Happy New Year 2017 from AlgomaTrad

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HI ALL!

Julie, Pat, and all the gang here at AlgomaTrad would like to wish you and yours all the best in the coming year. AlgomaTrad Camp 2017 is scheduled for the week of August 13 to 19, and we are in the process of confirming instructors and staff and will let you know when registrations are open…we’ll try to get it up by March!!!(???)

We are also excited to be working with Robin Sutherland and Thinking Rock Community Arts (TRCA) on the music for their community arts production “Rivers Speak”, slated to open in several communities in September of this new year. AlgomaTrad’s one and only James Stephens is taking on the role of musical director for the project, and we will be workshopping music for the production throughout the first half of the year, so keep your eyes and ears tuned in as we are going to need lots of community musicians and dancers for this wonderful initiative!

In 2016 we continued working on our plans to develop the old music camp site into a Heritage Arts Centre. (If you would like to see an inspirational example of what our long range plan is, check out the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.) Initially the  site was purchased in 2015 by British Columbia AlgomaTradders Rebecca Lindley and Jel Coward who kept the property in safe keeping for the AlgomaTrad vision. In October of 2016, Rebecca and Jel passed ownership on to our very good friends and supporters Steve and Mary Schneider whose son, Zac, came to the camp from Year 2 up until a couple of years ago. Steve and Mary are giving AlgomaTrad a long-term lease and will be wonderful partners as AlgomaTrad develops this long-range vision for the property.

With the help of AlgomaTradder and engineer David Spacek, we have mocked up some initial site plans and started the process of developing a Design Brief and seeking out aligned architects and designers who can help us make it happen. We have had some very supportive meetings with many of the main funding bodies and, with the help of Board member John Missere, met with a consultant who will help us with the Business Plan. Board members Melanie Dorscht and Barb Willoughby submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Environment for a Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund grant to renaturalize the banks of the small river that runs through the property. Pat and Julie, with immense help from Robin Sutherland and Miranda Bouchard of the TRCA and Ruth Howard, completed an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant application in December. Pending approval, the grant will help us ramp up programming and position ourselves to move to year round operations at a newly renovated centre within 3 years. In the meantime, there is much work to be done – more plans, more designing, more meetings, more networking, more grant writing, more fundraising, more dreaming…and we will let you know how YOU can help us grow that dream as we move through 2017.

Thanks for all your support over the years and wish us luck as we undertake this huge project…hope to see you at AlgomaTrad 2017 or at one of our dances or events and HAPPY NEW YEAR!