After years of putting the arts and culture on the backburner, the Tri-Cities are now getting the light turned on with new master plans in each municipality.
And there's promising news on Coquitlam's front, with the addition next month of an arts and culture manager to oversee the changes in that city.
Coquitlam recently hired Karen Basi the city's former emergency programs manager to stickhandle the new arts, culture and heritage strategic plan.
That document, which will dovetail into the draft parks and recreation, culture master plan, was budgeted by council in 2013, at a cost of $100,000.
Things have already started to move forward on that front: In March, Coquitlam residents were invited to give feedback on their vision for arts programs and services, everything from fairs and street festivals to historic trails, archives and public art (online comments continue to be accepted through the community forum at coquitlam/achsp).
Port Coquitlam is on the same track, too, asking its residents over the next month to help shape its new cultural plan for the next decade.
Its plan, titled Imagine Port Coquitlam, will replace the 15-year-old document by creating new priorities to weave into the city's fabric identity.
On Saturday, during the May Day festival celebrations, residents can drop by the City Info Tent from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Leigh Square Community Arts Village to offer ideas. Those not able to come out can go online until May 24 (portcoquitlam.ca/culturalplan).
The public input will go into a draft cultural plan that is expected to be presented to the city's healthy community committee next month; the final report is due to be adopted by the end of the summer, a city spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, in Port Moody, council in the City of the Arts is next week due to formally adopt its 2015 budget, which includes a $45,000 provision for a new 10-year arts and cultural plan.
PoMo's cultural services manager Devin Jain said consultation is set to start next year, if the plan is approved, to update the current 2011-'15 document.
In the past few months, the city's arts and culture committee has had a lot on its plate, discussing the future of KaBoom, the Youth Festival of the Arts, public artwork and the possibility of establishing a performing arts centre in Ecole Moody middle School District 43's first School of the Arts among other things.
Jain said he doesn't know how the update will roll out that is, if there will be a task force or it will be guided by the city committee, like last time but "whatever we do, there will be ample opportunity for everyone to have their say."
@jwarrenTC
POCO ARTS ALLIANCE?
Artists, writers, musicians, actors, performers and arts groups are invited to the founding meeting of the Port Coquitlam Arts Alliance tomorrow (Thursday).
The inaugural event on May 7 will take place at 7 p.m. in The Outlet (150-2248 McAllister Ave., behind city hall), with the aim to find a common voice to advocate for the arts in PoCo as well as share resources and ideas on future projects.
The group, which is being modelled on the Port Coquitlam Sports Alliance, is being launched by Fritz Radandt of PoCo Heritage, Thelka Wright from the CDMF Performing Arts Festival, Paul Shuley from Friends of Leigh Square and Rick Rinder of Terry Fox Theatre.
Visit pocoarts.org for more information.
