never fails to bring a positive attitude to the job – but there don’t appear to be any solutions that are gaining traction. What is it we’re missing here?
Brant Street is a great place to be during the Sound of Music but RibFest and the Children’s Festival don’t do much for the retailers.
It might be too early to tell if the Performing Arts Centre has had the hoped for impact on the restaurant business. Melodia Mediteranean Cuisine and Bar opened and is getting decent reviews but Prime Rib announced a move from Brant around the corner to Locust, a stone throw from the Performing Arts Centre close to a year ago and it has yet to open its doors.
We’ve not seen solid attendance and audited numbers from the PAC people yet, so we don’t know what the attendance has been. The line-up has been impressive but everyone knew, or should have known, that it was going to be a long painful labour getting the place to the point where it had created a market for live entertainment and a following for specific kinds of entertainment.
 For a retailer that sells poinsettias by the truck load this is just not a Christmas look. The feel of Brant Street is in the hands of the retailers; they decide what they want to do to their store fronts. If they are bare and uninviting – people stay away. Yes, parking is a problem but it doesn’t take long to get a parking spot, just some patience. But one needs a reason to go downtown – and if the storefronts are as dowdy as they were in the photographs we took – heck I’ll drive to Oakville, which by the way got written up in a Toronto electronic magazine as the place with the nicest Christmas feel to it on the main street.
Mayor Goldring’s former Chief of Staff, Frank McKeown, may have figured out the solution when he said “Forever Elvis” will work. If all else fails – perhaps?
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON December 30, 2012 Some years ago I attended an Outward Bound Leadership program on Hurricane Island, 75 miles off the coast of Maine, in May. To this day a bitter-sweet memory reverberates to the core of my bones of our daily 2.5 mile run around the island. The daybreak run ended with a sense-defying leap from a 20 foot high wood platform into the swirling chilling seawater below. If you weren’t awake by the end of that brutal cross-island sprint, that early May plunge sure did open your peepers.
There’s a lot to be said for ‘group think’ … Not one person from our group of 20 ever refused to go on that run or take that jump. Even Madge, a retired postal worker from Boston, who had never learned how to swim, leaped. She was always the last to go over. As we ran past, she would put on a bulky life-preserver, stand jittering at the edge, and then jump, arms and legs akimbo. Up she’d bounce sputtering and thrashing, gasping for air.
It quickly became a point of honor to be the last one to leap just before she did. The last jumper would stay in the water to accompany her dog paddle back to shore. Her fearlessness and her determination to ‘JUST DO IT’ certainly did inspire many of us lesser mortals. That’s the sweet part of the memory.
The bitter part? That ocean sure was friggin’ FREEZING. It’s lucky none of us had a heart-attack on impact. No joke. (Seriously, what person in their right mind would shock their body systems in this way???)
 Brave souls – I guess.
Photo credit: Polarbear.ca So, it with a mixture of both admiration and incredulous disbelief I am pleased to report that Polar Bear Dips on the first day of the New Year are alive and well at several points around Lake Ontario. New Years Day events are planned at Port Dover, Toronto, Port Hope, Kingston and Newcastle. Many crazy Canucks are gathering lakeside to gingerly run over the snow, break through the ice, and dive in. (Nuts eh?)
 Is our columnist expecting to see a crowd on Burlington Beach New Year’s Day? Nuts is right. No Polar Bear Dip ‘officially’ planned as of yet … Probably the best known, and certainly the best promoted, is the Polar Bear Dip at Coronation Park, just outside of our Burlington city limits, off Lakeshore Blvd, going east towards Toronto. Founded (appropriately) by brothers Todd and Trent COURAGE, these hardy gents have been leading the charge for 27 years. To date, they have raised nearly 1 million dollars to support World Vision’s water works in both Tanzania and Rwanda. (Not too shabby for a bunch of NUTS!!) Courage Polar Bear Dip 2012 video.
