Up front: Fifty years of family, friendship and down-and-dirty fun page A3 On stage: Shawnigan skier proves he was good enough after all page A27 For all the news of the Cowichan region as it happens, plus stories from around British Columbia, go to our website www.cowichannewsleader.com Your news leader since 1905
Friday, July 27, 2012
Putting Cowichan culture on the map Input wanted: Sweeping project aims to catalogue the region’s arts-and-cultural attractions in a bid to create provincial template built and natural heritage — and intangible assets spanning community histories, traditions, and stories, the survey on the arts council’s website explains. apping the valley’s arts, “Data collected can also be used to culture and heritage is create a cultural web portal . . . a onethe goal of a landmark pilot-project survey being stop-shop for information relating to arts, culture, and heritage within Cowichan.” urged for completion by “Culture,” said Economic Development most Cowichanians. Cowichan manager Geoff MiIlar, “is one Cowichan Culture Counts could also of our tillers of development. The big spell arts and heritage dollars for valley tthing is getting hundreds of artists, events and venues too. rrespondents looking into the “We’re asking them to ¿ll out survey.” as many times as applicable to Counts earned $40,000 from them,” regional arts-and-culture Victoria and Cowichan Tribes V manager Kirsten Schrader said tto forge an arts mapping temof the Counts survey at cowpplate for other B.C. regions, ichanvalleyartscouncil.ca. Schrader explained. Culture vultures and heritage “The Cowichan Valley will hounds of all breeds can do the Kirsten Schrader: be the guinea pig creating the b simple survey holding three formula for future cultural steps: area of expertise (¿ne- and counting on it mapping, using the template m agri-arts to music and theatre); we’re creating with various cultural ’ t a brief description of yourself; and personal contact info that can stay private categories. It’s a wonderful opportunity to put Cowichan’s arts and culture in the if desired. province’s mind.” “It’ll take maybe ¿ve minutes,” George Gates, Chamber of Commerce Schrader said the provincial arts-mapping template, “but it has the important data we president, was sold. “Any more tools a business can put on need for a sense of who’s out there in arts, their tool belt to promote themselves, and culture and heritage to deal with cultural the Cowichan Valley, is better.” planning.” Counts could help the Warm Land Results will appear in a consultant’s leverage government grants and other report in late September. cash for Cowichan’s cultural and heritage “Ultimately, we’d have a culturalgroups, festivals, shows, artists and tourism website updated with maps of studios, festivals, music venues and more venues. The map might also lead to Cowichan’s to promote arts and culture in our area,” ¿ rst taxpayer-funded arts-and-culture funcSchrader said. tion at the regional level, Schrader noted. That website would boast culturally “There’d by long-term bene¿ts of grants signi¿cant environmental features such and special money they’d be eligible for. as the Cowichan River and Mount “The survey’s the ¿rst step to make the Prevost, plus heritage structures like argument to the powers that be that this Kinsol Trestle, and Mill Bay’s historic (culture) sector’s strong and needs to be little church. recognized as one making a valuable Counts will yield a comprehensive contribution to the economic strength of inventory and database of Cowichan’s our area.” tangible cultural assets — facilities, more on A12 organizations, people, public art, festivals, Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
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Andrew Leong
Muriel Peter works a dream catcher in a demonstration at the Inter-Cultural Day presented by Cowichan Green Community, at Duncan city square on Sunday, July 22.
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