 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 19, 2012 When the magazines begin writing about you – you are on your way to your 15 minutes of fame. And that’s just about where Plan B – the budding Farmer’s Market on John Street is right now.
Pure Green Magazine does a feature from time to time on the “Organic Kitchen”. If all goes as planned, and nothing actually goes as planned when you’re working with nature, the plan is for the writers to set up an outdoorsy and Muskoka themed booth and cooking facility. As well, they’ll set up bistro tables for sit down guests. Should be very cool.
 Macdonald and Barry Imber discuss the set up for the Plan B Farmer’s Market on John Street. Opens every Friday 11-2
They will be demonstrating cooking some recipes they’ve been working on that are easy and delicious, using locally sourced ingredients. Jonathan, the chef and partner of the magazine, has a unique way of cooking outside using rustic props and outdoorsy techniques – he can smoke meats and cheeses right at your table! – it’s super interesting and fun to do yourself so this should be great for the crowd.
Pure Green is a very nice binding element for what we believe the market, as well as Centro, is all about. Healthy lifestyles for people who love being outside and connecting with the ground, their food, their environment – whether that’s in their back patio, backyard or back forty.
Damian Wills – the chef and forager calling himself Meat to Table will be there again as will the fresh produce farmer and the folks from Featherstone Family Farm.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 18, 2012 With the weather we have been having – talk of umbrellas will at least raise an eyebrow. There is an opportunity to raise those eyebrows at the Burlington Art Centre July 22, 2-3 pm when an exhibit of porcelain umbrellas by Ann Mortimer will be on display. The event is free.
 Ann Mortimer, who traditionally works on canvas with an admired ability to bring out the translucence of her object, has done a collection of 19 porcelain umbrellas that will be part of the In Series events at the Art Gallery. The work was produced in China under the direction of the artist. Ann Mortimer works in watercolour and is interested in the translucency of that medium. In her painting she aims to achieve an illusion of depth through the portrayal of light. You get to arrive at a different understanding of transparency when you view the umbrellas. Worth the time to take this one in.
Mortimer is a member of the Society of Floral Painters, and while she has specialized in flowers, combining a looseness of approach with a respect for botanical accuracy, she has ventured beyond canvas and into other mediums.
Curator Jonathan Smith will lead a tour of the exhibition, which includes the umbrellas and her perspective plates, bird-fish form and sculptural cups series.
The event is part of the In Series Exhibition at the Art Gallery – in the Lee-Chin Family Gallery.
Mortimer is a graduate trained teacher, and also paints a variety of other subjects in watercolour from landscapes to town scenes to figures. She enjoys sharing her techniques and skills with members of art societies at workshops and at the art classes where she regularly teaches.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 17, 2012 Everyone thought it was going to be bigger and better than the Car Free Sunday on Appleby Line back in June but the crowd, if that is what you can call it, on Brant Street and Locust Streets for the second Car Free Sunday was not as large – something was missing.
 Interest group and services tents set up on Brant north of Caroline drew traffic – it was much quieter south of Caroline. Was it too hot; were people away at their cottages, kids off to camp? There was no reason to walk over to Brant Street – other than to be able to walk about with no traffic.
 Bus service was rerouted an cars kept off the street for most of the afternoon. Should it be an annual event? There was no focus to the event – but then there was no focus to the Appleby Line event and it had better participation than last Sunday’s event on Brant Street.
There was live music at the Civic Square but it drew very poor audiences. There was a Country and Western Music event at Spencer Smith Park and some of its traffic made its way up Brant – but there just wasn’t any sense that there was something going on.
The organizers did arrange for various interests groups to have tents on Brant north of Caroline – and they were busy and gave that part of the street the sense that there was something going on.
 There are retailers that get it – and they are the one’s that succeed. The shopping bag that lady is carrying isn’t empty. The folks that run Joelle’s understand retail. There were far too many stores closed. Far too many of the Brant Street merchants were not open – not a good sign. The Downtown Business association needs to get a bit of a burr under the saddles of some of its members. Those that were open did continuous business.
This was the first year the event took place. It’s worth doing the same thing next year, but there clearly has to be some brain storming if there are ever going to be people out on the street for large parts of a day.
Those who were lined up in their cars at Brant and Caroline to get through the intersection didn’t think very much of the idea of people taking over the streets of the city – even if it was only for a couple of hours.
There seemed to be more police presence than was necessary – lots of overtime booked by the HRPS.
 The pavement didn’t seem to be a problem. Get a dozen kids and a soccer ball plus two nets and you’ve got a game. It was pleasant to watch – some benches would have kept people around longer. The Burlington Teen Tour Band was out – they always draw a crowd but the idea was to have people out on the street for a large part of the 2pm to 7pm time frame. The barriers were taken up on Locust close to 6 pm and Brant was wide open to vehicles at 7 pm
During Sound of Music there were different attractions on the street that drew people and kept them around for a while. There were precious few places to get out of the sun and nowhere to sit and have a drink.
There were nets for kids to play soccer at the John and Brant intersection but there was no seating for anyone who wanted to watch the kids play.
 Brian Dean, top toff at the Downtown Business Association was out drumming up business for those of his members that took part in the Red Bag Sale. Too many of his members let the community down last Sunday. Keeping the doors closed while the city works at getting people out on the street isn’t the way the game is played.  There is a soccer player in there somewhere It was suggested that a focus was needed and there are a number of opportunities to bring in close to cost free events that would attract people and keep them around for a while. The antique car club people will show off their vehicles any chance they get. Inviting them to the city and asking if the owners of the cars would drive up along one of the rural roads with a guest passenger in their car – and then choose the guests from raffle ticket winners would certainly draw attention and participation.
A chance to sit in an MG or a Corvette with the top down would keep me hanging around hoping I got a chance for a ride. It would beat being on one of those nasty little ponies that were walking around the cenotaph at the side of city hall.
It is going to take some imagination to make this an event that people want to participate in and one that justifies closing down street for a period of time.
Good effort, they got the idea right now to add some ginger and make it more fun because there wasn’t much fun on Brant Street last Sunday afternoon.
There are a bunch of volunteers – more than 25 of them, that deserve more than the car free Sunday T-shirt they got. There were also half a dozen staff members who gave up half a nice day to make the event happen.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 12, 2012 This is one of those “local boy does good” stories – except that the story is about two brothers and one of their best friends who lived just up the street – still does. The three of them, along with a fourth person – a woman, are involved in the production of Harold Pinter’s major dramatic work play Betrayal, which involved just two men and a woman who all betrayed each other. The play itself is complex, but the Burlington group involved in the production of the Pinter play are not in the least complex.
They are an energetic serious bunch of young people who are either out of university or close to graduation and doing something they all want to do.
