Canada 150 A Celebration of Art Through Fibre Hosted by the - PDF document

Canada 150 A Celebration of Art Through Fibre Hosted by the Communities of North Middlesex Background The recent suspension of the 2017 Ailsa Craig Community Quilt & Fibre Arts Festival; "Canada; Sea to Sea to Sea, has left a gap in the North Middlesex 150th sesquicentennial celebratory calendar. The Festival represents the largest tourism event in North Middlesex, drawing an annual crowd of 2,500 to 3,500 to the region and often for multiple days. The Festival has achieved a good international reputation; an asset that has always been thought to offer potential developmental opportunities for other economic activities. Members of the ACQFAF Board where approached to determine if there was interest in hosting a more localized initiative in 2017 in order to provide the community with a flagship event around which to rally for Canada's 150th Celebration. Members of the community have rallied around this request as have three of the four board members despite this idea not reflecting the proven international business model that the Festival is most known for. While being organized as a separate event, seed funding, insurance and other properties of the Festival will source from the Ailsa Craig Quilt & Fibre Arts Festival. Request to Council As the initiation of the “Canada 150” Quilt Show was encouraged by input from the North Middlesex Development Office and the Office of the CAO, it is respectfully requested that Council support this initiative by providing the primary facility; the Ailsa Craig Recreation Centre as a value in kind offering with an estimated value of $2,037.05 (taxes inclusive) for the periods June 6- June 11 th inclusive. It is further recommended that Council approve the distribution of a promotional piece of advertising to the community via a tax or utility bill. At the request of the Economic Development office and the CAO, plans are underway with the “Friends of the Parkhill Carnegie Library” Board to include this facility in the Show. Upon confirmation, it is recommended that council absorb those fees as well for the time frame June 6-11 th inclusive.

To leverage municipal infrastructure, it is recommended that the Canada 150 committee continue to collaborate with the NMED to extend social media coverage and to help promote the event. Details: The following plan outline is subject to change and modification: Leadership: Jan Bender Chairperson Dini Twynstra Secretary Gerry Barbe Treasurer Shelagh Morrison Marketing, Outreach Barb Fraser Café Meriel Cromarty Design Nicole Bullock Web site and PR Gill Clarke Friends of the Parkhill Carnegie Library Joe Pavlech Set Up Colleen Pavlech Volunteers Luke Barrette Technical Advisor Creative Advisor Michaela Fitzsimmons Key Events: The Festival will be open to the public from June 8 th – 11 th inclusive. Hours of operation will be 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Admittance price will be $10.00 per ticket (including HST) Presented at the Ailsa Craig Recreation Centre will be a superior collection of heritage and art quilts housed in the collection of the Stratford Perth Museum- curator Michaela Fitzsimmons. This will be joined by quilts from the renowned Gerald Fagan Quilt Collection and Quilts from the Ailsa Craig Historical Society – curator Ron Walker. A select few vendors will be invited to participate in this event. A full-sized quilt frame will be set up in the Rec. Centre with local quilters and guild members demonstrating the art of quilting. Promising discussions are still underway with several other potential collections and groups which would round out the display. The Quilt Café will run for the duration of the opening and will be managed by the same Kitchen Manager who did such an outstanding job in 2016. A public Quilt Airing will be held at Ye Olde Town Hall for the duration of the Show. An invitation to members of the North Middlesex community will be extended to showcase their family heirlooms and treasures. There is discussion underway as to how we could create a lasting photographic archive of these local treasures for posterity and future promotional usage.

There has been an enthusiasm and willingness to collaborate from the Friends of the Parkhill Carnegie Library committee but at present, due to the undisclosed opening date, final plans have not been cemented. An invitation will be extended to the Barn Quilt Trail committee to create a loop that will tie these events together. Earlier discussions suggested a willingness to explore. Additional sponsorship opportunities will be encouraged to offset operating costs and to drive participation. An invitation to local schools will be extended as an enrichment opportunity. There will be an Opening event to be tentatively held on Thursday June 8 th at the Ailsa Craig Recreation Centre, with local dignitaries invited to celebrate the opening of Canada 150; A Celebration of Art Through Fibre. Respectfully submitted for Council’s consideration Jan Bender Chairperson Canada 150 A Celebration of Art Through Fibre.