SURREY — The Arts Council of Surrey, established in 1965, has come a long way in its nearly 50-year history. With a handful of members using borrowed space for meetings, our arts council is now housed in the five-year-old Newton Cultural Centre and has the responsibility of running this space – not a small job, as NCC is now a new hub for classes, performances and art exhibits.
Besides the operation of NCC, the Arts Council of Surrey sponsors and produces more than 15 events each year, in addition to participating in community events such as the City of Surrey's Fusion Festival and Children's Festival, the Surrey Association of Art Teachers student exhibit, the Cloverdale Blueberry Festival and other community events. Scholarships and bursaries are awarded annually to students in the arts, and grants are given to member groups. The Arts Council also recognizes the contributions of local businesses and individuals with Business and the Arts Award (for businesses) and Outstanding Service to the Arts Award, or OSTA (individuals).
And whoo hoo! The Arts Council of Surrey recognized me – little ol' me, your favourite arts columnist – with the 2015 OSTA. Thank you. It wasn't just for the support I give through this column for all you artistic souls out there. I have memberships and participation in Surrey Little Theatre, Fraser Valley Gilbert Sullivan Society, West Coast Tap Dance Collective and, of course, the arts council. I have served on the board of directors for the above groups, as well as for Surrey Symphony Society. Sort of been there, done that, and probably made the T-shirt – small things, just over a long period of time. And I enjoyed it. Still, the recognition is nice, and I do share it with all the amazing and dedicated people I have met over the last 30 years of my involvement in the arts.
The Business and the Arts Award for 2015 went to Paul Thompson and STCcreatives. At one time, he was involved with the Gilbert Sullivan Society at the same time I was, either doing costumes or producing shows or something like that. Thompson is currently the artistic editor for the arts council's flashly, splashy monthly newsletter/magazine, Spotlight. STCcreatives is the webmaster for the arts council. A well-deserved award.
Do you know how much work it is to put together a simple newsletter, never mind a full-colour, 25-plus-page mag every month? Spotlight is a fantastic publication, and it is sent out to every member, every month. While accepting his much-deserved award at the Surrey Arts Council's AGM, Thompson encouraged members to send in articles and photos. Promote your dance, music, art, performance. Copies of Spotlight are available at many of the arts council's business members locations, like the arts and crafts store DeSerres and also at my store, danceCraft. There are actually 78 business members, so hooray for business and the arts.
Surrey Little Theatre is a member of the Arts Council of Surrey. Their spring play, Truth and Reconciliation, opens April 16 and runs until May 16. For tickets and show info, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/852954, email reservations@surreylittletheatre.com or phone 604-576-8451.
This is gritty and gripping drama that follows the story of Ben Montgomery, a passionate young doctor helping the sick and the poor in a volatile Central American country. The play unfolds largely in flashback as we follow Ben and his mysterious disappearance. As we go back in time, we see how Ben falls into the trap that ultimately claims his life – even as, in a gripping parallel storyline, his grieving parents testify angrily before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that has been convened to investigate the crime. The play comes with an audience advisory: Not suitable for children.
The play is Surrey Little Theatre's entry in the yearly Theatre BC contest, as part of the Fraser Valley Zone festival. The province is divided into 10 regional zones, each governed by its zone chair and a board of directors. Member theatre clubs and organizations make up each zone; in May each year, these clubs come together for their own respective zone festivals — a celebration of community theatre, each with a professional adjudicator, and ending in an awards ceremony where a "best of the best" performance is selected and announced. Winners from each zone will converge in Kamloops from July 4 to 11 for Theatre BC's annual provincial theatre festival, called Destination Mainstage. It is a big deal. Support our local community theatre. The audience is an important and integral part of the art.