Their event has turned into quite a hyped media event. Today, you can also follow twitter hashtags: #milliondollardip, #polarbeardip or follow the events from a web site Or watch archival video on YouTube.
This year there will be a judged costume event, a hot tub soak after-the-fact, live music by Whaling. and a post-plunge bash at the Tin Cup in Oakville. Pledges and registration continue up until approximately 1:30 pm on the day of the event, with the ‘dip’ occurring – en masse – at 2pm. Expected ‘dippers’ this year? 500 to 800. (Nuts, eh? ) So, if you can’t quite buck up the courage to dive headlong into crashing stone-cold waves, you can always congratulate and financially support these fun-loving and foolhardy types who do.
As an afterthought, this Christmas card sort of sums up the blind faith and courage that veteran Polar Bears routinely exhibit. Makes wonderful nonsensical sense, don’t it?
Mark your calendars now for next year’s dip: January 1st, New Years Day. Volunteer from terra firma. Or just sit back and watch REAL Polar Bears do their thing LIVE from the warm comfort of your home –
Happy New Year.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and a community activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions, which are her own, that she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks. All photographs are by MLH unless otherwise indicated.
Editor’s note: One must observe that our columnist doesn’t say if her “admiration and incredulous disbelief” applies to her personal plans for New Year’s Day.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. December 24, 2012 There will be two new structures in this city of ours in the first half of this year. One will be a full four stories tall and will alter the skyline seen from Spencer Smith Park and put the Skyway Bridge into a different perspective. Burlington will have its own structure.
The other will be a piece of public art outside the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
The pier will have cost us a small fortune and when the true price and the full story of how the pier got built is known, some of the pride we deserve will slip away – but the pier will be there for the next hundred years and will shed the “mistake on the lake” moniker it was given during its darkest days.
 DetailosWe have a view of Hamilton on our skyline – once the pier is completed and the four storey node is in place there will be a different view of Burlington from Hamilton. when the Bridgewater 22 storey condominium is completed in 2015 Hamilton will see a much different Burlington. Sometime in, perhaps late March, a truck will glide into the city with what amount to a four story structure tightly strapped into place. That structure will be the “node” that will be set out on the pier. The “node” (it does need a better name doesn’t it?) was to have a wind turbine on top but that got thrown under the bus by a city council that plainly did not completely understand how the turbine was going to supply the power that would light up the pier at night. Director of Engineering Tom Eichenbaum dropped the ball on that one and had his city manager apologizing for a less than expected performance.
Cancelling the wind turbine part of the pier allowed numerous other costs to get hidden – we tell you how city hall pulled that one off below.
This part is a good news story. The steel beams are now all in place; the concrete deck will have been poured. Given the kind of winter we appear to be having the construction team can get more work done than they expected.
 When in place the “node” will rise four storeys above the deck of the pier. There will be a set of stairs up the side of the node to get people to an observation deck. Rising out of the observation deck will be a decorative tower that will have LED lights on it. The original plan called for a turbine to be atop the tower but that got cut – mostly because city council didn’t under just how the turbine was going actually save money; long story. The node, which will be circular, will have a stairway going up the side that will allow the public to get up a little higher and see further out into the lake and more of the southern edge of the city. The observation deck won’t be very big and once wedding parties become aware of it you may never get a chance to get on the stairs – they will be used all the time to photograph brides with their grooms. It is going to be quite spectacular.
Soaring above the observation deck will be an long oval shape that was to contain the shaft that would have transmitted power from the wind turbine down to the electrical room that is built into the pier on the east side. That by the way is the room that had – maybe it is still has – the meters that were to measure the amount of electricity the wind turbine. That oval part of the structure is now purely decorative. The failure to deliver on the turbine left a black mark on the city, it’s mayor and his environmental aspirations – he apparently chose not to walk his talk on this porject.
