 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. February 15, 2013 Four Burlington residents will be awarded Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee medals at a city council meeting on Tuesday, February 19th.
City Councillor John Taylor along with Thomas Dykes, Dr. William Charles Procter and Officer Cadet David Brennan will be given the medals by Mayor Rick Goldring who learned recently that as Mayor he could recommend people for the medal.
 The front and back of the Jubilee medal that will be awarded to four Burlington residents at a city council meeting next Tuesday. A new commemorative medal has been created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II accession to the Throne. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal will be a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, it will serve to honour contributions and achievements made by Canadians, who represent the full breadth of our society.
During the year of celebrations, 60,000 deserving Canadians will be recognized. The inaugural presentation ceremony of the Diamond Jubilee Medal will take place in 2012.
The Chancellery of Honours, as part of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, will administer the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal program.
Eligibility criteria
Eligible candidates must have met the following criteria: · have made significant contributions to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or for an outstanding achievement abroad that has brought great credit to Canada; be citizens or permanent residents of Canada; be alive on February 6, 2012. The award can be made posthumously, as long as the candidate was alive on that date.
Burlington’s 58 winners are among 2,000 recipients from Ontario and 60,000 from across Canada.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. February 12, 2013 The art centre with at least the second best collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics in this country has announced an exhibition that will survey the work of the most promising emerging artists working with ceramics in Canada today.
Works will be selected by senior Canadian artists and curators in five regions across the country. Submissions are due by March 15.
The exhibit: Hot Mud: A National Survey of Contemporary Canadian Emerging Ceramic Artists, which will run at the Burlington Art Centre from September 7 to November 4.
 Burlington Art Centre plans an exhibit to show the work of emerging ceramic artists. “This exhibition will be a valuable showcase for artists at an early stage in their careers who have completed their basic training and created a modest independent body of work,” says George Wale, Director of Programs at the Burlington Art Centre (BAC).
In order to be eligible for Hot Mud, artists must have developed skills through training and practice in the field (though not necessarily in academic institutions) and be recognized by other artists working in the same artistic tradition.
A minimum of three years to a maximum of ten years in independent private professional practice prior to application is required, as is a history of professional public presentations and publications, payment for work, and active practice of their art within their region and beyond.
Submissions by individual artists, groups, collectives and collaborations will be considered.
Entry requirements include a cover letter containing a one-paragraph biography, a current resume and artist’s statement, and up to 15 labelled and numbered images. Detailed submission requirements. Web site for the BAC is: www.thebac.ca
The Burlington Art Centre is a not-for-profit organization celebrating 35 years of inspiring imaginations and enriching lives in Burlington and beyond. They champion the role and value of visual art and fine craft in life by mentoring and showcasing visual artists at all levels; engaging the community through diverse exhibitions and education programs; building and promoting the world’s largest and most significant collection of contemporary Canadian ceramic art; being a home to art and fine crafts guilds; and working with our members, corporate partners and volunteers to be an active and vital component of our community.
Traditionally when an artist does their first solo exhibit someone with talent and a background in the genre the artist has chosen writes a review. We didn’t know anyone with art review experience so we asked Don Graves to tell us who he is and why he does what he does. We will let the art speak for itself, it is on display at the Fireside Gallery at the Burlington Art Centre and is there until the end of the month. There were a lot of those little red stickers on a number of the paintings – one had two little red stickers – not sure what Graves is up to with that one.
 By Don Graves
BURLINGTON, ON. February 11, 2013 So, what does a deaf singer/conductor become when he’s lost his baton? Answer: a painter of landscapes in Muskoka, Algonquin, Ottawa Valley and Gatineau with designs on Gananoque, The Rideau Canal and maybe this year a sketching trip to discover the lost, fictional village of Three Pines of Canadian mystery author, Louise Penny’s vivid imagination.
