Province Supports Development in Cape Breton

Gaelic singers and young actors in Cape Breton are getting a boost from Nova Scotia's Department of Tourism and Culture. Three cultural organizations in the region have received funding through a new program that supports community and artistic development and industry growth.

Tourism and Culture Minister Rodney MacDonald joined cultural community representatives to make the announcement at the Bauer Theatre in Antigonish today.

A total of $72,600 in support was distributed to groups throughout the province, with three organizations based in Cape Breton, two in Halifax Regional Municipality, five in northern Nova Scotia and three in the southern region. Another five are provincial in scope.

The province's investment is being matched by the cultural organizations and additional project partners for an overall provincial impact of close to $600,000.

"I am impressed by the quality and range of projects receiving support from this latest call for applications," said Mr. MacDonald. "We're pleased to invest in these projects, which are contributing to cultural and economic development in communities throughout the province."

In the Cape Breton region, a $5,000 investment will support efforts to produce the 2002 Gaelic Concert Series by the community organization Commun Feis an Eilein. The concerts will be presented every Friday evening in July and August in Christmas Island and will present Gaelic singers, pipers, fiddlers, piano players, harpers and dancers.

The Conseil des Arts de Cheticamp is also receiving $5,000 for a feasibility study on developing an arts academy at École Notre Dame l'Assomption. The school would greatly benefit from redesign to increase the benefit of its use by both students and the community.

In addition, a youth theatre production by the Festival on the Bay Society of Glace Bay is receiving $5,000 for a variety of activities, including weekly workshops in the spring and fall, teen productions in February and in the summer and Young Company productions in the summer, fall and Christmas 2002.

"On behalf of the society's board of directors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tourism and Culture for the funding assistance which has been approved for 2002," said Doug Hayes, executive director of the Festival on the Bay Society. "This partnership will allow Festival on the Bay Society to carry on with it's mandate of providing opportunities within arts and culture for our youth to explore through the medium of theatre workshops and live theatre productions."

Other project investments totalling $18,000 are provincial in scope and include assistance for: the Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage's long-term development plan; Theatre Nova Scotia's 2002 Robert Merritt Theatre Awards, which recognize achievements in both professional and amateur theatre with awards for acting, directing, play writing, design and stage management; the Teddy Bear Artist Guild of Nova Scotia's 2002 theme year exhibitions, workshops, a Web site and registry; Illustrating Words workshops by the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia in Sydney, Antigonish, Bridgewater and Annapolis Royal; and redesign of the Web site for the Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council to better promote the work of its members.

"Redesigning our Web site will increase the quantity, quality and timeliness of the information we are able to provide to and about Nova Scotia's crafts community," said Susan Hanrahan of the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council. "Nova Scotian craftspeople will benefit through increased access to information about programs and services designed to benefit them and their businesses, and through having their work promoted to a global audience."

In the summer of 2001, Tourism and Culture announced a series of new programs for its Culture Division. Among these is the Cultural Activities Program, which provides support to community- level performances, festivals, workshops, and cultural projects. Community organizations have four opportunities each year to apply for assistance, with the next deadline set for Feb. 15.