By Staff

September 12th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Arts and Culture Council of Burlington (ACCOB), in collaboration with the City of Burlington and the Art Gallery of Burlington, is presenting a celebration of the City’s rich artistic and multicultural tapestry at the Art Gallery of Burlington on Friday September 29th, 2019 from 6:30- 9 pm.

This free event, which is open to everyone young and old, will feature some of the city’s finest performing and visual artists in various spaces within the AGB.

True to the theme of the 2018 Culture Days, RHYTHM AND BEAT- an exploration of drumming and rhythm- the event will feature a number of examples of drumming from Indigenous, Asian and Caribbean groups within the city. In addition, the Gallery will be humming with a wide variety of musicians, dancers, singers, poets, choirs, orchestras, theatre and opera companies, as well as numerous visual artists from various genres.

This celebration marks the launch of Burlington’s Culture Days festivities, which will take place throughout the weekend of September 28th- 30th.

Culture Days is a national initiative that was founded in 2010, that aims to raise awareness, provide accessibility and encourage participation and engagement in the arts and cultural life of the country. It is taking place in communities across Canada.

A variety of performances, workshops and demonstrations will take place at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre throughout Saturday and Saturday. Saturday from 10 am – 4 pm, the Museums of Burlington will host Doors Open, a province-wide event that celebrates heritage sites, noteworthy buildings and places of interest through the City.

A variety of special activities will be taking place in a number of these locations. All of these activities offer free admission.

The Arts and Culture Council of Burlington was incorporated in 2017 with the express purpose of increasing public understanding, knowledge and appreciation of arts and culture in Burlington and region; to be a catalyst to inspire, engage, connect and advocate on behalf of members of the artistic and cultural communities; and to promote and foster artistic and cultural development in the city.
More details about artists and performances on September 28th will follow shortly.

RHYTHM AND BEAT: BURLINGTON CULTURE DAYS LAUNCH
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2018
6:30- 9 PM
ART GALLERY OF BURLINGTON
1333 LAKESHORE ROAD, BURLINGTON
FREE ADMISSION

By Pepper Parr

August 1st, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It’s summer, time to relax get outside and enjoy what the city has to offer.

Burlington has been celebrating a Joseph Brant Day since 1980; it is held at La Salle Park on the Civic Holiday Monday in August.

Museums of Burlington has presented this event for over 30 years where they celebrates our local heritage and community, free of charge.

The Brant Day Festival attracts well over 5,000 people, featuring a strong line-up of family friendly entertainment, historical displays, a food truck rally, vendors and a variety of interactive experiences.

The Food Trucks this year include:
50 Pesos
Café du Monde Creperie
Dora’s Express
Pappas Greek
Star Dairy Bar
Sweet Temptations
True North BBQ

The Festival runs from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at La Salle Park, 50 North Shore Boulevard, Burlington, Ontario.

FREE parking is available at Aldershot High School, 50 Fairwood Place West, Burlington.

Schedule for the day:
11:00am-11:45am: Opening Ceremony
12:00pm – 12:30pm: Burlington Teen Tour Band
12:45pm-1:15pm: Healthy Aboriginal Men’s Drum Circle
1:30pm-2:15pm: Halton Dance Network
2:30pm-3:00pm: Hoop Dancing Performance
3:15pm-4:00pm: Bare Blue Sea

The Brant Festival isn’t the only thing going on in the city. ONE BURLINGTON FESTIVAL: Building Bridges Between Faiths will be taking place at Central Park at the Band shell and will run from noon to 4:00 pm
In the event of rain, the festival will be moved inside Central Arena.

“I am excited for this Festival and have been meeting with Muslim friends from the mosque, Hindu and Jewish groups and a variety of Christian leaders – and we will be able to learn about different faiths and cultures while sampling many different ethnic foods,” said Rev. Orville James, minister of Wellington Square United Church.

Osob-Adus-BEST-2017Osob Adus, Burlington Citizen of the Year and well-known community activist, said the festival is a way of knowing and embracing the beauty of all faith traditions and creating bridges between them.

“Mutual understanding and respect are the foundations for building communities across the borders of difference,” said Adus, a Muslim.

Now in its second year, One Burlington Festival was initially held as a response to the Quebec City mosque mass shooting that occurred the evening of January 29, 2017 at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City.

This year, the festival will open with an Interfaith prayer led by five clergy representing different faiths. An Indigenous smudging ceremony will follow.

Throughout the afternoon, along with free food, entertainment from different cultures will be featured. Performers include local singer-song writer Kim Verrall and violinist Sophie Huang; the Burlington Slam Poets who are celebrating their 10th anniversary; First Nations performer Jimmy Dick and his family and dance groups from the Sikh, Persian and Afro-Canadian communities.

The ecological theme of this year’s festival focuses on building an understanding of the connections between faith and ecology. Everything from Eco-dinnerware to a green clean-up team are embedded in this year’s event.

Swimming pools and splash pads around the city are open – check on the hours – they aren’t the same for every location.

At the Royal Botanical Gardens the word is that all the gnomes, fairies, pixies, and sprites are asked to make their way to the Gardens where a touch of magic awaits them.

Meet mystical creatures, participate in delightful activities, and learn the secrets of our Enchanted Garden.
Monday, August 6, 2018 11:00 AM – 04:00 PM

By Pepper Parr

July 25th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

There is a lot of buzz, a lot of questions and very few answers on what appears to be a major mess at the Sound of Music Board of Directors level.

The Board recently dismissed Dave Miller as the Executive Director. These things happen,

However, in this situation there hasn’t been a word from the Board and there are a lot of questions from the 500+ volunteers – the people who serve on the 21 committees that make the Festival happen every year.

