Mission Off To A Rousing Start

Some of Nova Scotia's finest musicians are making waves in California. The Barra MacNeils and Celtic performer David Greenburg have won the hearts of music lovers south of the border after appearing at the California Traditional Music Society's Annual Summer Solstice Festival in Los Angeles.

Helen Ferguson of Canadian Heritage/Trade Routes, who assisted in arranging the appearances, said the exposure is important for the Nova Scotian artists.

"Celtic and traditional music are art forms, and are truly appreciated in California," said Ms. Ferguson. "The unique appeal of the music, the versatility of the artists and the raw talent our musicians bring to the stage is certainly appreciated."

On Friday, June 25, Nova Scotia's music sector embarked on an innovative partnership with the California Presenters Association. This influential industry association opened its annual conference to seven key artist/managers from Nova Scotia -

• to explore strategic business collaboration.

The musicians are part of a delegation, led by Premier John Hamm, on a four-day trade mission to California to promote this province's culture sector. Twenty-nine companies are on the trade mission, which will focus on the film, television, music, visual art and cultural industries. More than 100 business-to-business meetings have been arranged for representatives of the music sector alone.

In his first address to the Nova Scotia delegation, Premier John Hamm encouraged companies to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones. "There is a lot of room for growth in the Nova Scotia-California relationship," said Premier Hamm. "I have no doubt that you will impress, because I know exactly what you're capable of and how far you've come."

The culture sector represented about $1.2 billion of Nova Scotia's gross domestic product and employed about 28,000 people in 2001, according to Statistics Canada.

For a complete list of companies attending, and more information on the mission and the cultural sector, see the website at www.gov.ns.ca , and click on the Hollywood icon.