Mischa Aravena is the actor and producer, his brother Mel is the producer of the play. Friend Tom Hart is the assistant director while Jeanette Hicks is the set designer. Jeanette is a professional artists and has worked on a number of films, a Toronto Fringe show. She has exhibited her work at the Art Gallery of Ontario Gift Store.
The play is part of Hamilton’s Fringe Festival – with productions talking place July 21 at 9:45; July 22 at 6:15; July 23 at 9:30; July 25 at 6:30; July 26 at 6:00; July 28at 2:30 and July 29 at 6:00. Arrive on time – no entry no matter who you are, once the play has begin. All Betrayal shows are at the Citadel Studio Theatre in Hamilton. The Studio Theatre is built every year specifically for the Fringe event. The tickets are very modestly priced at $9 each. The Fringe is there to give young actors and set design people an opportunity to gain some experience and public exposure. A number of Fringe productions have gone on to New York and then into film production.
 The Aravena brothers, Mel out front in the centre with Mischa peeking out at the top, with Tom Hart giving advice on where the set piece should be placed. The Aravena brothers tried to get into the Toronto Fringe Festival where the approach is to take all the entries that come in and draw names out of a hat. They didn’t make the draw, but they were well enough prepared to get their application into the Hamilton people, where they were selected on merit.
Now to get the lines learned, the feel of the way they want to do the play and the set painted and ready for placement on the stage.
Mischa is the more intense of the two brothers; he will play one of the three characters in the production. His brother Mel is the director and has basically worked with Mischa on most of what he has done on stage.
The play was inspired by Pinter’s clandestine extramarital affair with BBC Television presenter Joan Bakewell, which occurred for seven years, from 1962 to 1969,. The plot of Betrayal exposes different permutations of betrayal and kinds of betrayals occurring over a period of nine years, relating to a seven-year affair involving a married couple, Emma and Robert, and Robert’s “close friend” Jerry, who is also married, to a woman named Judith.
 Jeanette Hicks: set designer. That apron is worn when she paints, she doesn’t cook or feed the others. For five years Jerry and Emma carry on their affair without Robert’s knowledge, both cuckolding Robert and betraying Judith, until Emma, without telling Jerry she has done so, admits her infidelity to Robert (in effect, betraying Jerry), although she continues their affair. In 1977, four years after exposing the affair (in 1973) and two years after their subsequent break up (in 1975), Emma meets with Jerry to tell him that her marriage to Robert is over. She then lies to Jerry in telling him that, “last night”, she had to reveal the truth to Robert and that he now knows of the affair. The truth however, is that Robert has known about the affair for the past four years.
Pinter’s articular usage of reverse chronology in structuring the plot is innovative: the first scene takes place after the affair has ended, in 1977; the final scene ends when the affair begins, in 1968; and, in between 1977 and 1968, scenes in two pivotal years (1977 and 1973) move forward chronologically. As Roger Ebert observed, in his review of the 1983 film, based on Pinter’s own screenplay, “The ‘Betrayal’ structure strips away all artifice. It shows, heartlessly, that the very capacity for love itself is sometimes based on betraying not only other loved ones, but even ourselves.”
Pinter was one of the “angry young men in the 70’s and had a significant impact on dramatic theatre both in London and New York. For a young actor embarking on a career on the stage, which tends to include a lot of taxi driving or waiting on tables, this play is a courageous step.
This year’s Hamilton Fringe Festival will be at four venues in Downtown Hamilton for eleven days between July 19 and 29, 2012. The full listing of productions is here. This year is the 9th Fringe Festival in Hamilton.
Online Tickets for the 2012 Hamilton Fringe are now on sale! Click here for box office. 50% of all tickets are held to be sold at the door – they go on sale one hour before the show! In order to access any fringe venue, you must be wearing a “fringe backer button” – (a one time $4 cost).
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 2nd, 2012 Canada Day – 145 years out and Burlington celebrates the day with Ashley MacIsaac on stage doing what he does so well with his fiddle. He then tried telling the citizens to do everything they can to ensure that the current prime minister isn’t in office on the 150th anniversary. That appeal fell on deaf ears.
 Homes on the Beachway left no doubt about what they were celebrating. He was as good on his fiddle as he usually is – but he shouldn’t try to sing.
Spencer Smith Park filled up as the evening approached after a day when a crowd of new Canadians took to the stage one by one to be made “Canadians” with Citizenship Court Judge Frank Hayden swearing them all in and giving them his “being a Canadian” pep talk.
It was a wonderfully sunny day; crowds were out and the Beachway part of the city had hundreds of families out on the grass with hundreds of kids in the water.
 If you didn't have a bright red T shirt - there was a booth you could buy one at. Parking was close to impossible and the city had additional staff handing out parking tickets. There was a subtle change in the uniforms the men were wearing – instead of the shirts with the By Law enforcement shoulder patches these men had Provincial Offences Enforcement, which meant they could give people tickets for provincial offences and not just parking – no drinking in public parks.
 Families out on the grass - enjoying great weather and a day to remember. It was interesting to note that the people on the Beachway tended to be large families that had hibachis and all the gear needed for a picnic. Many were people of colour, dressed traditionally and while quiet were very friendly. Soccer was the predominant sport but we did see one little tyke who had put together twigs for a camp fire in what any Scout master would have given him a badge for. The child was being very well supervised, there was no chance that he was going to light a fire.
 Police officer told us he was on "bikini patrol" and that he loved his job. The Regional police had officers out on bicycles patrolling what we were told was a quiet day.
 Her name was Jade - she just seemed to love the camera.  Captivated with the cell phone - this young man was having the time of his life. The mood and the scene at The Joseph Brant Museum was quite different. There was entertainment for the young people and displays to look over with plenty of shaded space to sit and eat more of that ice cream with fresh fruit than we perhaps should have. Quite a different feel than that out on the Beachway.
The Canadiana Tent the city set up was both a smart thing to do and the best deal available on the waterfront during the weekend. It was a place to sit and relax, for those who had been on their feet for several hours, the $20 price was worth every penny. You got a meal, an alcoholic beverage, a cold drink, a Maple Leaf cookie and reasonably comfortable seats plus shade. You can do that one again city hall. And that extra drink you wanted was nicely priced – less than we paid for the same drink in Grimsby the day before. You also got a small flag.
As dusk approached the waterfront filled up quickly for the fireworks.
The SeaDoo races around an obstacle course kept the air filled with the sounds of those roaring engines but no one seemed to mind.
It was just one of those pleasant sunny summer days – no doubt whatsoever that summer was here and staying for awhile. A national holiday, celebration of the founding of the country. Most born in the country Canadians take it all for granted; those who chose to come to this country knew what they were doing. We can learn from them just how fortunate we are.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON – June 28, 2012 Tickets for the Jane Goodall presentation are now available at the Performing Arts Centre box office. VIP tickets are priced at $125. Main Event tickets are $45 – add HST to those prices.