 Ian Ross, Executive Director of the Burlington Art Centre joins Don Graves, on the right, at his first solo exhibit. Graves’s work can be seen in the background. So, how did I get from hearing loss to painter? I’m a singer/conductor, trained at McGill’s Faculty of Music with time spent in their wonderful English department with people like Louis Dudek and Hugh McLennan. Met my wife, also a graduate from the Faculty of Music, and together we directed productions in Montreal, and I free-lanced for CBC, Theatre de la Poudiere and we became smoked meat and bagel aficionados.
After moving to Toronto, I spent almost 30 years at Sheridan College, first co-founding their renowned Musical Theatre School and being a part of what has become a very successful Theatre Sheridan.
 The winter scenes were done in locations in and around Burlington. Strong, bold strokes with almost a touch of rawness to them. At the Burlington Art centre until February 27th. I kept ignoring the growing feeling that something wasn’t quite right with part of my head and finally learned that I had a steadily growing hearing loss. Pick up a phone with my left hand, hear nothing, flip it to my right and all was well. Never occurred to me that the problem might have been me…or maybe I did. In the end, a friend pointed out that there was a limited market for deaf conductors and it was time to move on.
The opportunity arose to become the Dean of Arts, a large amalgamation of theatre, film, fashion, media, visual art, crafts and animation. I took it and had a great time. Wonderful to escape the politics on a Friday afternoon in a certain craft studio whose second claim to fame with a well-stocked supply of good malt. It was also a place for many thoughts and passions to merge and age: I’d studied voice in Montreal with an English tenor who connected colour with voices. His favourite line: “what colour is a soprano in a country village church choir with a top C in the dusk with a light behind her?” (with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan, but understandable as he had been a principal tenor there for almost 20 years). Colour and sound became an integral part of my musical process.
 This collection of four paintings includes vineyards, scenes from Algonquin Park and the Gatineau Hills in Quebec. I left Sheridan for a five-year stint as the Dean of Art and Business…yes, you read that right…at George Brown College…which was interesting for the almost 3 years it lasted. The combination isn’t as strange as it appears. Art is very much a small, independent business in Ontario, one that combines business acumen, marketing smarts and artistic skill. A bunch of advertising students, who had been finishing near the bottom of an annual competition, learned that after working with an acting coach before they competed and came in third. The Toronto scene was complex, very different from Sheridan and included a daily GO train ride where I indulged myself in writing three mystery novels.
The hearing loss gained company with some other health issues which resulted in early retirement in my mid 50’s, two major surgeries, a condition called chronic pain syndrome mixed with osteoarthritis and a fast trip from type A to type D with no fuel stops at B and C on the way down.
And there I sat, and even now I find it hard to say or write the word, depression. To this day I’m not sure which is worse, the physical or emotional impact. I lucked out in finding a frank and caring specialist at the Chedoke Rehabilitation Clinic, now at the Hamilton General.
 Graves is not only an artist and a music director – he is also a raconteur of some renown. He is in full emoting mode. From there to now has been a trip blessed with a new beginning in painting: following a childhood dream of losing myself in the northern nature where I fished, picked blueberries and was casting bait for my father’s trolling. I studied with two Burlington artists, later at the Dundas Valley School of Art, joined a studio in Hamilton where I met and paint with artist, John Stirling and planned for that moment I was working toward.
In teaching and learning, I believe in the convergence of the right teacher appearing when the student is ready to receive what is on offer. My passion lies in colour, texture, French Canadian artists like the late Bruno Cote and Gordon Harrison, a Canadian landscape artist living and working in Ottawa. My goal was to be ready and that happened in June of 2012 and will again, I hope, this year. I found the final link between music and painting; the colour of voices, how my baton became my brush, how the canvas is a theatrical set that tells a story, a different story for each viewer. You find your way into a painting as you do a story. And like a theatrical production where you sit down and have your inner space moved, I want my paintings to do the same.
I have two shows on the go, one in Burlington and one in Toronto. And while it’s good to sell my work, it’s quite something else to meet people and watch them looking at my work and wonder how the story is unfolding for them. (Graves has also taken part in the Art in Action Studio Tour)
No artist works entirely alone. My wife, family, fellow artists and friends have become a team I rely upon. And in my spare time I read mysteries and write book reviews.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 9, 2013 She’s gone. A little lady, short, who stood with a bit of a bend to her upper body but stood tall nevertheless. You would see her in the same green pant suit with her running shoes. The hair style never changed, her glasses were functional, not fashionable. Fashion and being au courant were not things that mattered to her. There was always that strong gaze in her eye and if you’ve made a mistake about the history of Burlington, a city she adopted, she was quick to let you know.