 The construction of the pier ran into problem after problem; a crane that fell over and revealed that sub-standard steel was being used. Then the purchase of steel that failed to meet standards and finally steel from two suppliers that was acceptable. The city just didn’t want any more “mistakes” and so brought in some of the tightest “quality control” and “quality assurance” protocols the construction industry has seen. Above are the markings made by quality control people on one of the steel beams. Every weld on every beam was inspected. Because of all the past construction failures the city is spending a fortune on quality control and quality assurance and to some degree slowing down the work the construction team needs to get done – but that doesn’t matter one hoot – the city is not going to let anyone get sloppy and have another accident on their hands. Cost be damned – the tax payers are just going to have to suck it up and pay the bill – but the pier will get built and it will open to great fanfare.
The drawings for the hand rails that will line each side of the pier have been or are about to be approved; any last minute changes needed for the node are being done. Come the new year construction will begin and the rails will be shipped and then attached to the deck.
The guys that get things done at city hall have moved out of the “ready for the next crisis” stage they were in and are now talking about just how they can really make a “boffo” event of the Official opening.
There are a number of community service organizations getting ready to talk to the city about the role they can play in the opening. People in Burlington are clearly moving from wondering if we really should continue to try and complete the pier and are approaching the point where they are taking ownership of the structure. We should see less of those “this is an outrage” letters to the editor that get published.
There is a lot to be outraged about. Every couple of weeks the city published an Update on where things are with the pier construction. This document got created because the public was screaming mad over not being fully informed and there was no one focal point for news and information about the pier.
The document usually gets trotted out at the end of the Development and Infrastructure Committee meetings and there isn’t much discussion – unless there is a problem, which was certainly the case when the decision to not include the turbine in the project was made. There is a line in the most recent Update report that reads like this:
PMT is adhering to the Council approved process regarding approved change work orders. PMT is the Project Management Team.
When the decision was made not to include the wind turbine that meant there was a savings – right? Well, not really. The money saved is kept on the books as it were. Sort of like a credit that can be used to offset any debits that come along.
Thus, when there is a “change work order” the cost of that order is taken out of the credit that was created when the city decided not to proceed with the building of the wind turbine.
A change work order is created when the owner of the project – that’s you and I, wants to contractor to do something different – make a change. Contractors love change work orders – that means more revenue for them. ‘You want another thingy put in here – no problem, just give us a change work order and we will have that in there as fast as you can say Cam Jackson.’
The cancellation of the wind turbine created a pretty big credit that s slowly being used up. That credit is what allows the city to say in each update that the pier is on time and on budget – which technically it is.
Ya just gotta love the way these things get done don’t ya?
Look for some significant announcements, probably late in January on a community group that will play a large part in the opening of the pier.
If you happen to be in city hall, which is closed for the holidays, you will see a piece of art work with hand prints on a piece of canvas. Those hand prints were part of the Lasting Impressions event that took place a number of months ago when the city took the first step of a public process that was created to involve the citizens of the city more closely in the creation of the pier. It was time to have the public made a part of the structure and who better than the very young people – they are the ones who are going to bear the tax load that pays for the thing – and the costs aren’t all accounted for yet.
Set in a very prominent part of the pier will be a platform that has a couple of hand prints cast in metal along with part of the story of the pier. The city has to be given credit for taking an idea that was passed along to them and developing an event that was the beginning of the shift from looking at problems to beginning to see the pier as something that will significantly enhance the waterfront.
There is going to be another enhancement – the public art that is to be placed outside the Performing Arts Centre on Locust Street just to the west of city hall.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON December 24, 2012 There is going to be another enhancement to the city – the public art that is to be placed outside the Performing Arts Centre on Locust Street just to the west of city hall will be announced very soon. You probably won’t hear anything about this until city hall re-opens – the politicians will want to milk this announcement as much as they can. The last public art announcement fell kind of flat..
