CTV Saskatoon Highlights a Culture Days Activity

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On September 16, CTV Saskatoon News went to Waldheim as part of the north portion of their Hometown Tour.

They took in a cultural feast, visited a few local businesses, stopped by the Rec Centre and the school.

While at the school, one of the things they focused on was a Culture Days Activity that has been in the works since last Spring.

Under the guidance Marla Laskowski and myself, Some of the high school students  as well as other members of the community have been busy learning how to knit and crochet so as to Yarn-Bomb the front of the school.

Needless to say, the students were very excited to have their project highlighted and featured on the 6:00 News.

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A Different Balance by Megan

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After Megan’s grandfather passed away, she found a scrapbook documenting his life as a young man. Before opening it, Megan thought her grandpa was “just a plumber, running a successful business in town,” but she learned that he was much more than that. Here’s the digital story that Megan wrote, voiced, and produced at a workshop in Melfort after flipping through the pages of her grandfather’s scrapbook.

Moving to Melfort by Liezel

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Liezel moved to Melfort from the Philippines in 2002. In this digital story, she shares her adventure of integrating into Canadian culture as well as the challenges she faced as a newcomer to Saskatchewan. Today, she is happy to call Melfort home.

 

Moving to Eastend by Nathan

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Nathan moved to Eastend, SK when he was 12 years old. A self-described city boy at heart, Nathan wrote and produced this digital story on how he grew to appreciate living in a small prairie town.

 

Trip to Moose Jaw by Samantha

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Samantha and her family live on a family farm near Ponteix, SK. Recently, they took a road trip to Moose Jaw. Samantha came to my digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix with the photos that she took from her family trip and produced this digital story.

 

Entre Saskatoon et Vancouver by Cindy

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Cindy’s digital story is about a trip she took by train from Saskatoon to Vancouver. This story was produced in my digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix, which was held at the Centre Culturel Royer, where Cindy works. Cindy hosted the workshop, while working at the Centre. She answered the phone and greeted visitors and also participated in the workshop. She even made us all a delicious lunch. Merci, Cindy!

Ponteix is home to a large Fransaskois community to which Cindy belongs. Her digital story is in French with English subtitles.

 

Canadian Camping Adventure for Newcomer Youth by Allie

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Allie Steinley is one of the kindest women I’ve had the pleasure of meeting during my travels in Saskatchewan this summer. She genuinely cares about helping people, and I loved listening to her stories about her volunteer work overseas while we had lunch at the Ponteix Bakery and Restaurant—which makes the best long john donuts, by the way!

Not only did Allie help organize the digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix, she also participated in it. Allie wanted to share the story of what happened when she and one of her co-workers at the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre went on two camping adventures this summer with more than 30 newcomer youth living in Saskatchewan. During the workshop, she wrote and produced this touching digital story.

 

 

Working on Farm by Ashley

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Ashley took my digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix with her mother and two sisters. She wanted to tell a story about working on the farm with her family and how everyone helps one another. She produced this lovely digital story that gives a glimpse of what life on a farm is like from a young girl’s perspective. This workshop was hosted by the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre and the Cultural Centre Royer.

Stories from Southwest Saskatchewan

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I am staying at a beautiful bed and breakfast on a farm near Wymark, SK, which is about 20 kilometres south of Swift Current.

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When I pulled up to the house last night, three (of nine) farm cats and two dogs greeted me.

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Just outside the patio doors to my bedroom are pigs, horses and a chicken coop. Right now, I can hear sheep having a conversation with the cows from my window.

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I grew up in Saskatoon and have not had much experience with farm life. It’s fitting that I’m staying here, since I’m facilitating a digital storytelling workshop in Ponteix, SK and several of the participants are doing their stories on the family farm. The workshop is organized by the Southwest Welcome Newcomer Centre and is being held at the Cultural Centre in Ponteix, or perhaps more commonly known to the locals as Le Centre Culturel Royer.

Just a few weeks ago, Ponteix celebrated its 100th anniversary. It’s a town of about 600 people with a lively Francophone community. In the early 20th century, Ponteix was founded by a priest from France and became a French settlement. Father Albert Marie Royer named the town Ponteix after the church he served in France. This afternoon I wandered through the cemetery and noticed that many of the surnames on the graves were indeed French.

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One woman in the workshop is doing her digital story in French with English subtitles. Another young girl is working on a story about moving to Saskatchewan from the Philippines. And one participant’s story is on cross-cultural friendships formed among young people at a leadership camp.

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I’m looking forward to watching these digital narratives from Southwest Saskatchewan and sharing them with you.

 

 

When artists collaborate great things happen

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I’m always excited to learn about new spaces popping up that provide opportunities for artists of all genres to create. Finding affordable studio space in any city can be a challenge. During my recent visit to North Battleford to record a SaskScapes podcast with artist Sherron Burns, I had the pleasure of spending time in the newly formed Artist Run Centre.  It was wonderful to meet several of the artists working in the new space that day.  Each has a section of the large studio, and each space is decorated with art that reflects the work and vision of the individuals.  It’s a bright, open, vibrant space and it all came together through the efforts of artists who had a vision. They took that vision to the town council and as with many things in life, when the vision is there, the practical aspects just fall in line.

Here is their mission statement:

ARC: Creative Studios is an artist run centre in downtown North Battleford where artists can create new work, collaborate with one another and connect with community through markets, events, workshops and performances.

You can follow ARC on their Facebook page HERE

(photo included with this post shows painter, Rosemarie Stadnyk working with acrylics)

Stay tuned for an upcoming podcast in which Sherron speaks about how ARC came together!