She was the strongest supporter of the city’s historic homes and its cultural heritage. She and her husband Richard ran the Different Drummer bookstore from 1986 and grew it into one of the best in the country.
 Jane Irwin telling city council that the city’s heritage properties were being hollowed out – that the city was bland and known as “Borington” It was her last delegation; she died two days later. Jane Irwin died Thursday evening. She had experienced a stroke last year.
Whenever she spoke at city council you sat up a little straighter and listened carefully. She delivered some of the most pointed and cogent commentary this council, and all of those before it, had occasion to hear.
When she finished her delegation last Monday evening there were no questions. Council just sat there except for Councillor Craven, chair of the Development and Infrastructure meeting that was hearing the delegation. He summed it all up when he said: “I guess she said it all.”
Before starting her delegation Jane Irwin pointed out to Council members that they were all sitting there in comfortable chairs while older people who used a walker and a cane had to stand for extended period of time. “That is something you might want to note and do something about at some time” she admonished them.
As a young lady she once told us, she used to travel to Burlington to take in an event at the Burlington Inn. She knew everything there was to know about heritage properties in the city and understood fully the importance of keeping as many of those buildings as possible.
There were occasions when we at OurBurlington didn’t get it right – and it seldom took Jane Irwin very long to write and give us a good sharp rap in the knuckles. If you were going to talk about heritage homes – then do it right, was the way she treated us.
She was often talking into the wind – and she knew it; but the importance of what she was saying was what mattered and she just kept on doing what she did best.
At one of her many delegations she told council she was going to give them “five scotches” in five minutes and then proceeded to lecture then – and that is what she really did. She laid it all out for them in simple easy to understand language, which many of them still didn’t get. That was a classic Jane Irwin performance.
When a house in Kilbride with some historical significance was about to be removed from one of the lists that protects heritage properties, Irwin drove to the Courthouse in Milton and pulled up the document that gave the full provenance of the building. Jane Irwin was the kind of person who believed that the facts mattered and on more than one occasion during the many years she lived in this city – she was the one who dug out and brought forward the facts.
 Jane Irwin’s husband Richard giving her a pat of affection as she prepares to delegate to city council three days before she died. There is no one on the horizon that can replace what she was and what she gave to this city. There will be no funeral but we are advised that there will be a celebration/wake.
She will be missed by her husband, her children and those who worked with her at the Burlington Historical Society and the Friends of Freeman Station. A stalwart if there ever was one. She will be missed not only for her graciousness and her intellectual integrity but for her constant efforts to help Burlington help itself.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. February 6th, 2013 So what do we think of ourselves and the way we are served by the different levels of government we pay taxes to? Is asking these questions a good way to spend tax dollars? Those are questions you get to ask when you vote next.
 This is a listing of what Burlingtonians see as the most appealing aspects of their city. How much do you agree with these findings?  What are the most important issues for Burlington? They are listed here and shown how what is important to us – relates to how important it is to others. We get to see how we are different. Do you agree with what the charts are telling you?  Quality of life: In Burlington the polling sample said they put us at 95% if you include Excellent and Good. Other large and small communities don’t see themselves quite the same way. You just KNOW that this bit of information will replace the very tired and worn – Second best city in the country to live in.  Most important thing the government does for you? There are too many in the “Other” and “Don’t know” categories – suggests the people who pay for the government we have aren’t all that thrilled with what they are getting. For now – look at the questions and the answers. A well-respected Canadian company that has been doing public opinion polling for some time did a poll of Ontario communities both large and small and medium too – asking the same questions of a sample that was just under 400 people.