The Gazette has learned that the board in place now is not elected by the member of the Sound of Music.
More surprising – the Sound of Music doesn’t actually have a membership other than the directors who elect themselves.

It does have a $2 million dollar budget and consistently wins awards for the quality of the annual event.
In most not for profit corporations the Executive Director attends all the Board meetings – and Miller did attend the Board meetings – but he wasn’t permitted to stay for all of the meeting. He would deliver his report and then be asked to leave.

The Gazette has learned that the music selection, that is the bands that play at the event are not chosen by the Executive Director.

Many have complained about the quality of the bands in the recent past.

We are advised that the Board has hired a company to do the band selection for them in the future and that the company they have hired is owned or operated by a former Board member.

Anywhere else that would be called a conflict of interest.

The city of Burlington gives the Festival a significant grant every year, the province of Ontario also gives a substantial grant. The sponsors come up with an additional $400,000 + each year.

The Gazette has reached out to Peter Martin President of the Sound of Music as well as the Corporate Secretary. No response so far.

The Board appears to have taken the route that less sophisticated corporate officers take; duck, say nothing and hope that it will go away.

When there is a real story it eventually comes out.

The Gazette reached out to the Mayor – no response there either.

We have heard from a number of volunteers who are not happy campers.

We asked several of the candidates for public office and got the following responses:

Ward 2 candidate Roland Tanner said: “The Burlington Sound of Music is an independent not-for-profit corporation. As such, its internal staff appointments are not a matter for the City of Burlington and it would be unhelpful for me as a candidate to pass comment on recent changes at this time. I look forward to hearing the Sound of Music’s plans for continued success as they approach their 40th anniversary.”

Ward 5 candidate Shawna Stolte: “As a Ward 4 Candidate I am disturbed about the secrecy and lack of information coming forward from an organization that has received millions of dollars of funding from the taxpayers of Burlington over the past 40 years.

I understand that there is likely legal reasons for not fully disclosing the details of the strife between the Sound of Music Board of Directors and the Executive but I do believe that some explanation is warranted and appropriate.

What disturbs me even more is the apparent lack of transparency and respect given to the hundreds of volunteers that make the Sound of Music Festival the success that it is.

The SOM is the keystone of Burlington’s summer festival season and these volunteers donate thousands of hours of their precious time from their work, family and leisure lives because they believe in the spirit of music and community that the Sound of Music Festival brings to the city. They deserve a better explanation as to what is going on.

The SOM is in crisis and at a crossroads. All organizations go through periods of distress, particularly when senior management are not on the same page, but I’m not convinced that the future of this event that is so critical to the cultural and economic prosperity of our city should be left in the hands of a clearly struggling organization.

Mike Wallace a former member of city council as well as a MP for Burlington said today that: “The Sound of Music festival is an important community event not only for Burlington residents but vital to attracting visitors and building the Burlington brand across Ontario. It is an important part of our culture and our economy.

“As a former board member of the organization, I appreciate the challenges of organizing and managing this fantastic festival with a complex mix of paid and volunteer staff. I welcome the opportunity to help the organization resolve any of the challenges it is facing, in any way I can.”

Ward 2 Councillor and candidate for the office of Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said: “The news was a shock. This must be difficult for everyone involved.

Legitimate questions have been raised around board governance which deserve a response. I encourage the board to be open and transparent with the community, while protecting personal privacy and confidentiality.

I thank Dave Miller and all the volunteers, past and present, who have given generously of their time to make this a great event for our community. We all want the event to be successful.

Ward 1 candidate Vince Fiorito said: “Since the SOM festival generates about $10M in local economic activity, attracts tourists, contributes significantly to Burlington’s strategic direction of an “Engaging City” and the City of Burlington (CoB) is a significant source of SOM funding, The City of Burlington is an important SOM stakeholder with an interest in its continued success.

To ensure the SOM festival’s continued success in the future, I recommend:

1) City Council request a seat on the SOM’s governing board (we voluntarily gave it up in 2015)… after the October 22nd municipal election.

2) City Council make an inquiry into the current state of the SOM governance and the festival’s viability going forward. Given the distraction of a looming municipal election, the ideal city councillors to lead this inquiry would be either retiring City Councillors Rick Craven, John Taylor or both.

3) City Councillors leading the inquiry meet individually with former Executive Director David Miller, President Peter Martin and Corporate Secretary Rich Anderson, for their suggestions on how the SOM festival can be improved going forward.

4) City Council send an email or letter to all SOM 2016-2018 volunteers, inviting their feedback and commentary for the purposes of improving the SOM festival going forward.

5) City Council meet “in camera” to discuss their findings and generate a report recommending actions to be taken to ensure the SOM festivals continued success going forward.

6) The city should approach other major SOM sponsors

a) to gauge interest in sharing the cost of an independent review of the SOM’s finances for the purposes of finding efficiencies and savings, going forward.

b) for their support of the CoB’s request to retake a seat on the SOM’s governing board

Lisa Kerns, a candidate for the ward 2 council seat said: “From my perspective, more information concerning the change in leadership at Sound of Music appears to still be coming forward. My interest in this hinges solely on whether City funds were used appropriately or positions of power were abused. I hope the outcome of this change in direction is founded in transparency and respect, more so that the change contributes to enhancing the event.

The Sound of Music festival is a tremendous event for the City of Burlington and Ward 2 alike bringing vibrancy to our great City through culture and entertainment for residents and visitors.”

This is a story that isn’t going to go away.

Several of the volunteers the Gazette has talked to have either resigned from the committees they sit on or will resign in the near future.

Craig Gardner, a two year volunteer pointed out that the Committee chairs have to produce reports – and that those reports have to be submitted and accepted if future funding is to come through.

Gardner added that without the volunteers in place the Festival just couldn’t take place.