 Jane Goodall will be in Burlington September 19th speaking at BPAC. Chimp is not expected to attend. Acclaimed primatologist , environmentalist and United Nations Messenger of Peace, Goodall will entertain with of stories from the field, her reflections on global conservation and hope for the future of the planet.
The VIP tickets include a cocktail reception and an opportunity to interact with Goodall personally. This is a woman who took on the establishment and insisted that primates be protected and studied and did so at considerable personal risk. While she is lauded and applauded today there was a time when the world didn’t have much time for Jane Goodall.
She is one of those people who lived her personal convictions and brought the world to a point where it saw the environment in a different light. She made a difference.
During the Main Event Dr. Goodall will take questions from the audience. She is both an amusing and at the same time a very forthright speaker; there is seldom any doubt as to what Jane Goodall thinks.
BurlingtonGreen has stretched this event and added a level of community involvement, for which they should be applauded. The evening is going to include the recognition of six “eco-award” winners who will be chosen by the community.
Burlington citizens, schools, groups and businesses are being asked to submit nominations before August 27, 2012 highlighting their greening efforts. BurlingtonGreen president Ken Woodruff explains that “recognizing the positive contributions of our community in helping the planet locally is very important as it inspires others to get involved and take action as well.”
Details are available at: burlingtongreen.org for event and ticket information and to complete a nomination form for a local eco-hero.
The Burlington Community Foundation and the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation have provided early level sponsorship for this event. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available to support the event. Contact info@burlingtongreen.org or 905-466-2171
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 25, 2012 The War of 1812, The War of 1812, the War of 1812 – the one we won, the war that made this country what it is today. Remember? It can get a little tiring at times – all that history.
 War of 1812 is not just a Stoney Creek event - lots of Burlington history involved as well The people over at Tourism Burlington don’t see it that way though. They see the War of 1812 as a three year long tourism opportunity and met recently at the Joseph Brant Museum to talk to retailers about just how many opportunities there were for restaurants, local attractions and those in the accommodation business.
Simone Babineau, Marketing coordinator for Tourism Burlington organized the event which, unfortunately, drew a very poor response from the people who stand to benefit most from this marketing opportunity.
Those that were on hand learned of the General Brock Walk and the numerous print material tie-ins that are available to the retail community.
 All kinds of commercial opportunities for smart retailers - a special flavor of ice cream is one. Hewitt’s Dairy of Hagersville saw the opportunity and created two new ice cream flavours that will be available at Denningers in Burlington later in July.
The Holiday Inn staff saw numerous opportunities and the restaurants in Burlington have created a luncheon special – priced at $18.12. Local restaurants with $18.12 lunch menus can be found at: Click here
The marketing opportunities are significant but you have to get on board the train if you want to get to the destination.
The province has created a series of marketing Districts – Burlington is in the Hamilton/Halton/Brant district which is part of Western Corridor of the War of 1812. In this part of the province Stoney Creek takes up most of the oxygen with their colourful re-enactment of the Battle of Stoney Creek. And while there was no one marching through the streets of the city, Burlington Heights played perhaps the most significant role in the part of the war that took place on the western end of the waters of Lake Ontario.
 Brock's Walk from Toronto to Niagara will be a significant part of the summer program. The Museums of Burlington have jumped on board this one; at Brant Day, August 5th at LaSalle Park, there will be a meeting of John Brant, son of Joseph Brant and Sir Isaac Brock at the event.
Tourism Burlington and the province’s “Heart of Ontario” group are all heavily involved in the development and promotion of this three year event.
There are opportunities here for the retail sector and wonderful, fun times to be had for the local and visiting public.
To fully appreciate the possible local tie ins – check out the Barn quilt tours.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON Ashley MacIsaac, famous for his energetic, inspiring live performances will headline Canada Day events in Spencer Smith Park
 Citizenship Court Judge Frank Hayden will preside on Canada Day For those who are made Canadian citizens on Canada Day, during a Citizenship Court to be conducted by Citizenship Judge Frank Hayden, will know why they chose this country once they’ve listened to and felt a MacIsaac performance.
 MacIsaac known for rousing and at times totally off the wall performances will be on stage at Spencer Smith Park on Canada Day. The day starts out with a 5 km run at 8:30 a.m. (to enter contact VRPRO at www.vrpro.ca), and a free yoga class at 9:30 a.m.
The Burlington Teen Tour Band will do their thing at 1 p.m.
This year’s free celebration features Canadian entertainment on two stages and throughout the park all day. Highlights
• Michael Bublé tribute band
• Summer of ’69 (Bryan Adams tribute)
• Wavelength (Rush tribute sponsored by Ardent Automotive)
• Scholars in Collars dog training performances at 12:30, 2:30 and 4 p.m.
• Water ski shows at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
• A wide variety of food vendors and activities
New this year, visit the Canadiana Viewing Tent.
Limited tickets are now on sale. Your ticket gets you:
• Seating at tables and chairs offering great site lines to the Main Stage and Lake Ontario
• Bleacher seating for additional viewing of two Water Ski Shows
• Meal catered by D&T Classic Catering (1 to 8 p.m.)
• 2 drink tickets
• Exclusive upgraded washroom trailers
• Shelter under the large canopy
• In and out privileges
Advance tickets for the Canadiana Viewing Tent are $15. They are available at City Hall, Tansley Woods Community Centre, Appleby Ice Centre, Festivals and Events Office, and Tyandaga Golf Course Tickets purchased at the tent on the day of the celebration are $20.
Parking and transportation
Parking downtown during this event is in high demand, attendees are encouraged to arrive early or use public or alternative transportation. Free shuttle service from the Central Park bus shelter is available from 7 to 11 p.m.
Cyclists can lock up their bikes at the Mountain Equipment Co-op Bike Corral.
For further information call the Festival and Events Hotline at 905-335-7766.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 21, 2012 – The Halton Region Health Department monitors the water quality at public beaches throughout Halton.
 Beachway North is not yet safe for swimming Beach water monitoring on June 19 revealed the following beaches are safe for swimming:
• Milton – Kelso Conservation Area
• Oakville – Coronation Park East, Bronte Park Beach
• Halton Hills – Prospect Park Old Beach
• Burlington – Beachway Park South
The following beaches are unsafe for swimming:
 Boundary markers for Beachway Park North and South • Burlington – Beachway Park North
• Oakville – Coronation Park West
 Proud band leader. By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 18, 2012 While the Sound of Music Festival keeps four stages and four pods busy with entertainers – the parade draws the biggest crowd that spread itself along New Street as it works its way on to Brant Street.
 The plumes and the sashes set this band apart  We should be seeing fresh Niagara peaches in the stores soon. Interesting float.  The people of the Philippines with their band  St. Andrews`Pipe  It was the green rimmed sun glasses that did it for this young man.  This man is a Regimental Sergeant Major - they don`t make them like this anymore.  The music got to this lady - she just bounced along new street - even the trombone player couldn`t keep up with her. The story of the parade is best told in pictures.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 16, 2012 Three new exhibits will take up a temporary home at the Burlington Art Centre filling two of its galleries and its beautiful courtyard.