 Experience with city staff. Rankings in that “going the extra mile” could be a lot higher; other than that Burlington isn’t that different from the others.  Local government spending – this is where you want your tax dollars spent. Roads are what it is all about – with transit at least being recognized.  Use of government services: People are using the services government provides and they are talking to staff that don’t go the extra mile. What does that tell us?  Are we getting value for our tax dollars?  If push comes to shove; did you want the city to increase taxes to pay for the services you are getting or would you rather they cut the services. Mayor Goldring interprets this to mean that half of us would accept a tax increase and half us would not. Tough call.  If the city found it had to cut services – this is the list they are likely to work from – it suggests the arts would take the biggest hit. They broke out the individual results for Burlington and for the princely sum of $10,000 you get to learn what we think of ourselves.
 Burlington is where we live but the Region provides very essential services: Garbage pick up, water, sewage and police services as well as social services. The Niagara GTA highway would not have been stopped in its tracks – at least for the time being were it not for solid support from the Region City Manager Jeff Fielding sees that data as an important part of the process of engaging the community.
The results are interesting.
 This is YOUR Burlington – do you see it the way the public opinion poll gauges it to be?
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON February 6, 2013 They came to be part of the city’s history. They brought big items, small items, personal items and significant items. Everything they brought was photographed, recorded and then pressed into clay from which artist Peter Powning would make a casting out of bronze and place in the Spiral Stella that would sit outside the Performing Arts Centre at the intersection of Locust and Elgin Streets.
 The fascinated eyes of children – these two are totally focused on what artist Peter Powning is doing with an artifact they brought in as part of the cultural mulch event held at the Burlington Art Centre. Artifacts were collected to become part of the Spiral Stella that will be erected in front of the Performing Arts centre in July. Close to 250 people brought in their “stuff” . Don Graves, a local artist, who happened to be at the Burlington Art Centre last Saturday hosting his first solo exhibit had his wife take his walking cane to have a clay impression made.
Jonathan Smith, Curator of the Permanent Collection at the Burlington Arts centre, brought in a pocket watch with a fob engraved with the words St. Andrews College, 1929 in cursive type. That kind of craftsmanship isn’t seen anymore.
 Melanie Booth on the left hands over her Olympic Bronze medal which she won as part of the Women’s soccer team. Jeremy Freiburger, on the right, chief cheese at CoBalt Connects, the company that manages Burlington’s public art program registers the medal which was later pressed into clay to make the impression from which a bronze casting will be made. The stunner for some was Melanie Booth’s Olympic Bronze medal that brought out a very small faux pas from Powning, who to be fair was seeing a lot of artifacts and didn’t realize he had an Olympic medal in his hands.
He asked Ms Booth: “What’s the story behind this” as he arranged a slab of clay to make the impression. Powning hadn’t read the words on the medal, he was trying to figure out which side he would make the impression from but when Ms Booth said “it’s my Olympic bronze medal given to the Canadian woman’s soccer team” Powning’s head shot up when he replied – “really!”
 This is an example, called a maquette, of the type of sculpture Peter Prowning will be doing for Burlington. Each sculpture he does is significantly different. The bands wrapped around the first nine feet of the 16 foot sculpture will hold the bronze casting being made from the clay impressions done this past week in Burlington. It will be a very impressive piece of public art The way the gold medal for soccer was lost is something few Canadians think much about now. If it ends up as part of the Spiral Stella it will become part of the visual history of the city.
Powning was holding what he called ”a “cultural mulch. An event that had him looking at everything he was given, nothing was turned away if he could make an impression in clay, and at the same time thinking about how each piece might be used.
The bronze castings would be worked into the sculpture which will tell part of Burlington’s cultural past.
One man brought an old, rusted pair of roller skates, the kind you had to strap onto your shoes.
Dan Lawrie, the man who felt there should be some art outside the Performing Arts Centre put his money where his mind had gone and funded a portion of the cost of the sculpture. Lawrie who paints when he isn’t working had impressions made from some of his art implements.
With 240 impressions made into the slabs of clay Powning now takes everything back to his studio in New Brunswick and begins the process of casting the bronze pieces that will be part of the first nine feet of the 16 foot sculpture.
