The North Peace Cultural Society says arts and culture in Fort St. John has bounced back after the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting an update to the City of Fort St John during Monday’s city council meeting.
Cultural centre Executive Director Oliver Hachmeister, Connie Surerus, society board chair, and Margaret May, the society’s board secretary delivered the presentation.
In July, the society signed a cultural services agreement and lease with the city, which provides a framework for financial performance, grants, community partnerships, the performance of Peace Gallery North, the theatre, programs, special events, and space utilization.
“We’re very appreciative for all the hard work and commitment that has happened over the last few years, and the fact that the spirit of the agreement sort of was ongoing throughout that whole negotiation period,” said Surerus. “So it was easy to move in from the signing to actually starting to do the work.”
Regularly scheduled shows have returned in a post-COVID world, and were well-attended by the community, noted Surerus.
“It’s just been so heartening to see the community, the way the community came out of COVID and were just so willing to get back to attending shows, live shows,” she said, noting a ballet completely sold out.
In addition to the shows, local arts and culture groups made a return to the centre, said May, noting the importance of local arts communities.
“Ultimately, that’s our core - sort of the foundation of the cultural centre is our collaborations, our partnerships with all the local arts groups,” she said. “And again, it’s good to see them coming up to speed.”
A provincial festival is being planned for next June at the centre, with details coming in the new year, May added.
Financially, the society is in good shape, says Surerus, with a three-year grant recently approved from Vancouver Foundation, providing $72,000 annually to support operations.
An $8,000 grant has also been approved from the BC Touring Council for a presentation series, which funds shows that are less commercially viable, but still culturally important, she added.
The centre generally operates with a surplus, says Surerus, noting the society was grateful for COVID-19 relief funding.
“We’ve been sitting quite strong, both from an operations point of view, and then also just in terms of our reserves,” Surerus said, noting over $300,000 is currently held in reserve funding.
