In this issue...
• Thank You from the Executive Director
• Report to Our Donors and Friends
• Wabaseemoong (White Dog), Ontario
• Dokis, Ontario
• Mishkeegogamang, Ontario - Spring
• Mishkeegogamang, Ontario - Fall
• Pikangikum
• Natuashish and Sheshatshiu, Labrador
• Sioux Lookout
• Support for ArtsCan Circle
• Thank You!
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Thank You from the Executive Director
As I prepare to set off on our first trip to Moose Factory, Ontario, I wanted to write to send you my gratitude for your support of ArtsCan Circle last year.
Your support has helped us to send over 20 team members into seven remote Native communities to provide programming to over 3,200 Native youth and children with art and music in 2009. Thank you for making so much of this possible through your support of ArtsCan Circle.
As the Executive Director of ArtsCan Circle I want to share with you the many accomplishments that your support helped to make possible. As a volunteer helping to provide art and music programming it feels like an incredible privilege to be welcomed into these communities and to see joy on the faces of children and youth participating in ArtsCan Circle workshops.
I am very pleased to share with you our Report to Our Donors and Friends 2009. This report allows me to share with you in words and photographs some of the many things that ArtsCan Circle was able to do in 2009 with your support.
We are now poised for an ambitious year ahead and I am writing to ask you to renew your support for ArtsCan Circle in 2010. At our recent Board of Directors meeting in early January we set a goal to return to each participating community twice a year.
"Making contact with the kids for a second time, getting to know them better and being able to say ‘next time’ and knowing that it is a true statement," as one volunteer reported, is so important for this work to be successful.
Your continuing support will help us to return to remote Native communities in Northern Canada and build self-esteem for Aboriginal children and youth at risk.
I hope that you will join me today in continuing to support this important work.
With your 2010 gift of $50, $75, $100 or $150 or whatever you choose, please know that you are bringing joy and smiles to the faces of our young friends in the North. Please click on the Canada Helps link to make your gift now.
To mail in your gift, click here to download our donation form from the ArtsCan Circle website.
I also encourage you to consider helping to provide ArtsCan Circle with support throughout the calendar year by a making monthly gift.
To make your monthly gift now, simply click on the Canada Helps link below and then click on, "Repeating donation, deducted monthly from my credit card " or call us directly at (905) 836-9117 and we’ll set up your monthly gift over the phone. Your gifts will provide the necessary ongoing support to make these programs happen.
Please accept my gratitude for your continuing support.
Sincerely,
Carol Teal
Executive Director
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Report to Our Donors and Friends
Thanks to your support, here are some of the things that ArtsCan Circle was able to do in 2009.
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 Wabaseemoong (White Dog), Ontario
In March of 2009, your support helped to send a team to Wabaseemoong (White Dog), Ontario for a week to run art and music workshops.
We were fortunate to include Ron Kanutski, Ojibway Cultural Teacher, on this team. Ron brings a lifetime of instruction and training from numerous Ojibway, Oji-Cree and Cree elders, healers, drum keepers, pipe carriers, story-tellers and medicine people. Ron was the recipient of the Ontario Public School Board Association's Award of Excellence, for outstanding contribution to the education community in the province of Ontario in June 2007.
Other team members, Mary Hamer, Randy Cameron and myself, Carol Teal, rounded out the team with a multitude of arts, music and facilitation skills and experience.
We were able to offer workshops and classes in building rhythm instruments, crafts, song writing, Native culture and traditional songs and drumming.
Each day after school we were able to teach keyboard and crafts workshops in the Community Youth Centre.
Your support enabled us to bring 10 drums, six guitars and six keyboards for this community. The donated drums have found a home as part of the Indigenous Culture and language classes in the school.
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 Dokis, Ontario
Also in March, we were able to visit Dokis, Ontario with an ArtsCan Circle team including Katherine Wheatley, David Joyce, and Carol Teal. We provided workshops in song writing, learning to play guitar and harmonica and the children gave a final performance for the whole community.
The children in Dokis participated in workshops on harmonica and each received a harmonica to keep. They had a great time learning to play harmonica with David. We also brought acoustic guitars, keyboards and ukuleles for the Dokis youth program.
At the final performance for the community, a Talent Show Night, the children collaborated with the ArtsCan Circle team and played a special harmonica blues number and other songs they had written during the workshops. It was a real treat to have two community elders, who are also musicians, join us on stage playing guitar and drums.
