General Arts and Culture News

[ac3r]

20th Annual Bicycle Film Festival is on at Princess Cinema this week:

https://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/
https://www.princesscinemas.com/event/bi...l-waterloo

[westwardloo]

Looks like staff wants the region to cut funding to community arts and cultural events to save 350k. Yet the region just decided to spend 700k on an old cold war bunker. Imagine what the region could look like if we tripled art and culture funding instead of removing it.

[panamaniac]

Even then, cultural spending would be modest.

[tomh009]

Looks like staff wants the region to cut funding to community arts and cultural events to save 350k. Yet the region just decided to spend 700k on an old cold war bunker. Imagine what the region could look like if we tripled art and culture funding instead of removing it.

Specifically, the region proposed to eliminate the grants for:

• Oktoberfest (don't think this will disappear ... and it's not really very cultural or artistic anyway)
  
• Grand Philharmonic Choir (could be at risk, don't know any details on this at all)
  
• Cambridge Scottish Festival (only a $10K grant so likely would not put it at risk)
  

So, there would not likely really be any massive reduction in arts or cultural events.

[nms]

This is why we can't have nice things.

I'm pretty sure that KMPG has suggested these cuts before (or maybe this is the same report working its way to Council) and gotten no traction. In comparison, the police budget is proposed to get a $12 million budget increase for 35 additional officers.  

My questions would be: 
1. Why do these organizations no longer apply?
2. What other organizations exist that could benefit from similar funding?
3. Why don't we expand funding to more groups rather than cutting funding?

A lot of people could be kept out of trouble and entertained for $12 million of cultural funding.

[tomh009]

I suspect that no one here has ready answers for the first two questions, but you can probably find the information with some searching on the Internet.

As to the third question, it's always the same answer: they are trying to minimize the impact on property taxes, and this is an easy target. (The council does not have the power to unilaterally set the WRPS budget.)

[danbrotherston]

I suspect that no one here has ready answers for the first two questions, but you can probably find the information with some searching on the Internet.

As to the third question, it's always the same answer: they are trying to minimize the impact on property taxes, and this is an easy target. (The council does not have the power to unilaterally set the WRPS budget.)

Council doesn't "set" the WRPS budget, but they do "approve" the WRPS budget.

They have every right to reject it, and absolutely should do so.

Unfortunately, I do not believe council will do so, because much of council is supportive of the infinitely inflating police budget, and I have no idea why beyond a general detachment from the reality in our region. At this point, my only hope is that this will cost them at election time.

I am aware of the possibility of arbitration, but that is not an acceptable justification.

[tomh009]

The police services board approves the WRPS budget; I do believe this is how the process works, based on current provincial legislation. (I don't agree with this personally, but it is the current law.) I don't know how the process would work if the regional council were to reject that.

[KevinL]

Personally I draw a (loose) parallel to the US congress and their military budget - it always seems to get approved no matter what. It's a dysfunctional arrangement there, too.

[ac3r]

The Grand River Film Festival is running from May 9th to 22nd. You can check out the films that will be showing and purchase tickets here: https://grff.ca/

[jwilliamson]

The horticultural society is having a Garden Day event at the Memorial Garden on Erb near Albert today.

[jwilliamson]

The multicultural festival is happening this weekend, Saturday and Sunday at Victoria Park.

[Acitta]

The multicultural festival is happening this weekend, Saturday and Sunday at Victoria Park.

https://kwmulticultural.ca/festival
The headliner tonight is Juno-nominated Battle of Santiago.

[JoeKW]

I went to the Waterloo Region Museum on Huron Road this weekend and they're severely short staffed. They only seemed to have 3 employees in the whole building. The snack bar was closed and no one was around to run the gift store, I supposed the person at the front desk can walk over but she was busy dealing with some patrons when I was there.

One of the childrens activities was cancelled because of a lack of staffing, the kids were to construct simple bird feeders.

The area near the windows on the upper floor were littered with a number of live and dead flies so it appears they cut back on cleaning staff as well.

Doon village was mostly closed off to visitors: we were able to see the train and surrounding buildings and one house, but we couldn't see anything across the bridge which is a majority of the structures.

I used to go here every once in awhile but I don't think I'll be back unless I hear that they've turned things around or if they get an interesting temporary exhibit.

[bravado]

I went to the Waterloo Region Museum on Huron Road this weekend and they're severely short staffed.  They only seemed to have 3 employees in the whole building. The snack bar was closed and no one was around to run the gift store, I supposed the person at the front desk can walk over but she was busy dealing with some patrons when I was there.

One of the childrens activities was cancelled because of a lack of staffing, the kids were to construct simple bird feeders.

The area near the windows on the upper floor were littered with a number of live and dead flies so it appears they cut back on cleaning staff as well.

Doon village was mostly closed off to visitors: we were able to see the train and surrounding buildings and one house, but we couldn't see anything across the bridge which is a majority of the structures.

I used to go here every once in awhile but I don't think I'll be back unless I hear that they've turned things around or if they get an interesting temporary exhibit.

Makes you wonder that maybe they’d get more visitors if it was in a place near where people actually lived, instead of a place you just drove by and immediately forgot?