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Government supports Labrador Creative Arts Festival Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Paul Shelley today announced that the department will provide $3,200 for the Labrador Creative Arts Festival to bring writer/biographer, Anne Hart, to Festival 2004 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and to the coast of Labrador, to share with children the story of the adventures of Mina Hubbard. Funding will be administered through the Cultural Economic Development Program (CEDP). "The Labrador Creative Arts Festival, taking place in Happy Valley-Goose Bay this week, is an outstanding event that engages and encourages young people in Labrador to come together to share their creative experiences and to become active in the preservation of their heritage," said Minister Shelley. "We are pleased to provide funding to allow Anne Hart to share with our young people Mina Hubbard�s remarkable journey through the Labrador wilderness in 1905. This event will be one of many in the coming year which will commemorate the achievements of Mina Hubbard and of all those explorers who chanced their luck in the Labrador wilderness." The Labrador Creative Arts Festival, founded in 1975, is an annual student arts festival held in November of each year. It allows young Labradorians to discover their past and future through creative expression, particularly relevant to aboriginal culture. Beginning with 90 participants, it now involves some 5,000 students annually from Mary�s Harbour in the south to Nain in the north and Labrador City and Wabush in the west. The festival uses visiting artists in all genres to act as mentors, and encourages participants to creatively express themselves through plays, storytelling, dance, visual art, mime and video technology. "I commend Labrador youth for participating in this year�s Labrador Creative Arts Festival and in expanding their knowledge of the arts and heritage in our province," said John Hickey, MHA for Lake Melville District. "Anne Hart�s participation at the Labrador Creative Arts Festival will introduce children and parents to the significance of these events and will build interest in participation as the celebratory year begins." The Cultural Economic Development Program represents $825,000 of a total $2.5 million investment by the provincial government in Budget 2004 to encourage and support the continued success and growth of creative artists and cultural industries in the province. The program supports both the arts and heritage sectors. Effective April 15, 2004, the CEDP began receiving applications for the 2004-05 program; a final deadline of November 15, 2004 was set for projects to be completed by March 31, 2005. To date, a total of 75 projects have been approved; 57 in the arts and 18 in the heritage sector. For more information on the Cultural Economic Development Program, or to receive a copy of the program guidelines, contact Eleanor Dawson, Cultural Development Officer, at (709) 729-7397. Media contact: Tansy Mundon, Communications, (709) 729-0928 or (709) 685-1741. 2004 11 19 2:30 p.m. |
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