Spreading the Art of Christmas!
Image courtesy of Marylou Goodwin: “This card was made in the spirit of our iconic “Devil” who presides over Devil’s Gap, on Lake of the Woods. He has been in my life since early childhood and it gives me great pride to see him resist the ravages of age and contribute to the history of our lives. Merry Christmas!“
It is our hope that the spirit of giving, love, kindness and creativity touches your heart and home this Holiday Season.
LOWAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Watch for Christmas greetings and offerings from our member artists, which should be coming to your email and on our website and social media soon!
ARTSFEST VIDEO MOVES AND INSPIRES
LOWAC released its ARTSFEST 2022 video at its Annual General Meeting (AGM), held at the Lake of the Woods Museum in Kenora, on Tuesday, November 22. The video is available on LOWAC’s YouTube, Facebook pages and our website.
The reaction was what we had hoped for. Matt Kennedy of UpRiver Media did an outstanding job capturing the spirit of the event, held this past summer on The Muse grounds in Kenora.
The video includes enthusiastic words from event coordinators Baldwin and Everette Fournier, performers like Olivia Whiddon, Edward Franko, and Esmé Boone, and artists Marylou Goodwin, Irene McCuaig, Tersoo Tsevende, Keifer Floreal, Evelyn Finlayson and Tim Martin.
It also includes several shots from the first ever “Nish Deva Fashion Show”, which featured a collection of Indigenous fashions by Evelyne Finlayson and independent artists presenting their own regalia. The show included designers of all ages who walked through the festival site to the strains of music from the main stage. LOWAC offers its sincere appreciation to Evelyn and her team, which also included organizer Janine Seymour, for their part in bringing this stunning work to the festival.
Highlights from the very successful KIDZONE are also included as well as performances and exhibits by a variety of artists. A full listing of performances and exhibiting artists is available at lowac.ca/artsfest.
We couldn’t have done this without partners like The Muse, the City, Harbourtown Biz, and our funders, which included Ontario Trillium Foundation, Kenora and Lake of the Woods Community Foundation and the Kenora Hospitality Alliance, as well as our volunteers and enthusiastic members of the community. It sets the stage for another great festival in 2023!
Annual General Meeting Highlights
LOWAC held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, November 22 at the Lake of the Woods Museum. It was both a live and virtual (Zoom) event. Our many thanks to those who attended the meeting and provided their input and guidance for our future activities.
- Action Treasurer Marion McKay provided the financial report:
- We tried to reduce our regular “operating expenses” , covering as much as possible with grants. Insurance was one that we were able to cover with the Ontario Trillium grant monies received for ARTSFEST.
- Estimated annual expenses of $6,000 exceed membership revenues of $1,750. This is creating a need for increased membership and fundraising as many of the grant’s LOWAC applies for are event-specific and don’t cover operations or fundraising.
- Membership increased by 130% to 70 members from 30 members in 2021. This increase is attributed to ARTSFEST requiring membership to participate.
- Membership fee increase to $30 went over well. Those in attendance felt that it could have been higher; that we should consider increasing every year for a while up to $40-45.
- A Survey was conducted to gather feedback about ARTFEST. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The survey closes Dec. 15. Highlights from the stats presented:
- 94.5% would attend again
- 47.8% prefer Fri/Sat, 39% prefer Sat/Sun (sample size is quite small so cannot base any decision off of this yet.)
- 47% of respondents would volunteer
- ARTSFEST 2023
- Members in attendance enthusiastically support presenting ARTSFEST in 2023, at The Muse – cultural hub, more magical, more creative, less like a regular market.
- Suggestion to have a one-day event instead to reduce resources and expenses, and potentially attract artists who prefer to commit to one day.
- Generally seemed to prefer to have as a destination event/not part of a downtown market as people may not walk that far; also wouldn’t be arts enthusiasts.
- Add buskers, more street signage
- Fundraising
- Suggestion for ARTSFEST (which had low response to fundraising in 2022) to be more “in their face” / visible about fundraising during ArtsFest… having hosts walk around between performers with tip jar; be a little more overt about our need to raise funds. Maybe have a silent auction/auction of some form with portion of proceeds going to LOWAC.
- Have the next newsletter or a direct email sent out to membership to ask for their fundraising ideas for LOWAC.
- KIDZONE tent could be funded from the lottery account as it is educational.
- LOWAC’s future
- General consensus to focus on ARTFEST as main event, building on momentum of 2022.
- Find other ways to fundraise that aren’t entirely grant dependent – February “party” at Bob’s Burgers, etc.
- Focus on attracting more members and volunteers.
