Registrations are being accepted for artists/venues in the Columbia Basin to participate in the Columbia Basin Culture Tour (CBCT), a two-day celebration of culture taking place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 10 and 11.
The CBCT is a self-guided tour showcasing local arts, culture and heritage offered at no charge to the general public. Full colour tour directories will be available free of charge to the public as a guide to visit your studio, exhibition, museum, art gallery, cultural center or heritage site throughout the Columbia Basin during this special weekend event. And yes, “artists” includes visual, written, performing, media and inter-arts! Visitors love this event and are anticipating this fifth year.
Participating as a venue allows you to really connect with locals, develop a wider audience, educate the public about what you do, market your activities, and attract visitors to your community.
The CBCT allows visitors to meet the participants “behind the scenes” and allows them to visit artists’ studios that may not regularly be open to the public, purchase works directly from the artists, and visit art galleries, museums and cultural centres to view special interpretive displays, archives, demonstrations or performances. It is also a chance for them to meet people such as artists, curators, historians and volunteers that are such a vital part of our local culture.
Registration is $50 (deadline is April 15) and includes a web page profile, inclusion in the printed directory, placement on an online interactive map, event signage and a provincewide promotional campaign. If you plan to have any special programming or demonstrations at your venue, details can be included on the web page profile. Directories and web profiles will be released by the end of May. Artist/venue web profiles will remain online until Dec 31 to provide contact information for followup visits.
Participating individuals and venues must be located in the Canadian Columbia Basin — the southeast corner of British Columbia roughly bordered by the communities of Valemount, Golden, Elkford, Creston, Rossland, Arrow Lakes and Revelstoke. Although not in the basin, the communities of Grand Forks and Christina Lake are again invited to participate this year.
For information or to register visit www.cbculturetour.com. The Columbia Basin Culture Tour is a project of the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance and is funded by Columbia Basin Trust, which delivers social, economic and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. For more information, contact the CKCA at 250-505-5505 or 1-877-505-7355.
—COLUMBIA KOOTENAY CULTURAL ALLIANCE