A committee was created to judge the submissions from artists from North American as well as at least one from Europe (we don’t want to be seen as at all provincial now do we?) and a decision has been made. The city is now getting the last of the drawings and preparing to negotiate the contract.
 The In the Round submission is far more complex, and intriguing, than evident in this picture. That globe graphic is made up of more than 15,000 small figurines. Interesting approach but the location and the height of the art will need some consideration.  The Spiral will be 16 feet tall and include in the bronze casting artifacts from the community that could well make this one of the most intriguing pieces of art in the city.  The Cooke-Sasseville submission is certainly the most colourfull of the three. How will the bright colours stand up to weather over the long haul?
Cobalt Connection, knows which side of its bread the butter is on, and do everything through the city hall. And city hall hasn’t been saying very much about this project recently.
While it is the city that is overseeing the project, the art is going to be part of the Performing Arts Centre and they’ve not said anything publicly recently either.
Much of the project is being funded by Dan Laurie, a local insurance broker, who just wants to see the art work put in place – he’s the guy paying for much of the thing and last we heard he wasn’t all that happy about the way he was being treated.
Clearly there is more to be learned about who the artist is going to be and when the art will actually be in place. We thought the art was going to be placed on the plaza that is right outside the large glass eastern wall. Apparently the art is going to be quite a bit closer to the street, which happens to be directly above an oil pipeline that runs through the city. Art in front of the Performing Arts Centre is a great place. We thought the orchids could have gone here.
More when we know more.
 About two years ago Brenda Heatherington was hired to run the Performing Arts Centre which was under construction when she had her first business cards printed up.
One of her objectives was to introduce Burlington to performances it had not seen in the past. Quality programs were available in Hamilton and Toronto, which is where parents would go year after year with their children to see the Nutcracker.
Heatherington wanted to introduce Burlington to the classics and to bring in popular groups she would use to develop an audience in Burlington. How is she doing so far? Too early to tell – creating an audience is a slow process that requires an ability to read the interests of the community and at the same time know when you can push them a little and offer something they’ve not been exposed to before. That takes time, it means taking some risks and hoping you get it right more often than you get it wrong. The public tends to remember just the clunkers – not the productions that do close to sold out business.
Heatherington is going to need three full years before the city is convinced she got it right. During that time funding requests will be higher than city council is prepared to swallow and that’s when the tension between city hall and the Performing Arts Centre becomes measurable.
Heatherington relies on box office sales and feedback from the public. She never has any difficulty with the naysayers, who describe the building as a “nice to have”. She doesn’t get too many occasions to hear from the people who try something for the first time and leave the building pleasantly pleased.
A few weeks ago Walter Byj wrote us and asked if he could review the Nutcrakcer that was coming to the city. BAJ had absolutely no experience reviewing and knew nothing about ballet – all that became evident when he submitted his review which appears below with very little editing.
Byj’s efforts reflects the growth of different audiences in Burlington for artistic productions that have not been available until the Centre opened October 1, 2011 when Royal Wood took to the stage for the first “tickets for sale event. Prior to the first performance, Denise Walker, the first person to appear on the stage thanked the public during two “Thank you Very Much events when the public got a chance to tour the building, have a drink and chat with friends at tables set out in the Family Room. It was the first part of the soft launch the theatre board decided to use to introduce the public to the place.
By Walter Byj
BURLINGTON, ON December 19, 2012 How does a sports fan prepare when planning to attend his first ballet? Being open minded would be the first step followed by some preparation. The initial step would be to know exactly what a ballet is. You would not ask a novice to watch a sporting event without first describing a brief overview of the sporting event. The same can be said when attending an artistic event. So, it is time to learn something about ballet.