He will be doing all the forge work at his studio in New Brunswick and shipping the work to Burlington where it will be installed – which will get a little tricky. With art there are no firm time lines – not quite like making a pie and knowing that it needs 35 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees.
Some excavation work has to be done at the front of the Performing Arts centre to get the base in place. There is a pipeline right underneath that has to be dealt with. The pipeline people will be on hand to make sure someone doesn’t bite into that line.
And then there is a wedding scheduled to take place at the Performing Arts Centre at that time. The bride is not going to want to walk down the “aisle” to the sound of a jack hammer.
But it will all come together and sometime during the second half of July the sculpture will be in place and we can expect groups of people to gather at the site for years to come. One wonders what the Tourism people will do to promote the sculpture.
 Johnathan Smith, Curator of the Permanent Collection at the Burlington Art Centre brings in a pocket watch with a fob that has a 1929 inscription on it. Peter Powning presses the fob into clay from which her will later make a bronze casting that will become part of the Spiral Stella that will be erected outside the Performing Arts Centre Burlington has done some exceptionally good work with sculpture. There is the magnificent naval memorial at Spencer Smith Park where the bronze casting is more traditional. Then there are the orchids which are a delight – just in the wrong place – a point that Councillor Taylor commented on at a recent council meeting. At some point this city just might do the “orchids” justice and put them in a location where they can be both appreciated an enjoyed. Stuck at the entrance to a railway grade separation is close to the stupidest things the art people in this city have ever done. Why didn’t someone stand up when that decision was being made and ask: “Are you kidding?” But we didn’t – we will get there.
A local videographer, Bob Fleck, has been following Peter Powning around and we can expect to see a bit of film at some point.
CoBalt Connects, the organization that manages the city’s cultural plan has been talking to students at Mohawk and McMaster about the idea of doing a three-dimensional video on the sculpture that would allow people to look at the detail and spot artifacts that they contributed. Good idea.
We are seeing a different approach to how we create, display and promote the arts in this city. The long-term cultural plan will address some of the concerns local artists have about not being included or taken seriously. Progress.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. February 3, 2013 The provincial government encourages municipalities to promote and preserve both the Cultural and Built Heritage of the Province through the promotion, education and support of heritage conservation projects through public and private agencies and organizations.
 This reenactor explained to a very attentive boys what it must have been like to have fought in the war of 1812 that the province will continue to celebrate in 2013. Burlington, the city that has struggled for years on how it wanted to preserve its heritage housing got into the game with the decision to highlight, and recognize the work being done by different groups to further education and promotion of Heritage by way of displays, seminars and presentations to promote Heritage both Cultural and Built Heritage in Burlington.
 With bullets flying all over the place during battle, medical services were desperately needed. This reenactor delighted in telling his audience how teeth were pulled and legs cut off. They got off on the right foot on Saturday at the Burlington Central Public Library by hosting the Heritage Fair, a free day of seminars, interactive displays for children, poster contest and exhibits by local heritage organizations.
As we wind our way through the month of February there will be a Burlington Built Heritage Award that will recognize property owners who contributed to the preservation of our built heritage for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
Unfortunately, one of the very best “built heritage” examples is a home owned by a member of Heritage Burlington, the city’s Citizens Advisory Committee on matters of heritage, and that may disqualify her from receiving an award. The Advisort committee report to city Council through the Development and Infrastructure Committee and are the best example the city has of a well-organized and focused Advisory Committee. Burlington has had problems with some of its advisory committees in the past. City council decided to sunset one and another asked to be sunset.
The Transit Advisory committee has undergone a significant re-organization and it doing very well.
 Period costume always brings out a story. A woman here explains part of the life lived by women during the province’s the war of 1812. The city is currently looking for volunteers to serve on several of its Advisory Committees. If you have experience and sincerely want to work collaboratively and can leave your personal agenda at home – this is something you might want to look into. You work hard, you have to do your homework as well but it is satisfying and personally rewarding work.
 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.
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 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?
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 B Darcy is offering this painting: Harvest time Will I get email confirmation messages during the auction?
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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.
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