Planning Your Trip To Symposium 2024
Below you will find some information that will help you plan your trip to Re-Igniting the Spark! The 2024 SPARC Symposium.
Thursday May 23 - Opening Reception - 7-8:30pm
Welcome from local Knowledge Keeper (with song), and elected officials.
Drum circle - bring your drums and join in!
Performance by members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Light snacks will be served.
Image Description: a reddish background. On it are small embers or sparks of fire. the image reads: Re-Igniting the Spark, Symposium 2024, May 23-26, Town of Minto.
At the bottom of the image are two logos - on the left SPARC’S and on the right the Canada logo.
Friday May 24
We’ll start the day with Morning Movement with Jillian Peever, then participants can attend 2 of 6 workshops in the morning. The afternoon will focus on group sessions including a funders panel and a grant writing workshop.
Friday’s workshops are (click here for more info on the workshops and presenters):
Changing the Landscape: Activating your organization’s investment in equity, diversity and access - Meineka Kulasinghe & Kayla Besse - Stratford Festival Theatre
The Creative Spark - Erica May-Wood & Bruce Hunter - RealSpace Theatre
Igniting New Young Audience Presenters - Joanne Churchill - Ontario Presents
Creative Accessibility in Performance - Erin Ball & Maxime Beauregard
Make, Do & Mend: Pandemic Lessons from Thinking Rock Community Arts - Miranda Bouchard - Thinking Rock Community Arts
Starting a Concert Series From Scratch in Rural Ontario: The Story of the Kemptville Street Piano - Lisa Poushinsky - Kemptville Street Piano
Funders Panel - representatives from Canadian Arts Presentation Fund, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, RTO4, Guelph Arts Council and 1 non-funder (Cate Proctor). This panel will be followed by Practical Tips on Preparing Grant Applications with Stephanie Draker of WorkInCulture.
Note - both the OAC and the Canada Council will be setting up short, one-to-one sessions throughout Friday to meet with participants and have private conversations about funding!
Peer to Peer sessions - there will be two peer-to-peer facilitated sessions on Friday.
Entertainment - there will be a lunchtime open mic, performances by two local companies, and a dance party facilitated by a local band.
Meals - coffee and tea with fruit and cookies available in the morning, lunch and dinner provided.
Saturday May 25
We’ll start the day with Morning Movement with Jillian Peever. After this there will be two large group peer-to-peer facilitated sessions followed by a chance to attend another workshop.
Saturday’s workshops are (click here for more info on the workshops and presenters):
Beyond Black Squares: Celebrating and Uplifting Black Artists - Sedina Fiati - Black Pledge Collective
Rural Poetics: Re-Igniting the Arts - Hollay Ghadery - Scugog Poet Laureate
Sparking Inspiration: Creating Partnerships in Rural and Remote Communities - Kaitlyn Patience & Keira Park - Ontario Culture Days.
After everyone has had a chance to pick up their bagged/boxed lunch, it’s off to excursions!
Excursions include (excursions will be staggered so it will be possible to attend more than one):
Theatres & Gallery Tour - Take a tour of the historic theatres and galleries of downtown Harriston, located an easy ten-minute drive from the main SPARC Symposium site at the Palmerston Community Centre. Your tour will include a visit with the Grey-Wellington theatre Guild and some onstage improv games!
Found Art Ramble - You never know what artists you might find in Lion’s Heritage Park! Ramble along this paved 1km trail through the park and discover several artists positioned to help you enjoy your afternoon!
Songwriting with Michel Payment - Stay in the main Symposium space for a song-writing workshop with famed Franco-Ontarian singer and raconteur Michel Payment. Michel has had a long career as a performer and song-writer and advocate of French culture in Ontario. There will be time to share your song with the group Saturday night! * Make sure to bring your instruments with you.
Readings from SPARC’s first Playwriting contest - Take a short jaunt to rural Minto to Violets in the Barn (the farm of Jean and David Anderson), located at 6362 3rd Line, Palmerston - about a fifteen minute drive from the Symposium’s main site. Housed in a new barn, Violets in the Barn will be the setting for the finale of the SPARC playwriting contest. Three winning 10-minute plays which reflect the rural and remote experience will be read by playwrights and actors. Come and meet the creators and exchange opinions and ideas, and tour the property.
In the evening will we reconvene for dinner, a surprise presentation and then a fun evening with a local DJ.
Peer to Peer sessions - there will be two peer-to-peer facilitated sessions on Saturday.
Entertainment - there will be a dance party facilitated by a local DJ.
Meals - coffee and tea with fruit and cookies available in the morning, bagged/boxed lunch and dinner provided.
Sunday May 26
Let’s start off the day with a hearty brunch!
Then we will head over to the Norgan Theatre for SPARC’s first Short Film Festival!
After the screenings and prizes have been handed out, we will say our goodbyes until the next Symposium.