- Elections/Nominations
- Ashi Shrivas (from MNP) nominated to the Board to serve as Treasurer
- Leanne Fournier will serve as president for another year in the event no one else expresses interest but would like to hand off a number of tasks so she can stay more focused on grant writing and communications.
- No further nominations.
We welcome Ashi to the Board and also welcome back our remaining Board of Directors: Leanne Fournier, President; Shelby Smith, Secretary, Carolyne Lynch, Membership Chair, and Directors – Marylou Goodwin, Helena Devins, Aimee Baldwin and Everette Fournier. The role of Vice-President remains vacant. We also wish Marion McKay well as she departs the Board after a number of years of service as treasurer and vice-president.
New directors are always welcome and needed. If interested, email lowacdirectors@gmail.com.
Membership fees are now due
LOWAC’s membership fees help us fulfill our mandate to foster and promote the spirit of creativity in the City of Kenora and the surrounding area of Lake of the Woods; inspiring unity, joy and opportunity through the arts. Your membership renewal is due at the beginning of November and we are grateful for your continued support. It’s how we offer programming, scholarship and operate in the community with additional support from grants. Our Board has made the decision to raise our membership fees, which have not increased since LOWAC was established just over a decade ago. Effective November 1, your membership fee for 2023 will be $30, a $5 increase over previous years.
You can update your membership now using our handy PayPal option, or mail your $30 cheque payable to Lake of the Woods Arts Community to: PO Box 10002 Harbour Postal Outlet, Kenora ON P9N 4T1.
Patron of the Arts
We are also introducing a new opportunity to support LOWAC’s activities by becoming a Patron of the Arts. If you wish to make a donation of $100 or more, we will list your name on a new Patrons of the Arts page, being developed on our website. These contributions will go toward LOWAC’s ongoing operations, scholarships and programming. Email lowacdirectors@gmail.com if you wish to support us in this way.
Survey closes soon – Fill it out now for your chance to win!
Following are links to surveys for our PERFORMERS & EXHIBITORS and MEMBERS/GENERAL PUBLIC about ARTSFEST 2022, which took place this past summer on July 22 to 23, 2022, on The Muse Grounds in Kenora, Ontario.
Please take the time to answer the survey questions, so we can make the festival even more impactful next year. Survey closes December 15, 2022.
If you participated as both a performer or exhibitor and visitor or volunteer, you may fill out both surveys.
SURVEY FOR MEMBERS/GENERAL PUBLIC
https://forms.gle/ZL6z1yay6L8pEbmC9
SURVEY FOR EXHIBITORS AND PERFORMERS
https://forms.gle/B7bkgzk6JighBraH6
RESPONDING HAS ITS BENEFITS!
In addition to helping us make ARTSFEST the best it can be, your name will be entered in a draw to win a $100 gift certificate courtesy of 901 Westside. Our thanks to Brenda for always showing up to support the community!
Many thanks for your response. If you have any difficulties filling out the survey, email lowacdirectors@gmail.com.
In addition to ARTSFEST, some of the areas we need help with include fundraising, grant writing and other programming and events to bring people together to experience our diverse and rich arts community. We need more people to make this happen and hope you’ll be interested in joining these efforts.
ARTSFEST 2023
Planning for ARTFEST 2023 will begin in early 2023. We have already applied for some grant funding but more will be required to deliver a top notch festival like we did in 2023. We are actively searching for an ARTSFEST Chair. The chair will organize and preside at all meetings of the ARTSFEST Planning Committee and, along with the Committee designates, generally oversee and supervise all activities related to this annual festival. If funding allows, they will also guide the activities of the Coordinator(s) hired to manage performers, exhibitors, volunteers, site setup and partnerships. We are looking for volunteers to lead or help out for:
- Site Setup/Takedown
- Artist Coordination
- Volunteer Coordination
- Green Room
- KIDSZONE
- Marketing/Communication
- Fundraising
In 2022, we learned that a committee of just 6 plus our 2 coordinators wasn’t nearly enough to do all of the things we would have liked in advance and during the festival. The event needs at least 3 times that number for planning and implementation and can only happen with more help.
If you want to help make ARTFEST 2023 the best it can be, we’d love to hear from you! Email owacdirectors@gmail.com.
We need your fundraising ideas
As mentioned earlier, fundraising is a priority to cover LOWAC’s ongoing operations costs, which include expenses such as our scholarships and bursaries, insurance, storage, web hosting/domain, bookkeeper and tax (T2) filings. We are looking for volunteers and ideas for 2023. A music night at Bob’s Burgers? Maybe an art auction? All ideas are welcome. While our fundraising plans will be ramping up in 2023, we’d love to hear any ideas you have. Email lowacdirectors@gmail.com.