Community Organizer Guide Table Of Contents Introduction.................................................................1 Proven Tactics for Success..........................................2 Key Dates....................................................................8 Marketing Campaign Overview....................................9 Useful Tools and Resources.......................................12 Community Organizer Profiles....................................15 Version 1.0 Copyright Culture Days 2015 ii Introduction Since its inception in 2010, community organizers have become vital contributors to the success of the annual Culture Days weekend in hundreds of cities and towns throughout Canada. As a grassroots volunteer-led movement, community organizers come in all shapes and sizes but essentially, it is any person, organization or group that acts on the opportunity to mobilize people and support to bring Culture Days to life in their community. Across Canada, municipalities, arts councils, tourism agencies, Business Improvement Associations, and enthusiastic volunteers have all stepped forward as community organizers. There are no hard and fast rules for mobilizing your community around Culture Days – but it does start with the inspiration and vision to make a difference! Much like making the proverbial stone soup, organizing around Culture Days often involves identifying the talents and resources in your community and then encouraging collaboration and sharing to maximize the positive impact. FACT: 50% OF ALL ACTIVITIES REGISTERED FOR CULTURE DAYS ARE WITHIN A COMMUNITY THAT BENEFITS FROM THE SUPPORT OF ONE OR MORE COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS. This guide aims to frame the opportunities to engage and activate your (fill in the blank…): building, block, neighbourhood, community, town or city. It also aims to streamline and point you to the many free resources and content available at culturedays.ca, connect you with others who can support you or that you can collaborate with in your region, as well as provide a few inspiring community organizer profiles and success stories highlighting some of the lessons learned by veteran Culture Days community organizers. Culture Days is an ideal opportunity to shine the spotlight on your arts and cultural community, why not activate your passion for arts and culture by taking a lead role today? “Culture Days is a golden opportunity to showcase our cultural community with a clear message, strong identity and national momentum.” -Liesl Jauk, Manager, Cultural Development, City of Richmond, BC 1 Proven Tactics for Success The following is a list of proven tactics for aspiring Community Organizers to mobilize their communities for the Culture Days annual event. Take on one or more of these to help your city or town shine during Culture Days and also develop opportunities throughout the year. Not all tactics are applicable to everyone – use the list as a guide to what you can do independently or in collaboration with other parties or organizations. Every effort you make counts! The hyperlinked items will bring you to useful resources or examples of what others have done successfully. Please see the community organizer profiles section later in the guide for examples of great initiatives taken and browse culture365, Culture Days’ blog for more inspiration and lessons learned. 1. C onnect with Your Provincial Task Force Representative TIME FRAME: JANUARY – OCTOBER (ON-GOING) ■■ Orientation to campaign strategies, support available, tips, resources and connections ■■ Attend Task Force meetings where applicable ■■ Participate in Task Force discussions on Basecamp (where applicable) ■■ Share local registration deadlines with Task Force staff (if you have local promotional incentives) ■■ Share your local plans for marketing and promotion ■■ Share your local success stories, photos, video and other content ■■ Share your challenges ■■ Help provincial staff identify activity organizers’ needs and what tools/resources could assist them 2 Proven Tactics for Success 2. Promote Activity Registration TIME FRAME: MID-MARCH – AUGUST ■■ Be the central point of contact locally for activity organizers ■■ Distribute news from your provincial/territorial Task Force and National Culture Days office to local activity organizers (from newsletters, website, social media, etc.) ■■ Introduce artists and cultural groups to each other (match-making for partnerships and hubs) ■■ Host an information session ■■ Distribute useful tips and resources to potential organizers ■■ Identify potential hub locations ■■ Secure local promotion partners (can be used as incentive for registration and setting local deadlines) ■■ Organize networking sessions for artists