{"id":4274,"date":"2015-09-24T14:09:42","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T18:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2015-09-28T08:42:27","modified_gmt":"2015-09-28T12:42:27","slug":"this-weekends-culture-days-chock-full-of-activities-thanks-to-new-huntsville-resident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/this-weekends-culture-days-chock-full-of-activities-thanks-to-new-huntsville-resident\/","title":{"rendered":"This weekend’s Culture Days chock-full of activities thanks to new Huntsville resident"},"content":{"rendered":"

Culture Days, a celebration of arts, culture and creativity, has a new champion in Huntsville and she\u2019s determined to make everyone aware of the rich culture to be found in our town and across Muskoka.<\/p>\n

\"Pam<\/a>

Pam MacKenzie, Huntsville’s Culture Days co-ordinator<\/p><\/div>\n

Pam MacKenzie moved to Huntsville a year and a half ago to be closer to her grandchildren. She\u2019s been involved with Culture Days as an organizer for the District of Timiskaming since 2012 where she quickly grew the event and landed New Liskeard at the top of the Culture Days Top 10 List of Rural Communities. She earned herself the 2014 Antoni Cimolino Leadership Award for her efforts. After moving to Huntsville, she turned her attention to creating an equally successful event here.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I went north last year, I looked to see what was happening for Culture Days in Huntsville and it blew me away that this rich cultural area only had seven activities planned.\u201d So MacKenzie made some calls and during an information session in April 2015, she was appointed as the coordinator for Muskoka. But she had begun gathering names long before then.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast fall I went to every Christmas show, art show, craft show, and bazaar \u2013 everything going on in the region. I just collected cards and talked to people. Some were interested and some weren\u2019t \u2013 they didn\u2019t see how Culture Days could benefit them or how they could benefit Culture Days.\u201d Starting in April, she gathered more information from the local chambers of commerce and then started making calls and paying visits to local retailers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called practically every artist on every tour in the region. Then I physically walked the streets of our communities and went into stores.\u201d That\u2019s how she came up with the idea of having live demonstrations in store windows: \u201cI explained to an owner what it\u2019s all about, and he said, \u2018Look what we sell, what could we do?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Well, you have the most fabulous windows. What if we put live mannequins in there?\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u201cI put a lot of miles on my car and I talked myself blue. But that\u2019s what it took to make it happen,\u201d she said. Her goal was to have 100 activities planned for Huntsville. She didn\u2019t get there but she\u2019s happy to have exceeded that number for the whole region \u2013 there are 123 activities planned across Muskoka, 69 of them in Huntsville. \u201cFor me, this is fun. It gives me an opportunity to meet people and see all the wonderful things they create. It\u2019s a challenge and I like a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKenzie has been doubly busy this year, continuing to coordinate the Timiskaming Culture Days activities while simultaneously planning the ones here.<\/p>\n

\u201cCulture isn\u2019t just dance, music, art \u2013 it\u2019s what we are, who we are and what made us who we are now. Culture Days is an opportunity for people to expand their horizons, both in their community and beyond. There might be something you\u2019re interested in but have been afraid to try or didn\u2019t have the money to do it. Culture Days lets everyone participate and they might just find something they love and realize that they don\u2019t need all that much to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Unity<\/a>

Unity Painting by Dave Pawis hangs in the Canada Summit Centre. Elements of its significance to our Huntsville’s culture will be discussed during the \u201cGood Sports\u201d walk during Culture Days.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some of this year\u2019s activities in the Huntsville area include:<\/p>\n