Opening reception is on June 24 from 2 to 4 pm. Everyone is welcome to come and mingle with the artists and experience their work.
The Courtyard will be filled with Hamilton-based artist Colleen O’Reilly’s Garden Spirits until September 23. Known for her bright and colourful function ware, in this exhibition, she ventures into the realm of sculpture with her charming porcelain totems.
Ann Mortimer – In Series will be in the Lee-Chin Gallery from June 23 to August 26. The exhibition examines the artist’s past serial work, with emphasis placed on her latest series of porcelain umbrellas which explore the relationship between form and pattern.
 Ann Mortimer'S Tree Peonies - new material will be exhibited at the BAC from June 23 to August 26TH. The paintings and collage works by Dundas artist Marla Panko in the F.R. Perry Gallery also are celebrated during the reception. Marla Panko: Meaning and Order (June 16 – August 7) explores the notion of modernism and evokes the pure abstraction which developed in the first half of the twentieth century.
Admission to all exhibitions and related events is free. The Burlington Art Centre is located at 1333 Lakeshore Road. For more information, visit the BAC.ca or call 905-632-7796. Follow the BAC on Facebook.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 14, 2012 The opening night will be great. The weather is going to be close to perfect and the sound that will come from the Dofasco stage where Of Gentleman and Cowards will pluck their strings to get the four day event rolling. Described as a band, made up of four friends from McMaster with an energetic sound that is melodic and youthful. They took hone first place in the Ontario finals of the Campus Music Explosion. They take to the stage at 7:00 pm
 The day before the Sound of Music kick off - possible to longe about the edge of the Lake. At the other end of Spencer Smith Park, on the OLG stage, the Glory Days will perform. This six piece ensemble is a tribute to American music icon Bruce Springsteen, and is made up of experienced concert musicians able to recreate some of the classic songs and performances that are Springsteen trademarks. Expect an unforgettable night of pure passion and energy from this bunch.
The action moves back and forth between each end of the park.
Born Ruffians at the Dofasco Stage at 8:15
Keeping the Faith on the OLG stage at 8:30
Back to the Dofasco Stage to catch the Arkells at 9:45
And end the evening taking in the Rear View Mirror at 10 pm on the OLG stage.
What a way to start the weekend – and this is only Thursday.
The Sound of Music Festival is a series of events that is anchored at Spencer Smith Park but also works its way up Brant Street and spreads out amongst the side streets as well.
 Hundreds of volunteers make the Sound of Music Festival work - two of them mark the location for a vendor. The park action is focused on three stages. The OLG Stage (your lottery gambles working for you) at the west end; the Dofasco Stage (known officially as the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Stage – remember the corporate tag line Our product is steel; our strength is our people – Arcelor laid many of them off) at the east end. Then there is the Burlington Hyundai Stage south of the Waterfront Hotel and the Cogeco Stage set up outside City Hall.
The Classical Stage is set up behind the Arts Centre on the North side of Lakeshore across from Spencer’s Restaurant.
There are also four Pods; one on Ontario Street tucked in close to the War Memorial; the Elgin Street Pod opposite the Queen’s Head; the Pine Street Pod just a short block north of Lakeshore on Brant and the John Street Pod across from the front of the Waterfront Hotel.
For Thursday – it’s just the two stages at each end of the park strutting the talent from six groups. Then it is a fast and furious Saturday and Sunday.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 12, 2012 Art in Action awarded two scholarships at their annual silent fundraising auction at Rayoon –Persian Fare in Burlington’s Village Square.
Ten Burlington public and catholic schools participated. Each school put forth an applicant that was pursuing a post-secondary fine arts program. Each student completed an application and included three digital images of their artwork.
 From left to right: Olivia Hashka - Nelson H. S. Winner • Honorary Chairperson for our 10th Anniversary. Rick Goldring, Mayor, Michelle Friesen - Robert Bateman H. S, Stephanie Moore - L. B. Pearson H. S. Darlene Throop, Art in Action Scholarship Chair. Missing Jessica Gneth - M. M. Robinson H. S. - Winner, Sara Fackrell - Aldershot H. S., Ashley Jean-Gilles - Assumption H. S. The jury process consisted of six Art in Action artists representing various art mediums. Two winners were selected.
Congratulations to Jessica Gneth of M.M. Robinson high school and Olivia Hashka of Nelson High.
Other applicants were Sara Fackrell of Aldershot high, Ashley Jean-Gilles of Assumption catholic secondary, Stephanie Moore of L. B. Pearson High school and Michelle Friesen of Robert Bateman high school.
The winners received a scholarship of $1000.00 each as well as free admission to participate in this November’s studio tour .
Art in Action celebrates it’s tenth anniversary this year and will put on an especially robust Studio Tour this fall.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 10, 2010 While Saturday was pretty close to a write off from a weather point of view and it was very difficult for the events being held outdoors at the Burlington Arts Centre as well as the Canadian Equine Outdoor Expo. Sunday was a completely different day..
The sun blessed us all and there was plenty to do for those who got out.
 All for a good cause - midriffs exposed and the dance of the seven veils - or at least parts of it were performed at the PERL fund raiser at the Polish Hall on Sunday. Elvis is reported to have made an appearance at the Polish Hall where PERL Protecting Escarpment Rural Land was holding a fund raiser, but I didn’t see him. I did see two genuine belly dancers who surely raised the blood pressure of a couple of the older lads as well as a bit of money for one of the better causes in the city. The afternoon event had a Silent Auction, a Garage Sale and the bar was open.
 The Cottonwood brass put on a nice little performance that consisted of music on instruments we don't see anymore and the story behind each piece of music. A short drive south at The Different Drummer Bookstore, the Cottonwood Brass were performing before a small but rapt audience. Small because the space available is tiny. Saw instruments that I didn’t think people played anymore. If you hear of an event this group is going to be playing at – make a point of taking them in.
Then across the city to the first Car Free Sunday event. It was a decent first effort that somehow managed a four car pile-up on a street that was closed to traffic.
 The streets weren't crowded but the turnout was worth holding the event again next year. Next car free day will be downtown July 15th. The streets certainly weren’t packed but there were enough to claim the event was a success. These things take time to develop a following. If promoted more creatively and talked of as a way for community to get together we should see this become something of a tradition.
There will be a second Car Free event July 15th in the downtown core. We will put up maps for that event a few days before hand.
 Some chose to sit in the shade listen to the music and enjoy time with their neighbours - summer in the city This Car Free Event was a Councillor Sharman and Councillor Dennison idea, which Councillor Meed Ward eventually bought into as well. Dennison was in Holland on a trip he paid for himself, where he represented the city at a number of functions. He had expected to be back in time to glide up and down Appleby on either his blades or his bike. Didn’t see him but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t on hand.