and cultural groups ■■ Distribute SWAG from the National Culture Days office to local activity organizers Areas of High Satisfaction for Culture Days Organizers Linking with the community Reaching new markets Developing new skills Collaborating with others 3 Proven Tactics for Success 3. Planning and Producing TIME FRAME: MID-MARCH – END OF SEPTEMBER “This is the second year the municipality has sponsored Culture Days; more individuals, groups and organizations came forward to volunteer to plan and host events. Our group hosted a variety of activities covering many aspects of culture - music, art, the spoken work, textile crafts, farmers’ market, heritage.” -Linda C. (Grey Highlands, Ontario) ■■ Choose a local deadline for registration (if offering local marketing promotion) ■■ Make a local planning timeline for your community’s CD events ■■ Secure and organize a hub location ■■ Plan and organize local kick-off event ■■ Direct activity organizers to national or provincial staff for assistance with registration and/or questions 4 Proven Tactics for Success 4. Marketing, Public Relations and Communications TIME FRAME: MID-MARCH – END OF SEPTEMBER “A huge success. Magic happened as it so often does when creative people create together. It was especially rewarding to validate the idea that a small grassroots group could tie into a national campaign with the same marketing and promotional resources available to us as any major national organization.” - Peter P. (Belleville, Ontario) GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS (MARCH – JULY) ■■ Be the central point of contact locally for activity organizers ■■ Disseminate the Call for Participation ■■ Direct local activity organizers to the Participation Guide and other resources ■■ Send invitations to the information session to local artists and cultural organizations, VIPs, media, potential sponsors, partners, etc.. ■■ Do follow-up communications from the information session to attendees and absentees 5 Proven Tactics for Success PUBLIC RELATIONS (AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER) ■■ Identifying best/key local stories, sharing these with provincial staff ■■ Be a spokesperson about local Culture Days events to media ■■ Use press release template for Community Organizers to write press release ■■ Distribute press release to local media ■■ Follow-up calls with local media MARKETING (SEPTEMBER) ■■ Produce local event guide, such as a brochure/flyer or pull-out section of newspaper of all local activities ■■ Produce local advertisements (print, online and/or broadcast) promoting local activities ■■ Produce other marketing hand-outs, such as postcards, stickers, etc. 5. Share Your Experience TIME FRAME: AUGUST – OCTOBER PRE-EVENT ■■ Share marketing and PR plans to provincial staff to maximize synergies and reporting POST-EVENT ■■ Complete survey ■■ Report value and impressions of all local marketing to provincial staff ■■ Report local successes and challenges to Task Force and provincial staff ■■ Submit examples of marketing collateral, photos video and other samples that demonstrate what occurred in your community ■■ Report attendance at local events to provincial staff 6 Proven Tactics for Success 6. Shine the Light TIME FRAME: AUGUST – OCTOBER ■■ Invite local elected officials to information sessions ■■ Encourage local Mayor and/or city/town council to make official proclamations – use template on culturedays.ca ■■ Encourage local Mayor and/or council to speak about Culture Days in council meetings ■■ Invite local elected officials to Culture Days events ■■ Report on your local Culture Days successes to local Mayor and/or council Contact your provincial Task Force representative for guidance and further support! rnbull, BC Photo: Glenna Tu 7 Key Dates Early Registration Campaign Promotion March 16 - May 11 National Congress on Culture A CULTURE OF STORIES: EVERYONE. EVERY STORY. May 7 & 8 Edmonton, Alberta Live streamed - plan a gathering, lots of inspiration and great tips! Summer Registration Campaign Promotion June 15 - July 31 Align deadline for local registration promotion incentives. National Contest Campaign July - August Spread the word! Event Marketing and PR Preparations July - August CULTURE DAYS WEEKEND September 25, 26 and 27 Activate! National Feedback Surveys On-line September 28 - October 11 2015 Award Nominations October 2 - December 11 8 A National Marketing Campaign Like No Other The annual Culture Days weekend is supported by a major collective multi-level, multi-platform marketing and promotional campaign. The campaign is buoyed by national television, radio, digital and social media advertising and promotions, and regional advertising and promotion by provincial Task Forces. It is local