Whistler BC Designated Cultural Capital of Canada for 2009

Members of the Whistler Arts Council, Whistler Museum and Archives Society, Whistler Film Festival and Whistler Writers were in the audience along with Mayor Ken Melamed and Council at Maurice Young Millennium Place when Jim Abbott, Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament (Kootenay–Columbia), announced the designation on behalf of Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages.

"The Municipality of Whistler recognizes the role arts and culture play in improving citizens' quality of life and improving economic development," said Minister Verner. "The proposed activities will encourage stronger ties between cultural organizations, First Nations people, and citizens involved in the celebrations."

"The Government of Canada is pleased to celebrate Whistler's recognition with this prestigious award," said Mr. Abbott. "The city's designation as a 2009 Cultural Capital will allow those who live here to have enriching cultural experiences and will encourage visitors to visit the city. They will also get a taste of the activities which will be held in 2010 at the Live Sites and other venues where the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will take place."

Along with the desgination, Whistler will receive a $500,000 grant to implement its proposal, Celebration 2020: A Natural Step Towards Cultural Sustainability, which will build on the existing festivals of Celebration 2010, Whistler Film Festival, Whistler Writers Festival and others, and a number of innovative activities, including a professional-development workshop for artists in the region.

"Whistler is thrilled and honoured to be named a Cultural Capital of Canada for 2009," said Whistler's Mayor, Ken Melamed. "Though a young community, Whistler has enjoyed building its cultural identity. This designation and the funding for our program, Celebration 2020, strengthens the cultural aspects of our sustainability commitments. It also signifies the importance of arts, culture, and heritage in Whistler and in Canada, as we prepare to welcome the world in 2010 and beyond."

The mayor recognized the collaborative effort of Whistler's cultural sector in preparing the proposal, thanking John McCormick, Doti Niedermayer & Anne Popma from Whistler Arts Council, Dennis Marriott of Millenium Place, Shauna Hardy from the Whistler Film Festival and Alex Kleinman from the Whistler Museum.

The Cultural Capital of Canada designation is awarded for merit, as determined by the quality of a proposed project and earlier achievements by the candidate community that demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the arts and culture.
An independent advisory committee evaluated the candidate communities and made its recommendations to Minister Verner. The committee was composed of experts in the field of arts and culture and the mayors of the Cultural Capitals of Canada for 2007.
Funding is provided to support special projects that celebrate the arts and culture. Amounts vary according to the size of the municipality.

The other Cultural Capitals for 2009 are Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in the greater than 125,000 population category; Coquitlam, British Columbia, in the between 50,000 and 125,000 population category; and Fredericton and Caraquet, New Brunswick, in the under 50,000 population category. Victoria County, Nova Scotia and Summerside, PEI were the other candidates in the category.
The Whistler arts community will now begin to fine tune the project and plan its implementation.