While other politicians were on hand it was more of a people event. The Teen Tour Band put in an appearance and there was a very robust yet laid back family of musicians on the stage. Pony rides were set up for the kids.
 That there is a two horse hitch girls and boys. There was a time when farmers in Burlington took barrels of apples to the Freeman railway station where they were transported to Toronto and points east. Then North on Appleby Line to the 1st side road and into the Iron Horse Equestrian complex where the Canadian Outdoor Equine Expo was being held. They must have taken a hit on the Saturday with all that rain and by the time I got there on Sunday things were very quiet but there were some fine looking horses to be seen. One magnificent two horse Percheron hitch and some very talented riders in the different rings.
 Not everyone got out to enjoy the sunshine. This horse was part of a larger hitch that was used the day before. It was one of those Sundays where families gather in the back yard with beer in hand and the BBQ sizzling and the kids in and out of the pool.
It was also a day to get out and about the city and enjoy everything it has to offer.
Now we go into Sound of Music week – we will have the full day by day schedule set out for you and get back to you with pictures that tell the story.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 10, 2012 He launched and managed to gain some altitude and it looks like he will stay aloft.
Jeremy Freiburger told a close to full house in the Performing Arts Community Studio the fundamentals of the community engagement part of the Cultural Plan that he has been contracted to prepare for the city of Burlington.
Freiburger is well qualified to take on the task and brings both energy and innovation to the work he has to do.
He does have his hands full working with the city’s communications people – but then he’s not the only one struggling with that department.
Freiburger has arranged to meet with citizens in every ward and while the turnout has not been large – those that did show up were enthusiastic. The first event was in Kilbride – to the surprise of many – culture is usually seen as something that happens south of the 401.
 Each yellow marker indicates a location that someone saw as culturally significant. The turnout was better in Kilbride than it was at the Senior’s Centre which is smack dab in the middle of Ward 2 where all the cultural mavens are thought to live. So much for that thought.
While Freiburger was talking to the audience in Kilbride about what he is setting out to do – a group playing baseball got rained out; Freiburger didn’t miss a beat – he invited them in to hear what they had to say about culture. This guy clearly knows how to innovate.
 David Auger thinks about where he spends his disposable income dollars on culture. Freiburger asks those who show up to do three things for him. Put a small dot on a map showing where they spend their cultural time and then go to an identical map and put down dots showing where you spend their cultural money.
Then Freiburger asks people to go to a very large map of the city and put down stickers on the places they like to go in the city. Lowville Park, put a sticker there, Student Theatre, put another sticker there. Freiburger wants to map points of cultural significance.
Out of all this data collection will come a picture of where people spend their time, where they spend their money and what it is about places they go to that attracts them.
Freiburger will be collecting data at events in each ward, for almost the first time we have seen events take place well north of the QEW divide. It would have been nice to see something in the Alton and Orchard communities. The Sound of Music crowd will be invited to take part in this exercise. If you didn’t get to one of the community events – Sound of Music and the Children’s Festival are good opportunities to take part in the data gathering
The crowd at the Performing Arts Centre heard Edie Friel, the man who put the city of Glasgow on the cultural map and made cultural events the strongest part of the Glaswegian economy by using a model from Azerbaijan to catch people’s attention. Using an Azerbaijani model to get the attention of people in Glasgow – – that’s chutzpah!
Friel explained the role culture plays in the development of a city. “People”, he said “don’t go to France, they go to Paris. People don’t go to Italy; they go to Milan or Rome. People go to cities because those cities have created a brand for themselves, a reason to go to that city.”
“When you brand a city you highlight it’s history, its heritage and its culture”, he said. We will come back to those three – they are very relevant to Burlington.
Friel pointed out that “we human beings have a need for membership, we want to belong to something”. That something can be a model railroad club, a photography club, a drama group. People go to things they identify with. There are literally thousands of people in Ontario who want to do nothing more than walk the Bruce Trail.
Most people either know what they want to do with their time and their disposable income or know they are open to a new idea; a new experience. Friel talks of “destination marketing” and he explains that you have to develop the “supply chain”. What does all that mean?
If Burlington is going to attract visitors we have to give them a reason for coming to the city – and those reasons are what he refers to as the supply chain. “Develop the brand” says Friel – “not the artists. When you do that, then people will come and see all the artists.”
 This artists wants to be a little higher up on the food chain - wants people to pay for the work artists do. There was at least one artist in the audience who didn’t see it quite that way. While he had no problem being part of the supply chain he suggested that the artists could be a little higher up on that chain and complained about artists being asked to do their work for free by people who had good jobs running the cultural institutions in the city.
A near perfect example of just that happening is the two events held at the Burlington Art Centre on the weekend. The BAC had invited more than 100 artists to show their work and at the same time has the six Guilds that work out of the BAC showing their work. The crowds will not be coming to see a specific artist – they will be here looking at artisans and while here get a good look at what the BAC does day to day.
Just what is the Burlington brand? Is Freiburger expected to create a brand for the city? Nope – his job is to put together a plan to market Burlington and its culture – without really knowing what that culture is. THAT is a task and a half. Burlington is certainly festivals. Is it a gathering place for artists? Maybe not yet – but if the Burlington brand is fully developed and exploited the city will become known as the place that always has a festival of some kind going on. If you develop the brand, if you make Burlington a place where people know there are a lot of artists – they will come.
Niagara on the Lake has a very clear brand? Well yes and no. The Shaw Festival takes place there but the Shaw is not the Niagara on the Lake brand. Stratford on the other hand is Shakespeare.
 Besides mapping data participants in the Cultural Conversations were asked to contribute their thoughts and ideas. The city has several events that are part of the brand – the Sound of Music Festival and RibFest – both of which need significant image upgrades. That’s not a criticism – it’s an observation. Burlington types are very edgy when it comes to making any kind of observation about how they are doing. The drama people understand the significant role criticism plays. Good critical comment helps an actor or actress improve their importance.
“A community” advised Friel, “has to believe in itself. You have to decide what the place is going to look like.” Now back to his comment about a community and its history, its heritage and its culture.
Burlington struggles with its history. There is a plaque in the western end of Spencer Smith Park that tells you the Brant Inn once stood there – but it doesn’t tell you very much about the Brant Inn and the very significant cultural events that took place there.
The Burlington Heritage Advisory committee is struggling with a way to get the community to agree on some format to recognize those structures in the city that are of cultural significance. That problem is almost like a festering wound with two sides not seeing the issue the same way.
The Freeman railway station has had to fight and scratch its way to stay alive despite a city council that exhibited truly disgraceful behaviour. Were it not for the efforts of Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster the structure would be fire place kindling somewhere. It isn’t a completely done deal yet but there is every reason to believe that the structure will be saved and that at some time in the future – maybe before the pier is officially opened – Freeman Station will be open for the public to use.