advertising IN 2014 ALONE, THE and promotion by both registered Activity COLLECTIVE MARKETING AND Organizers and Community Organizers alike PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN that really gets the message out directly GENERATED SOME 400 MILLION to Canadians about what’s taking place IMPRESSIONS VALUED AT OVER for Culture Days in their community. $6 MILLION. Everyone plays a part in collectively promoting Culture Days, and not surprisingly, the most effective calling card to encourage the public to participate in local events is though local promotion, media and public relations. Effective partnerships with the media, simple media relations initiatives and mobilizing promotional partners goes a long way to creating a buzz and informing the public about what’s taking place in your community. (YOUR CITY) Check out the promotional tips and customizable resources available free of charge on the Culture Days website. ! ! E E R U R T L U U C T L CU 1 # way people find out about Culture Days events in their communities is through local newspapers and media (XXXXXXX) OF FREE EVENTS HAPPENING IN (YOUR CITY)! e here Insert headlin Insert headline here Insert event details here ls here Insert event detai 7,500 + free activities es 7,500 + free activiti ns tow 900 cities &nd one weeke 900 cities & towns 26, 27, September 25, 2015 ltureDays.ca ate Share Cu Participate Cre one weekend September 25, 26, 27, 2015 Create Participate Share CultureDays.ca National Partners Insert your sponsor logo here National Partners Insert your sponsor logo here National Broadcast Partner Insert your here sponsor logo Insert your here sponsor logo Insert your here sponsor logo t Support National Broadcast Partner National Creative Partner Federal Governmen Insert your sponsor logo here National Creative Partner Federal Government Support Insert your sponsor logo here Insert your here sponsor logo 9 Early Registration Promotion Get going early and you could have a chance to win a free Customized Community Marketing Kit to help promote Culture Days in your community this September. Promote activity registration effectively between March 16 – May 11 and you could benefit from a professional boost to your marketing program! Stay tuned for other registration promotions and opportunities to leverage your efforts by subscribing to the Culture Days newsletter and checking in regularly to the Culture Days website. Click here for Early Registration Promotion details. Social Media Social Media is a highly effective way to activate a part of your promotional strategy and has proven to be highly successful for Community Organizers across the country. 87 % of all Activity Organizers report that they used social media to promote their work overall. Among those making use of social media, Facebook and Twitter are the most frequently used social media channels. 93 % of organizers using social media use it to promote their Culture Days activity. Connect With Culture Days on Twitter and Facebook National Culture Days Twitter Facebook BC Twitter Facebook Alberta Twitter Facebook Saskatchewan Twitter Facebook Manitoba Twitter Facebook Ontario Twitter Facebook Québec Twitter Facebook New Brunswick Twitter Facebook 10 ORGANIZERS BELIEVE THAT CULTURE DAYS IS HAVING AN IMPACT IN THEIR COMMUNITY “It is a joy to see so many people drawn to art when they are motivated by advertisement and promotion. [With this kind of collective support], I think I could do it twice a year.” - Parveen K. (Mississauga, Ontario) 11 Useful Tools and Resources To support your efforts as a Community Organizer, Culture Days makes a wide variety of tools and resources available free of charge on culturedays.ca. They have been created based on proven experiences to share best practices and knowledge. Note that some of these resources are designed for individual Activity Organizers, so please share them with those in your community who you think would benefit most. And, as a Community Organizer, you can adapt many of these tactics and know-how to your efforts as well. Here are some useful links to the resources: ■■ Participation Guide ■■ Call for Participation ■■ Municipalities and Culture Days ■■ Info Session Toolkit ■■ DIY Guide to Public Relations and Community Organizer Media Kit ■■ Sponsorship Toolkit ■■ Tips on Hubbing ■■ How to Use the Bright Spots Schedule ■■ Webinar White Papers ■■ Get In Touch With Your Elected Representative ■■ Municipal proclamation ■■ Local Marketing Kit templates and Marketing User Guide Consult the full selection of resources available here. 12 Almost all activity organizers make some use of Culture Days free tools and resources available free on culturedays.ca. The most frequently used are: ■■ The Participation Guide ■■ Customizable branded posters, postcards, e-flyers and web banners ■■ The Marketing Users Guide ■■ Digital Marketing resources 80% REPORTED CULTURE DAYS TOOLS AS BEING USEFUL OVER HALF OF THOSE WHO MADE USE OF CULTURE DAY TOOLS SAY THEY WILL BE USEFUL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 13 Community Organizer Profiles COMMUNITY ORGANIZER PROFILE: BARB MCLEAN TALKS NORTH SHORE CULTURE DAYS Barb McLean is a Cultural Services Officer for the North Vancouver Recreation & Culture Commission (NVRC). She coordinated North Shore Culture Days, a joint initiative between the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver and District of West Vancouver. Culture Days spoke with Barb about this creative municipal partnership. CD: What inspired you to get involved in Culture Days? BM: On Vancouver’s North Shore, arts and culture is recognized as a means to encourage community building, creativity, healthy life styles, lifelong learning and celebrating diversity. The NVRC is a bi-municipal agency of the City and District of North Vancouver that supports arts and culture through a variety of planning and promotional services. Associating North and West Vancouver municipalities with the national Culture Days celebrations seemed like an excellent way to raise the public profile for arts, culture and heritage activities in the community. CD: What shape did Culture Days take in the North Vancouver area? BM: Culture Days is a three-day celebration of free, interactive creative events and activities hosted by local arts, culture and heritage groups. We branded our initiative ‘North Shore’ Culture Days to highlight the fact that while this was part of a national celebration, it was realized through local community efforts. A free promotional program for participating groups was spearheaded by the NVRC Cultural Services in partnership with the North Shore News. The program included advertising and a special 4-page section that ran in the newspaper over the Culture Days weekend. Financial support from NVRC, District of West Vancouver, Vancouver North Shore Tourism, and public libraries in all the three North Shore municipalities helped offset the cost of the media sponsorship. Local arts, cultural and heritage groups that responded to the call to host a Culture Days event received free publicity in the promotional program in the North Shore News. 14 Community Organizer Profiles CD: How did you attract and mobilize participants? BM: We sent out a Call for Participants to local arts, culture and heritage groups explaining what Culture Days was all about and clearly outlining the benefits of participation such as free promotion; reaching new audiences; THE NORTH SHORE CULTURE DAYS partnership opportunities; volunteer CELEBRATIONS REINFORCED THE and board recruitment. An information CONTRIBUTION THAT THE ARTS session was offered in the spring inviting MAKE TO THE LIVABILITY OF THE community groups to learn more from COMMUNITY PARTICULARLY IN past participants, find out about the RESPECT TO SOCIAL INCLUSION, responsibilities and costs ACCESS, DIVERSITY AND QUALITY of participation, ask questions OF LIFE. and share concerns. CD: How did you find the needed resources for Culture Days? BM: By identifying and engaging key stakeholders early in the process, including: ■■ Municipal government: Mayors, Councils, key staff and communications departments ■■ Local organizations: media/newspapers, libraries, recreation and community centres ■■ Targeted community: Well established local arts, cultural and heritage groups and previous Culture Days participants CD: What were your greatest challenges in organizing North Shore Culture Days? Do you have any advice for other Community Organizers? 15 Community Organizer Profiles BM: Ensure that all participants, stakeholder groups and municipal partners have detailed information about Culture Days so that they can promote through their own communication channels. Participants should understand that promoting their own event, in addition to the free promotion, is a key ingredient for success. CD: In what ways was Culture Days a success in your community? BM: North Shore Culture Days brought arts, culture and heritage groups together under one recognizable promotional banner. The participation of municipal leaders helped to raise the public profile for the celebrations. The North Shore Culture Days celebrations reinforced the contribution that the arts make to the livability of the community particularly in respect to social inclusion, access, diversity and quality of life. e welcom ORE NORTH SH 2014 r 26. 27. 