Culture is important throughout the region and on April 12 the Rivers West District for Sport, Culture and Recreation held a gathering in St. Walburg to offer community groups a chance to meet and learn more about several provincial organizations. Representatives from Rivers West welcomed members of arts councils, theatre groups, museum boards and galleries from as far away as Eston and Meadow Lake. The agenda included time to share experiences and challenges during a roundtable discussion in the morning while the afternoon was set aside for presentations.
During the morning session the groups from the region shared some of their methods for success and their problems. Some of the groups were looking for ways to find money while others had the cash but suffered from a shortage of volunteers or aging of volunteers. A group from Meadow Lake shared their mandate to make art part of everyday life in the community and their program of four events per year. The theatre group from Speers offered to share ideas and scripts to read and the North West Museum Association representative spoke about their current project, a book about 100 Saskatchewan women of influence. There were discussions about how to approach local sources for money and some of the grants available for events and projects.
The first presentation of the afternoon was from Sask Culture. An overview of their programs and opportunities was given as well as printed information about their offerings. The Saskatchewan Archaeological Society was on hand to define their purpose and to let people know what is going on in the province and how to get involved. The society has been active since 1963 and offers field schools every year for individuals to go to and excavate a real archaeological site. Heritage Saskatchewan is a new organization; their representative explained their role in the province as a pathfinding and advocacy organization. West Central Tourism is one of five rural tourism regions in the province. They work on the marketing of provincial events and attractions, helping groups to partner and spend their advertising dollars effectively. The Museum Association of Saskatchewan also had a short presentation about their organization and its goals.
The Rivers West District covers a very large area and in bringing together groups from across the region many ideas were shared as well as opportunities for growth and connectedness.
