News
Sackville Cultural Capitals 2008 Program Announcement
February 18th, 2008
Crossroads 2008, a yearlong celebration of arts, culture and heritage.
Sackville Cultural Capitals Program Announced
The first of three Cultural Capital projects for the province of NB over the next two years is all set to embark on a yearlong celebration of arts, culture and heritage. The Town of Sackville is the first off the mark with this program. The year is shaping up to be one that is uniquely Sackville. “We have an incredible year planned.” Says Warren Maddox, Project Coordinator for the Cultural Capitals 08 Project for Sackville. “There is going to be something for everyone, whether you are a resident of Sackville or a resident of NB, PEI or NS. The programming is extensive. We have new theatre, new visual arts, new books, some of the best music in the Maritimes, we have a one of a kind environmental sculpture project and we are committed to involving as many local and regional artists as we possibly can.” Continued Maddox.
The program for the Cultural Capitals project is one that by all appearances meets their mandate of touching as many people as they can. There are two new plays being produced by Live Bait Theatre; one by Charlie Rhindress called The Heart that Knows and a new piece by Don Hannah called There is a Land of Pure Delight. Festival By The Marsh will be presenting Shakespeare’s, The Tempest along with Aimé Césaire’s adaptation of that play. Festival By The Marsh will also be working on some musical events, street actors and heritage events.
The Tantramar Heritage Trust is going to be doing events based on the over 300 years of Sackville history including a traditional barn raising and construction project. There will be some emphasis placed on a little know fact that Sackville was at one time a huge ship building and shipping centre of the Maritimes. This came at a time when grindstones were worth their weight in gold. Sackville was renowned as a region that produced the best grindstones in the world. Ship loads of them used to leave the area each week, headed for the American market during the civil war.
The environmental sculpture project is one of the most unique projects in the program. Running for a 4-month period during the summer, artists from all over the world including Sackville, will be coming to Sackville to produce environmental sculptures. By September of 2008, you will be able to see 10 environmental sculptures with in an easy walk of downtown Sackville. Sculpture Sackville will be a definite must see.
On the music front, the Cultural Capitals Project is partnering with local organizations to help present the best possible music program for the region. Partners such as the Tantramarsh Blues Society, Performing Arts Series, Cat Bird Jazz Society and a new initiative called Local Legends will be working to creating exciting new programming. The Cultural Capitals committee will itself be presenting some shows featuring a national artist, with regional and local artists in opening positions. “The overall mandate here is to do our absolute best to develop audiences for our local and regional artists.” Says Maddox. “There are multiple mandates at play here; we want to see audience growth, we want to see tourism growth and we want to see some new economic opportunities for the businesses and people of this town. This is an amazing place to live, visit, learn and to work. We want to celebrate that as well as the fact that Sackville is home to one of the best universities in Canada. Mount Allison, students, staff and faculty are a terrific partner in this program and we can’t thank them or Dr. Robert Campbell enough.”
For more information about the Cultural Capitals Project Contact Warren C Maddox at 506-364-4949 or Warren Maddox