 Jeremy Freiburger - leading a committee with a mandate to come up with a Cultural Plan for the city. The question that comes out of all this is – how does a city create a cultural plan if it doesn’t have a clear firm sense of what its history is or a civic administration that strives to support and maintain that history? There was a point when Burlington had hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore and find a home for the structure – but the city couldn’t get agreement on where it should be located and the federal/provincial and municipal funding that was in place to do this was lost – it got used to pave some streets instead.
Burlington was once one of the premier locations in the province for fruit farms – that land got turned into shopping malls. Burlington and Maple View malls were once orchards – now they are covered in asphalt and serve as parking lots. The Freeman Station was one of several stations where barrels of apples were loaded into freight trains. There was once a cannery operation at the edge of the lake. Not even a plaque there now to mark a very important part of the city’s history.
Jeremy Freiburger has his work cut out for him. The city is at least looking at how culture can be highlighted and the city turned into a tourist destination. The basic elements are there – all we have to do is bring them to the surface, polish them up and Burlington will be a place to visit and spend some money while they are here.
Is that what this is all about?
We will follow the development of this plan.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 7, 2012 Bring it On – sounds like a bit of a challenge doesn’t it? And a challenge it is to protect the rural lands north of the Dundas-407 boundary. Getting out and telling the story and protecting your community costs money. PERL and groups like it hold every kind of event you can imagine. This time it is a Silent Auction, Talent Show & Garage Sale plus a Lucky Draw. Enjoy a beverage and meet your friends. The Polish Hall has a bar.
PERL – Protecting Escarpment Rural Land has been fighting this battle since 2008 and is part of a coalition of more than 13 different organizations the come under the SEHC – STOP the Escarpment Highway Coalition that tends to be the voice of the movement.
 These are the rural lands north of the Dundas-Highway 407 boundary. PERL wants them protected forever. Some want to build communities in this part of the city. The group is holing a talent event at the Polish Hall on Sunday the 10th from 2 – 4 in the afternoon. No entry fee. Just walk in and enjoy watching some local talent. There is apparently going to be an Elvis impersonator on the stage..
PERL is a local group that is part of a much larger coalition with community stalwarts like Isobel Harmer and her daughter, singer, song writer Susan Harmer very active locally.
PERL is a bit more grass roots than many groups – their people live in the community and have a passionate view of how important it is to keep the rural part of the city undeveloped.
While the local public and the Region argue against any highway that would run right through Lowville, the provincial government has bureaucrats and consultants beavering away on drawing for where a road should go and how wide the road should be – with all the work being done using your tax dollars.
PERL fights that kind of insidious effort on the part of consultants who don’t have a vested interest in the community and tend to think along the same lines of the people that sign the cheques.
PERL wants you to sign a cheque as a donation, for something you buy at the Silent Auction or out of the plain goodness in your heart.
Sunday June 10th, Polish Hall on Fairview 2-4 pm. Come for part of the event or make it a full afternoon. This one matters.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 6, 2012 Mayor Rick Goldring has upped the ante with his Inspire speaker series – bringing in motivational speaker Chris Crowley, who has been on the New York Times best seller for a book he co-authored with Henry S. Lodge M.D. They’ve sold over a million copies and have been translated into 20 languages worldwide.
Crowley a refugee from Wall Street, will be speaking at the Ron Joyce Centre, DeGroote School of Business on June 12, 2012 at 7 p.m. The online registration is now closed. If you would like to attend – please call 905-335-7607.
Admission is Free and open to all; seats available on first-come, first-served basis with registration. We will be offering a shuttle bus service from the Burlington Downtown Terminal at 6:15 p.m., with one stop at the Burlington Mall in the parking lot on the north west corner at 6:30 p.m. and arrival at DeGroote for 6:45 p.m. The shuttle will return along the same route, leaving DeGroote at approximately 8:45 p.m.
If audience reaction is any measure – Crowley is going to be a smash hit:
“Chris spoke to our manufacturing leadership team last Saturday morning. Wow! What a hit! Everyone is talking about it and they want to know when can he come back! I strongly recommend Chris to anyone, who is interested in improving their health or influencing others too improve. ”
—Dave Clark, VP of Operations, Bath Iron Works (Builder of major, surface ships for the U.S. Navy)
“What a pleasure!…All the audience responses rated you ‘excellent’. THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.”
“From the moment you began until the very end, you had the audience’s undivided attention . You were ENTERTAINING, INFORMATIVE ANED DEFINITELY THOUGHT PROVOKING. You are spreading AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT IS CHANGING LIVES EVERYWHERE. How rewarding that must feel for you. Congratulations and keep up the good work.” ”
Teresa Trembreull, President, The Business Bank, Minneapolis Minnesota
“Chris spoke at the annual retreat of our informal group of senior executives and I have to say he was one of the most inspiring speakers we have ever had over the two decades we’ve been getting together. Our views of the future were completely changed and each one of us is already at work becoming younger next year.”
Joni Evans, Former Chairman — Simon & Schuster, super agent at William Morris etc. New York City
“Let me say how much I and everyone else enjoyed your talk at La Quinta. You were terrific!”
David Beck, President — American College of Trial Lawyers
“What a home run! You were the perfect catalyst and Keynote Speaker for our “Reversing The Aging Process …Symposium….a trumpet call that gives us hope.”
Bill White, CEO THW Design, International Architects, and Founder, The Vital Nation. Atlanta, Georgia
“He is a terrific speaker, the topic was electrifying and our members loved it.”
Tom Kittredge, Mountain States Young Presidents Organization. Charleston W. Va.
 So – what is all the fuss about? According to the blurb on the book – here s what Crowley is talking about.
“Turn back your biological clock. A breakthrough book for men—as much fun to read as it is persuasive— draws on the very latest science of aging to show how men 50 or older can become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, and continue to live like fifty-year-olds until well into their eighties. To enjoy life and be stronger, healthier, and more alert. To stave off 70% of the normal decay associated with aging (weakness, sore joints, apathy), and to eliminate over 50% of all illness and potential injuries. This is the real thing, a program that will work for anyone who decides to apply himself to “Harry’s Rules.”
Newsweek magazine had this to say:
What can you say about a 70-year-old guy who can kick your butt in spin class? Outdoors, it’s below freezing, and, though technically morning, still dark as night. But there he is, bouncing along on his stationary bike like a jack rabbit and grinning happily at his heart-rate monitor, while I, nearly 30 years younger, manage to keep up only by visualizing coffee. “Just 20 minutes till coffee, just 12 minutes till coffee…”
When the class is over, he places one leg up on the bike seat as if it were a ballet barre and gracefully touches his nose to his knee. Back at his apartment, over a bowl of oatmeal and bananas, he chats nonstop about fitness. The coffee arrives quickly, thank God.