28 Septembe a | #nsculturedays ed to 4 you are invit ts, writers, and 28, 201 y local artis ber 26, 27 On Septem talents of man ple that will open discover the r creative peo explore and othe and s. crafters musicians, re Culture Day for North Sho awareness, their doors to raise the movement arts and s is a national adians in the te in Culture Day ment of Can you participa and engage ities. 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For mor for all resid and cultural reation & Cult -round arts range of year by North Vancouver Rec ed and support . www.nvrc.ca please visit nizer ure Days Orga ices Com Cultural Serv ion & Culture ouver Recreat North Vanc n, Cult Barb mclea Officer & North Shore mission ers Local Partn tive Partner National Crea ers National Partn RE NORTH SHO 3 days of o photo Andre CAstr es activitiio 60+ freein spirat n ort er dcast Partn National Broa nt Supp ral Governme Fede 16 Community Organizer Profiles COMMUNITY ORGANIZER PROFILE: JACQUELINE SOCZKA ON ORILLIA CULTURE DAYS Jacqueline Soczka is the Manager of Culture for the City of Orillia (Ontario)., Parks, Recreation and Culture Department. Culture Days spoke to Jacqueline about how cultural hubs (including alleyways) were created in different parts of the city to encourage participation in Orillia Culture Days. CD: What inspired you to get involved in Culture Days? JS: Before joining the City of Orillia as the Manager of Culture, I had been involved with Culture Days in Clearview Township. As a small municipality, it was an excellent opportunity to be part of something bigger that had the power to help elevate our local arts and cultural community. As a Culture Days participant, suddenly, on a very small budget, local artists were given national exposure through the provincial and national marketing campaigns. Therefore, when I came to Orillia, it was an easy decision to get involved to grow our own Culture Days initiative. CD: What shape did Culture Days take in Orillia, Ontario? JS: Orillia is home to a number of cultural centres within its historic downtown, including the Peter Street Arts District, the library, the Opera House and Museum of Art and History. To avoid competition and enhance flow between activities, our local organizing committee looked at creating two principle hubs that were activated at different times throughout the day. In the morning, the Farmers’ Market hub featured a rotating Conduct Us stage where two local bands and two choirs took turns taking direction from the crowd. The activity was coordinated by the Orillia Performing Arts Forum, a group of local performing arts organizations that works to coordinate scheduling and marketing opportunities. In the afternoon, activities shifted to the second hub in the Peter Street Arts District. Initially, we planned for a road closure. However, due to uncertainty regarding the weather and turnout, we decided to move the activities into the street’s alleyways. The move created a great 17 Community Organizer Profiles dynamic for both artists and visitors, with art, dance and music echoing through the alleyway into the street. Logistically, the alleys were easy to fill, and small tents provided shelter from the weather, ensuring there was no disruption in activities. This year, with several dozen alleyways across the City, the committee hopes to increase the number of Orillia’s Culture Days activities. CD: How did you attract and mobilize participants? I LOVED HOW CULTURE DAYS EMPOWERED EVEN OUR YOUNGEST PARTICIPANTS TO STAND UP ON A PODIUM AND CONDUCT A BAND OR PICK UP A PAINT BRUSH AND ADD TO A FAMOUS CARMICHAEL PAINTING. JS: We offered several incentives to attract participants to our event, depending on the nature of the participant. For businesses in particular, our marketing materials focused on the opportunity to receive free publicity at the local, provincial and national level. For activity leaders, we offered them free advertising in our City’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Guide, which is delivered to over 6,000 homes in Orillia and provides an extensive listing of recreation programs in the City. We also offered early bird registrants the chance to be featured in our high-definition promotional video, one of the focal points of our marketing campaign. However, the incentive that resulted in the greatest flurry of registration was the chance to qualify for an honorarium to help cover the cost of supplies that enhanced the participant experience. CD: What were the greatest challenges you faced as a Community Organizer? What advice would you give to other Community Organizers? JS: In organizing this type of event, I am not sure if there is one specific challenge that stands out. There are many items that need to be considered, including weather, infrastructure needs, marketing to artists and the public, etc. Sometimes, it takes time for a vision to develop that suits the