2023 Conference
It's a wrap!
The Culture Alliance, through the Creative Communities Culture Conference, wrapped up a successful “in-person” conference welcoming guests and speakers from the surrounding communities and beyond. It was a great day with fantastic insight, informative discussions, inspiring presentations, and great conversations.
“So many ideas, so many different ways to approach concerns, and most of all, finding out that we are not alone in trying to claw our way back.”
“Beautifully done conference. Very well thought out on all levels. I am very impressed with the line-up of speakers (you) secured.”
As one guest said, their reason for being at the conference was to “hear speakers, learn more about the art and culture sector, and learning where volunteerism is heading.”
Another guest was “so excited about the line-up of speakers; seeking strategies to grow and facilitate change and collaborations in the non-profit sector.”
Cindy Hastings, Conference Chair said, “As we come out of the pandemic, we want to support creative communities and help them thrive in this new environment and give them some ideas going forward. We have (speakers) from community because we have an awesome story to tell.”
John Hartman, an artist in the Heart of Georgian Bay, reported to Midland Today at the conference that, “It’s a chance to hear from other people in the field that are addressing the problems of what happens after COVID in terms of re-engaging with the audience. They (presentations) were done with enough expertise and care that they were meaningful for a really broad range of people in the audience.”
Thank you!
A big shout out to Grounded Coffee Co. for providing coffee/tea for our morning and afternoon break.
Thank you to Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival for providing a juicy butter tart for the afternoon break (logo attached).
Thank you to Tourism Simcoe County for sponsoring one of the gift basket door prizes from the Mouse Trap in Midland.
Thank you to the volunteers and staff at the Midland Cultural Centre for ensuring the day went smoothly.
Thank you to all of our vendors we supported throughout our local communities in purchasing lunch, gifts for speakers, gift baskets for door prizes. Thank you, Midland Cultural Centre, Fresh Start Catering, The Mouse Trap, Willow Graphix, The Midland Copy Shoppe, Graffiti Art, Windlee Farms, The Pebble Tree, General Store on Beausoleil First Nation, Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, Green Block Trading Post, Splash Floral and Event Design, Farm2Door, and Everything Maple and More.
Thank you to Madison Fitzpatrick, our Emcee, for keeping us on track throughout the day.
And finally, a big thank you to the Conference Planning Committee comprised of Cindy Hastings, Michel Payment, Dan Broome, Kevin Kelly, Faith Roebuck Shergold, Nicole Jackson, Karen Mealing, Siobhan O’Halloran, and Liz Cascagnette for their work together to bring about this conference on behalf of the Culture Alliance.
The next Creative Communities Culture Conference will be organized for 2025, so stay tuned.
Rogers Community television will broadcast portions of the conference starting sometime in September 2023.
See you next time!