 Looks pretty good for a 70 year old. Might be worth listening to. Meet Chris Crowley, who, together with his doctor, Harry Lodge, is on a mission to change your life. Their fast-selling new book, “Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond,” is a wisecracking but scientifically serious guide to health for middle-aged men who may be looking at their widening paunches, their aging spouses and their fast-approaching retirement dates with helplessness or panic. “Younger Next Year” has one main message: stay very fit and you will live a healthier, happier life, with more sex and less depression, well into your old age. What sets the book apart from its self-help brethren is its ebullient personality–which is mostly Chris’s. Describing himself as “lazy and self-indulgent,” Chris laces his very practical how-to advice with hilarious, self-effacing personal anecdotes, like the time he skied so hard “it hurt to sleep.” Then, just when Chris’s abundant cheeriness starts to grate, 46-year-old Harry steps in with sober chapters on body chemistry, which explain why fitness is the best medicine.
On this point, Chris and Harry are zealots: living a sedentary life is not just lazy, it’s lunacy. That’s why they follow what they call “Harry’s Rules” and think everyone else should, too. There are seven, chief among them: “Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.” And “Quit eating crap.” Any book that advocates an easier way is, says Chris, “horses–t.” A lapsed fitness buff with plenty of excuses–a full-time job, a toddler, a life–I’m hoping these guys can get me back on track.
Chris and Harry met five years ago, when Chris began searching for a doctor in New York City. They liked each other instantly. Both grew up near Boston and share similar, old-school values having to do with discipline and hard work. At their first meeting, Chris was 40 pounds overweight and exercised only sporadically. Harry was already profoundly frustrated by the number of his patients who had diabetes and other “lifestyle” diseases. Harry started preaching the benefits of intense, regular exercise, and it wasn’t long before Chris got religion. He took up spinning, lost 40 pounds and began hounding Harry to help him write this book.
Chris is the flamboyant one: he’s larger than life. Married and a father by 20, he had two more children in quick succession, divorced at 32, made partner at the white-shoe Manhattan law firm Davis Polk at 37, married again, divorced again. After a long stint of dating (see chapter 20 for a wonderful description of a middle-aged man trying to ascend a ladder to a loft bed in a young woman’s studio apartment), he married again in 1993, and this time, “we’re never getting divorced.” Chris writes like he talks, in full paragraphs laced with profanity, but always hammering at his point. “I’m a world of fun and all that, but I’m a closet Virgo,” he says. “Very, very disciplined.”
Harry is the earnest one. Built like a cross-country runner, Harry works out each night on a 1970s-era NordicTrack machine he bought used for $25. He prides himself on being a “mildly Calvinistic Northeasterner. I tend to eat small portions and I don’t like spending money.” His passion is his work, and the quick success of their book fills him with joy. “We think we’re going to start a little revolution,” he says.
As for me, I’m trying. After that humiliating spin class, I vowed to follow Harry’s rules but already I’m slipping. I’ve eaten egg rolls for dinner and brownies for lunch. I’ve skipped scheduled workouts. As inspiring as they are, it turns out Chris and Harry can’t make you go to the gym, and reading their book won’t make you healthier either. The best they can do–and they know this as well as anyone–is give you a kick in the pants.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 6th , 2012 There is going to be some public art on the plaza at the front of the Performing Arts Centre at the intersection of Locus and Elgin – and the artist chosen will, we understand, come from either, Montreal, Maine or New Brunswick – according to sources who should know.
Deadline for first round consideration closed mid-April. Submissions were received from artists at the international, national, provincial and regional as well as local levels. The jury that is doing the selection has narrowed their choices down to three artists who have been asked to submit their drawings. No date on just when those drawings and the backgrounds on these artists will be made public. The city’s communications department appears to have run short of pencils and isn’t moving much copy these days.
Burlington insurance company owner Dan Laurie very generously put up a large part of the cost of the art work and he too is looking forward to a public announcement.
 The public art that is being chosen for the plaza in front of the Performing Arts Centre will get installed before the pier opens. With the pier however we know who is doing the work - can`t say the same for the public art. The information we have is that each of the artists has made a major contribution to public art in their communities and that whichever artist Burlington chooses we can expect to see some very good public art in front of a building that will serve as a fine platform.
Burlington is a little on the timid and conservative side of things when it comes to public displays. We are told that at least two of the artists are known to “stretch the envelope” and so we just might see something that will make amends for the unfortunate placement of the very delightful “orchids” on Upper Middle Road west of Appleby Line.
 Our Burlington thought the "orchids"would have looked great in front of the Performing Arts Centre but a jury of some very qualified people think otherwise and have narrowed the choice down to three people. You can be forgiven if you’ve never seen the work – it sits at the bottom of a grade separation on a road that has quite a bit of traffic. Nice art though and at some point the city might find the right location for the orchids.
City hall, which is handling the communications on the art that will go in front of the Performing Arts Centre appears to be sitting on the file and not saying a word.
The city hired Cobalt Connects to oversee the art selection jury and based on what little we know they have been doing a good job. The number of submissions was quite a bit higher than expected amd we are told that the quality was superb.
The art that eventually gets installed will be seen by Burlingtonians for a long long time. Given that public money is being used to pay for a large part of the art – it would be nice if the public could be told a little bit more about who the jury is looking at considering. Burlington is still suffering from the information deficit identified in the Shape Burlington report.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 4, 2012 Is that culture with a K Sir ?– and would you like fries on the side?
Just what is culture? There is a gang of guys that meets at the Queen’s Head on Friday’s for games of pool and conversation – they’ve been doing that for years. This city has numerous Bible Study groups, a number of book reading clubs. The crowd that gathers at the Legion for Fish and Chips on Friday – does they constitute culture? Or is it just “the arts” that are culture.
 Is this culture or is it craft and does it make a difference which it is? Burlington has realized that culture is business – big business of you do it right. The Sound of Music is said the bring $4million to the city (we would like to see how THAT number was arrived at); The Burlington Arts Centre will have 100 artisans selling their wares later this month and Art in Action will be holding a Silent auction at which 36 artists will put their work up for sale with the proceeds going to fund two scholarships.
Lots going on – but does the city really have a handle on the cultural file and are we making the most of the opportunity? Sometime back the city became aware of some provincial funding that was available for the development of cultural plans and decided to add funds of their own to the pot and is using the $100,000 to develop a Cultural Plan for the city.
During the first cut of the idea that was made to a Council workshop Jeremy Freiburger, the cultural honcho behind the drive, was asked by Councillor Meed Ward – what is culture. Like beauty – it is in the eye of the beholder. That and $5.00 and you’ve got a cup of latte, to which Freiburger is very partial.
So what do you get for $100,000 – it could turn out to be quite a bit more than first realized. Freiburger has made culture a business and he’s good at it. He has taken a number of old buildings in Hamilton and found a new life for them – getting different arts groups in space that works for them in terms of décor and setting and at a cost they can manage.