needs of the community. For instance, the idea of the alleyways only came up in early August 18 Community Organizer Profiles at a planning meeting for another arts festival. At that meeting, it became clear that Orillia did not need another road closure. To set itself apart, Culture Days would therefore have to define itself differently – hence, the activation of the alleyways. My advice to other Community Organizers is to embrace these types of challenges as an opportunity to enhance your event. In hindsight, I believe the changes we made were the key to our success. CD: In what ways would you consider Culture Days a success in Orillia? JS: Orillia has a rich and robust MY ADVICE TO OTHER COMMUNITY cultural community. Music, visual ORGANIZERS IS TO EMBRACE art, performing art, digital media, CHALLENGES AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO storytelling and a wide variety of other ENHANCE YOUR EVENT. IN HINDSIGHT, genres of art abound. Throughout I BELIEVE THE CHANGES WE MADE the year, two or three of these genres WERE THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS. often come together during one of our many street festivals. However, what I find unique and appealing about Culture Days is that it brings together a medley of artists and artisans, without exclusion, to create, celebrate and share with each other and with members of their community. In saying this, I was thrilled to see artists taking in activities alongside the public. Often immersed in their own projects, Culture Days provides artists themselves an opportunity to explore other genres of art. For me, this was an exciting part of the Culture Days experience. I also loved how it empowered even our youngest participants to stand up on a podium and conduct a band or pick up a paint brush and add to a famous Carmichael painting. Visit The City of Orillia YouTube channel to watch our new highlight reel. CD: What was the key to creating a successful Culture Days in Orillia? JS: The success of our event is attributed to the hard work and dedication of the many men and women behind our City’s creative economy. Through my position, I have had the pleasure of working with local arts and cultural organizations on a number of different projects, including artsVest and Doors Open. Drawing on these connections, we were able to find the necessary resources and partners to carry out our Culture Days activities. From risers and chairs to tents and promotional support, our local Culture Days activities are a labour of love for the entire cultural community. 19 Community Organizer Profiles COMMUNITY ORGANIZER PROFILE: ELIZABETH BENDER ON WELLINGTON CULTURE DAYS Elizabeth Bender is the Cultural Coordinator for the Township of Centre Wellington. Culture Days spoke to Elizabeth about how Centre Wellington created a Cultural Passport to successfully build and promote Culture Days in her rural community of south-central Ontario. THE PASSPORT WAS A NATURAL WAY TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT WAS ALREADY GOING ON AND TO INVITE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO GET INVOLVED. CD: What inspired you to get involved in Culture Days? EB: Centre Wellington was inspired to start a Culture Days celebration in 2011 when the municipality began developing a Cultural Action Plan. Our local definition of culture is very broad and includes everything from arts and agriculture to festivals and events, quaint downtowns, natural and cultural heritage to sport and recreation. As an essential part of the cultural planning process, we created a dialogue on Cultural Centre Wellington by engaging cultural and community groups, as well as the community in general. Culture Days was a great way to highlight, promote and celebrate our amazing cultural community. Our first Culture Days celebration was in 2012 and we have continued to celebrate culture every year since. CD: What shape did Culture Days take in Centre Wellington? EB: The Township of Centre Wellington’s Tourism and Culture Department coordinates Culture Days in our community. For all of our Culture Days events, we have used a Culture Passport as the platform for our celebrations. For a small rural community, we are very lucky to have a great wealth of cultural assets with many great events taking place year-round, including the Culture Days weekend. The passport was a natural way to highlight what was already going on (for example, a Studio Tour and Farmers Market) and to invite as many people as possible to get involved. 