It’s now September and, as usual, arts and culture play a really big role in the life of our community.
Perhaps we should change the name of Culture Days to Culture Week in Flin Flon, because that’s how long our celebrations will last.
We kick things off with Rick Fines, a finger-pickin’ bluesman from Peterborough, ON, on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 21 and 22. He is a wonderful storyteller and musician who last played in Flin Flon seven years ago.
Fines will be the first performer of the Home Routes season for 2015-16. The venues, as usual, will be 183 Murton Blvd. and 19 Hemlock Dr. The cost is $20 and people may bring their own treats. All the money goes to the musician. I will include information on the rest of the Home Routes season, with dates, in my next column.
A great big Bollywood dance show at the R.H. Channing Auditorium will be a treat for audiences, on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 22 and 23 (see article on page 7).
The hall will be set up cabaret-style so you can choose your table location. Ticket price is $25 and tickets will be available at the usual outlets. This promises to be a bright, colourful show with plenty of dance skills on display.
Culture’s Cool for Kids will get the schools and the pre-schools involved, on Friday, Sept. 24. There are far too many events planned to even get into in this column, but you should check with your kids or grandkids about what they did in school on that day.
Friday evening will see two new features added to the lineup, with a Local Roots evening at Doug and Ann Ross’ home at 187 Murton Blvd., followed by a Howl and Prowl involving The Unwinder, The Hooter and Johnny’s Social Club. Others (more knowledgeable than I) have been calling this a pub crawl, but that doesn’t sound classy enough. You be the judge. You know how good our local musicians are, so choose your musical style and choose your venue to hear some great tunes.
Saturday, September 25 will see some popular and some more new events during the day. Watch The Reminder for event advertising and a full schedule of events before the weekend.
Wild Rice returns Saturday evening at the R.H. Channing Auditorium.
Pictures at an Exhibition with the marvelous Mark Kolt on piano will also be back this year, on Sunday, Sept. 26.
A very special Dancing Down Main Street event on Sunday will end at Neighbours of the North Park, right where Main Street crosses into Saskatchewan. A new David Collins Memorial Cairn will be dedicated at the end of the dance. Collins was the Métis trapper who showed prospector Tom Creighton the outcroppings that would become Flin Flon’s first ore body.
There will be lots of food and a feast with an elder to honour and celebrate the contribution Collins made to the beginning of Flin Flon.
It’s going to be a great week, so please make plans to attend.
Culture Days is a grand cultural event in the life of our communities. Many events are free, but it is also an exceptional economic booster for the communities. When each person spends $20, the businesses in town earn a tremendous amount which translates into jobs in the service industries, for truck drivers, for grocery stores, etc. Never underestimate the power of the arts and culture sector as an economic driver. That happens far too often at the federal level.
