This Saturday CIAS will be hosting its first Arts Event – the Kickstart Party! It will run from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the Clubhouse at the Cochrane Ranche. Our goal with this event is to give the community of Cochrane a taste of the arts we have here in Cochrane, to share what we see as opportunities for the arts going forward, and to ask for your input. Part of this event is a Passport Contest. You can pick up a passport at any of the participating venues – some will be open during business hours on Friday and Saturday. Or you can download a copy of the passport from the website. Some will have specific events you can check out. See a list of venues, hours and events on the website at www.CochraneArts.com. You can also check out the list of prizes available for the contest draw which will take place at the Clubhouse at 4: p.m. on Saturday. At the Event on Saturday, we will start with a brief opening ceremony at 2 p.m. Following that is our open house. Folks are invited to explore our Showcase Display of arts. At the time of this writing, we have at least 24 artists, businesses or groups who will be included in the display. You can check out the list of participants on our website – www.CochraneArts.com. Next, explore our Interactive area. Here we are asking for your input into a number of different areas. Help us create a comprehensive list of who and what is happening arts-wise in Cochrane, and what you would like to see happen. • Who are our artists - who do you know that is doing some kind of arts or crafts or creativity? • What arts businesses do we have here? • What arts groups are here? • What kinds of classes or workshops are happening, or would you like to see happen? • What would you like to see included in an arts centre, either activities or spaces (ie, theatre, classrooms, etc)? • What kinds of arts events would you like to see? • Share your thoughts and ideas on how to build a Strong Arts Community. • Tell us why you think the arts matter – why do we need the arts? We will be having a number of performing artists sharing live music. Weather permitting, you will be invited to experience mass drumming led by Ali Morrison of !BOOM! She Said. This is a fun, fast and physical audience participation event open to all ages. Ali brings drums she has created – out of carpet tubes and found materials! Be prepared to let loose and have fun! There will be refreshments served. At 4 p.m., we will do the draw for the Passport Contest. Then from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. will be our CIA fall Arts Community Social. We especially invite all artists to come and join us for a mix and mingle. Everyone from the community is welcome to come and join us as well. My hope is that you will come and get a taste of the arts in Cochrane and get to sense some of the wonderful passion and enthusiasm I experience as I meet and work with our amazing arts community! And maybe, just maybe, find yourself motivated to either start exploring some arts for yourself , or to find a community to share your passion with. I look forward to meeting you there!
