City and arts groups planning new annual cultural festival for Nelson
By Bill Metcalfe
Nelson may have a new annual cultural festival starting in 2015, according to a plan worked out by a cultural working group over the past couple of months.
The plan, attached in its entirety below, would see the group developing a clear cultural identity for Nelson for marketing purposes and also creating a “downtown hub for culture with a physical presence and easy access to a cultural development officer, an events calendar, ticketing for a range of events and information on the culture scene in Nelson.”
Groups represented at the meetings were the Capitol Theatre, the Civic Theatre, the Shambhala festival, the Nelson and District Arts Council, Nelson City Council, the city’s Cultural Development Committee (CDC), the Oxygen Art Centre, Selkirk College, and Touchstones. A list of the individuals who represented those organizations is attached below.
But that is not a static group. The plan states that, “it is understood that the goals in this plan will not move forward without involving others in the work. That’s one of the next steps.”
Other stated priorities are fundraising, the hiring of a coordinator, and collaboration between groups in areas like marketing and organizational development. The group will operate under the auspices of the CDC.
The plan sets a number of deadlines for several initiatives, the most imminent one being a meeting of interested people by September of this year to start planning a 2015 festival in Nelson.
UPDATE July 30: the word “may” in the first paragraph was substituted for the word “will.”
Related story in The Nelson Daily:
City seeks collaboration between arts groups (May 2014)