 Is Freiburger up a ladder on this assignment or is he up there getting a good look at the bigger culture picture in Burlington? Now he has to apply his expertise and experience to Burlington’s situation. The exercise is going to consist asking a lot of questions – and to get the answers to the questions Freiburger plans to go right into the community to the grass roots level and ask questions.
He has set up a Cultural Conversation in each of the six wards and managed to tick off the Council member for the wards when he sort of “uninvited” them to the event. Freiburger wants to hear from the citizens and he felt he would have a better conversation with the Council members out of the room. The politicians didn’t particularly like that one – but Freiburger knows what he is doing.
During his workshop presentation he asked council members some very direct questions. “Do you want more direct input throughout the process? And :How would you like to be kept up to date?
 Councillor Lancaster wants people that don't work at city hall on the Steering Committee. Blair Lancaster wanted citizens on the Steering Committee in a leadership role and “not just sitting there once a month getting an update”. She felt it essential that this look into culture “not be led by staff at city hall”. The Steering Committee currently keeps the following people occupied:
Chris Glenn, Director Parks and Recreation
Karen Sabzali, Manager, Community Development Services
Angela Paparizo, Recreation Planner
Brenda Heatherington, Executive Director BPAC
Jody Wellings, Special Business Area Coordinator (Downtown)
Ian Ross, Burlington Art Centre
Carla Marshall, Festivals and Event, City of Burlington
Barbara Teatero, Museums of Burlington
Maureen Barry, Burlington Public Library
Andreas Kyprianou, Royal Botanical Gardens
There are a couple there that won’t do much more than warm a seat; remove them and add at least four citizens, with at least two of them university students and Freiburger will have more in the way of bench strength. He is going to need it.
 Freiburger wants to get to the grass roots and ask questions; Councillor Lancaster wants to see some of those grass roots on the Steering Committee. Freiburger tends towards having data, fresh data and using that data to drive his decision making process. He mentioned during the Workshop presentation that there were two data bases that had approximately 650 names each – but when they dug down into the data there were something just over 150 that were still active. Freiburger wants better data, and his focus is to go to the community and to the stakeholders and ask a lot of questions.
 Freiburger and his team expect to have thousands of dots placed on maps - that data will tell him what people do culturally and where they do it. For example he wants to know what Burlingtonians identify as “cultural” locations. He will be asking people to put a little sticker on a map. By the time he has finished he will have a very valid representation of where people think culture can be found in Burlington. Then he takes it one step further and asks people: Where do you spend your money on culture? This is an excellent question. He may find that people tell him there are all kinds of cultural locations in Burlington but they don’t spend their money at these locations. His next question is to find out why.
In order to set out a Cultural Action Plan there has to of course be a plan to work from in the first place. Freiburger points out that culture is unique to each community and that what works in Kingston may not work in Burlington and what they do in Hamilton just isn’t a fit for the people of Burlington. It would be kind of nice though wouldn’t it, if there were Art Crawls in Burlington?
Freiburger wants to determine just what we have in the way of cultural resources. Yes, there is the museum, the Art Centre, the Performing Art Centre, Drury Lane and a dozen or so others. But Freiburger wants to go deeper – is there something that is being missed.
One of the things he will be doing is setting up a booth at the Sound of Music Festival and pulling people in to ask questions. He then plans to take part in the Children’s Festival and has some very unique ideas for learning what the young people think culture is and what it isn’t.
 As a video it was called The Sweater as a book it was The Hockey Sweater - a book for every boy and girl in the country. But is it culture ? Freiburger wants his data to be cross cultural and that means getting to the sports groups and hearing what they have to say. While sports at first glance may not fit the cultural lens a lot of people use – watch the British at their soccer matches – that’s cultural. Don Cherry doesn’t fit my cultural lens – but I would argue that Wayne Gretzky and Maurice Richard and Roch Carrier ’s book The Hockey Sweater is as Canadian culture as you’re going to get.
The first step in the developing of a Cultural Plan for the city is a “launch” which will take place at the Performing Arts Centre this Wednesday – June 6th. Go to eventbrite.com and enter Cultural Plan – Burlington and get yourself a free ticket.
There is more to tell about how this Cultural Plan is going to be developed – let’s see how the launch goes and we will follow up from there. In the meantime – check out the dates and times for the Cultural Conversations – and if this stuff is important to you – make a point of getting together with your neighbours and getting your views out on the table. Jeremy Freiburger is sincere, passionate about what he does and he not only wants to listen but he knows how to listen and when he isn’t sure he fully understood what you wanted to say – he will ask you questions.
Freiburger is one of those guys that you would describe as a bon vivant; the kind of person you want at a dinner party.
The question for Burlington as we go forward with the development of a Cultural Plan is this. Freiburger knows how to listen, and wants to listen. Will he be listened to?
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 4, 2012 More than 100 artists and artisans will be selling their original fine art and crafts in and around the Burlington Art Centre (BAC) on June 9 and 10.
 Work by Billy-Jack Miligan There will be two events – The Fine Art and Craft Festival and Kaleidoscope of the Arts, both taking place on the same weekend, and both at the BAC
The place will be filled with a unique selection of artwork to see and buy, from jewellery, clothes, accessories, and home décor to pottery, photography, fine art, weaving and unique crafts, all created by Canadian artists and craftspeople. It’s one-stop shopping at its best, with the added bonus of hands-on activities for all ages and entertainment by musicians John and Sheila Ludgate and friends.
 Rich Baker of Richcraft Ironworks The Fine Art and Craft Festival attracts artists and artisans from Burlington, Hamilton, Oakville, Dundas, Mississauga, Toronto and beyond.
Kaleidoscope features sales of the work of members of six guilds at the BAC, plus hands-on activities for the family in guild studios: create and develop a photogram, weave a mugmat on a loom, finish and decorate a woodcarving or make and paint a sculpture, try rug hooking, and decorate a raku bowl and watch the firing (Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm, $8) or create an urban smoke-fired pendant (Sunday, 12 to 3 pm, $5).
John and Sheila Ludgate and friends will perform throughout the weekend. John and Sheila are award-winning Burlington-based musicians known for their strong rhythms, vocal harmonies, and original and cover songs. Special guests Ian Reid, David Lum, Jericho (Jeremiah Budnark and Eric Bower), Dave Jensen and friends, and Shawn Brush also will entertain.
The whole weekend is a great way to see art in action. There is no admission charge. The BAC also is participating in Doors Open Burlington.
 John and Sheila Ludgate will perform throughout the weekend.
Hours are: Saturday, June 9, from 10 am to 6 pm, and on Sunday, June 10, from 11 am to 5 pm.
You would have to try hard to miss the Burlington Art Centre – on Lakeshore right across from Spencer’s and the Discovery Centre. Plenty of parking in the rear off Elgin Street.
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