20 Community Organizer Profiles CD: How did you attract and mobilize participants? WE ARE NOT SHY TO GET CREATIVE AND ASK PEOPLE TO BE INVOLVED. THIS HAS HELPED BUILD A BIGGER, MORE DIVERSE AND BETTER EVENT EACH YEAR. A WONDERFUL SPIN OFF OF HAS BEEN THE ONGOING COLLABORATIONS THAT HAVE EXTENDED WELL BEYOND CULTURE DAYS WEEKEND. EB: To build our passport, we used our internal contact list and media sources to approach groups with existing events; we also sent out a call for others to join. We like to think big, and had some ideas on how to make the weekend celebrations even more robust and collaborative, so we approached groups individually and simply asked if they would like to be involved. We seized every opportunity to include anyone who was interested in participating but didn’t know how they fit by partnering with other groups/events or offering the opportunity to sponsor an event or donate a prize. No one is ever left out. In return for participating, every group, person, business is promoted significantly by us. CD: How did you go about creating successful partnerships? EB: We are pretty passionate about our cultural community and the contributions it makes to our community as a whole and we love to talk about it - a lot! This encourages groups with whom we already have an excellent relationship to continue to be involved. They know they will be supported and well promoted. This also helps us build new relationships and we work hard to incorporate everyone interested into our Culture Days event. We are also not shy to get creative and ask people to be involved. This has helped build a bigger, more diverse and better event with each passing year. A wonderful spin off of has been the ongoing networking and collaborations that have developed and extended well beyond Culture Days weekend. 21 Community Organizer Profiles CD: What were the greatest challenges you faced as a Community Organizer? Do you have any advice for other Community Organizers? EB: The biggest challenge is the coordination of information by deadlines. Many groups are volunteer-driven so it takes a great deal of time, organization, persistence and on-going communication to finalize Culture Days event details. Our best advice is make expectations clear and continue to follow up. Another challenge has been funding. We run Culture Days on a shoestring budget focused primarily on coordinating and producing the passport. The need to be creative and incorporate all resources is imperative. We take advantage of all free promotion; use the resources from Culture Days; and ask our cultural community to help using any available resources. CD: In what ways would we consider Culture Days a success in Centre Wellington? EB: As coordinators of Culture Days, success is the opportunity to celebrate local culture. It’s cliché but true. Success: seeing a member of the public visiting and enjoying a cultural space. Success: the collaboration that takes place and the relationships that form because of Culture Days. Success: the great time that everyone (cultural creators, presenters and participants alike) has on that weekend. Success: the growing awareness of our cultural community. In Centre Wellington, Culture Days has been fully embraced by our community and momentum continues to build. It is hard work but we are really lucky to have a role to play, and feedback is consistently positive and encouraging. We are excited to be planning our Culture Days Passport for 2015. 22 Thank you to all of our partners National Partners / Partenaires nationaux National Broadcast Partner / Partenaire national de radiodiffusion National Creative Partner / Partenaire national de créativité Federal Government Support / Soutien du gouvernement fédéral Making the Arts More Accessible® Founding Partners / Partenaires fondateurs Inspired by / Inspiré par Provincial Partners / Partenaires provinciaux CONTACT YOUR PROVINCIAL TASK FORCE REPRESENTATIVE FOR GUIDANCE AND FURTHER SUPPORT! All images are used with permission. To extent permitted by law, Culture Days excludes all liability for anything contained in the Community Organizer Profiles section of this publication and any use you make of it. Under no circumstances will Culture Days be liable for any damages relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction based on the content, or information in the Community Organizer Profiles section of this publication. Culture Days will not be responsible for any damages or losses related to, the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content or information in the Community Organizer Profiles section of this publication. Culture Days does not endorse or assume any responsibility for any opinions or content provided in this document from other parties. All statistics and data in this document are cited from independent national research conducted on behalf of Culture Days in October 2014 by The Strategic Counsel. 23
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