 A classic Christmas performance that has introduced millions of children to the world of ballet. The word ballet originated with the Greek word ballizo which means to dance, to jump about. Ballet originated in the 15thcentury in Italy during the renaissance. The style then spread to France and Russia and evolved into a performance or concert dance which is intended for an audience. There is much more background, but this is a good start. Next, you would need to pick a ballet. Well, being the Christmas season, there is a ballet that is synonymous with the Christmas season, The Nutcracker. The name is familiar as it is advertised annually in the entertainment pages and some of the music has become a Christmas standard. Also, the music was written by a musician that we have all heard about, P. Tchaikovsky. Now that I have determined the title of my first ballet, I then need to pick a location. Although it is playing in Toronto during the Christmas holidays, I opted to attend the performance at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre which featured the State Ballet of Russia performance of the Nutcracker. It was close to home, 15 minutes away, and the parking was free.
 The soldiers were smartly dressed in the uniforms strutting about the stage. I am now sitting in the theatre which by the way is quite pleasant. An intimate theatre with 718 comfortable seats, it offers everyone good sightlines. The curtain is now rising and the first act is to begin.
Having read the program prior to the beginning of the show, I am aware of the story that envelopes the ballet. That is a good thing as there is no speaking during the performance and you need interpret what is happening via the dance moves. This is like watching a live silent movie in colour. And speaking of colour, there is plenty of that both in the sets and the costumes. I could go into great detail as to the story in the first act, but I prefer a quick overview. It takes place in a rich man’s house with a bunch of kids being entertained by a magician. He brings to life a number of mechanical dolls who dance for a bit until their mechanism is exhausted. He then presents another toy, an ugly nutcracker that only the resident girl (Masha) seems to enjoy. After the frivolity has ended and everyone goes home, the little girl of the house, Masha falls asleep and has a very strange dream. Her mansion is attacked by a horde of mice that are lead by the Mouse King.
 The drama, the melancholy – somehow we never tire of the performances – and when we see enough of them we get to the point where we can be critical and compare. The Performing Arts Centre is growing just that kind of audiences. But do not fear, the mice are eventually driven away by the Nutcracker and his army of tin soldiers although it was a great thrown shoe by Masha at the Mouse King that helped the Nutcracker claim victory. In fact, he was so happy and grateful that he turned into a handsome prince and Masha changed from a young girl into a beautiful lady. Shortly thereafter, the first act ended.
The second act is comprised of celebratory dancing which encompasses Spanish, Chinese and Russian dancers. It is here where the Sugar Plum Fairy appears.
However, as daylight approaches, Masha awakens and is now a little girl again and her prince has vanished. The ballet is over.
 A tug of war over someone’s affections? Did I enjoy The Nutcracker? I did. Was it worth attending? It was. The music was entertaining in a peaceful sort of way. There is no doubt why the music of Tchaikovsky has lasted for over 100 years and will continue so for the next 100 years. It is easier to comment on the quality of the music as I hear various types of music on a constant basis and am able to discern what I believe to be good music. As to the actual performance of the dancers, it is much more difficult to comment as this is the only ballet that I have seen. Is this troupe as good as the Bolshoi Ballet? I don’t know. I am not sophisticated enough at this moment to observe intelligently. Did they put on a show that I enjoyed? Yes they did. Did the rest of the audience enjoy the performance? It appears that they did although one member of the audience was spending a certain amount of time on her smart phone. Was she bored or was she texting everyone as to how great the show is?
 Millions of little girls around the world dreamed of being a Sugar Plum Fairy – and then there they were on the stage of the Performing Arts Centre. Would I go to another ballet? It is hard to say, maybe Swan Lake, another Tchaikovsky ballet.
This production was slightly less than two hours including intermission although I have read that some performances can be up to two and half hours. This performance timeline is appropriate for a novice as any much longer might start to be monotonous. If the Nutcracker comes around again next year, by all means do attend. It is a unique event and any new experience is an experience worth having.
Brenda Heatherington has a new customer. How many more Walter’s does she have? She knows and in time the rest of us will know if Heatherington and her staff have managed to develop the several audiences that exist in the city but may not know what it means to have a professional, high quality performing arts centre in their city. Walter Byj knows.
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