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 Mishkeegogamang, Ontario - Spring
In May of 2009 an ArtsCan Circle team including Richard Knechtel, David Joyce, Nancy Dutra and Carol Teal travelled to Mishkeegogamang, Ontario -- just south of Pickle Lake. We were able to spend a week with the students at Missabay Community School in the Mishkeegogamang First Nation Community.
ArtsCan Circle provided workshops in songwriting, making rhythm instruments, crafts and learning to play guitar and harmonica. Team member, Richard Knechtel, thrilled the kids with his much requested magic show. We gifted the school with guitars, music keyboards and harmonicas for the students.
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 Mishkeegogamang, Ontario - Fall
In October of 2009 -- a new school year -- we returned to Mishkeegogamang, Ontario again with an ArtsCan Circle team including Randy Cameron, Marty Hamer, Darlene and Carol Teal.
The students of Mishkeegogamang were very happy to see us return to their school and community. The Youth Centre program being run several evenings a week also welcomed us to do music and crafts with the kids in the evenings. We were able to gift the Youth Centre with a donated electronic keyboard that was very appreciated and add a few more guitars to the schools' resources.
Randy and Marty provided a crafts extravaganza that the kids loved. Darlene taught some traditional songs that were very well received by the children who sang them over and over. The 3rd and 5th graders wrote two new songs with Carol one for Halloween about "Ghosts" and another about their "Wishes". We also taught workshops in guitar, keyboard and ukulele skills.
Here are a few notes and letters that I received following our visit to Mishkeegogamang.
I am writing this letter to let you know how beneficial your program has been for our school. The week your team spent at Missabay Community School proved to be one of the best experiences for our students.
Your enthusiasm and variety of activities were perfectly suited to each individual student's age and grade level. The students were totally immersed in all activities which showed them the joy that can be achieved through music and art. Many students were inspired by your program and are learning the benefit of cooperative learning and sharing in a very positive way.
This is the sixth time you have come to Missabay and each year the students look forward to your arrival. Again, I thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience your program and we look forward to your next visit.
W. Thorne, Principal
I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the youth workers here in Mishkeegogamang. It was great to have you and your team come in to spend time with the children who attended at our drop in centre. I am sure the kids enjoyed what they created with the arts and crafts, and the singing was awesome.
Last but not least, a big "Thanks" for the keyboard you donated to the youth centre, again I am sure the kids will enjoy learning to play the keyboard and creating wonderful sounds. I was glad to have the opportunity to meet you and work with your group and I look forward to seeing you in the near future. Thank you.
Destani Skunk, Brighter Futures Program
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 Pikangikum
An ArtsCan Circle team of David Anderson, Nancy Dutra and Roy Hickling travelled to Pikangikum in the first week of November. The team was able to conduct workshops in visual arts and music for the students.
Thanks to our generous supporters and the Corktown Ukulele Jam, we were able to bring 30 brand new ukuleles for the students to learn to play and keep in the community.
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 Natuashish and Sheshatshiu, Labrador
In November an ArtsCan Circle team of Mike Stevens, Magoo, Etienne Rich and David Joyce were very privileged to visit Sheshatshiu and work with children in the recently completed new school. The ArtsCan Circle team provided interactive performances with all classes and introduced Grades 3, 4 and 5 to the harmonica.
The team was thrilled when the teaching staff became involved in the interactive performances and the students sang along to songs in the Innu-aimun language.
The team also flew up the Labrador coast to Natuashish. As there is no music teacher in the school this year, teachers were very glad that we were able to expose the students to music activities.
Workshops included harmonica lessons for all students in grades five to high school and lots of singing and playing along. The sounds of harmonicas were frequent and strong in the school and the community during our visit!
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 Sioux Lookout
ArtsCan Circle was very excited to take a wonderful team including Wendell Ferguson, Katherine Wheatley, Suzie Vinnick and Leland Bell, an Anishinabe visual artist and musician to Sioux Lookout in December.
We were able to work in two high schools including Pelican Falls, a First Nations High School that serves many of the communities we work with in the far North and Queen Elizabeth High School that has a large percentage of Native students.
In Sioux Lookout we provided workshops in song writing, guitar playing, singing, and visual arts.
Wendell Ferguson teaching guitar workshop
Katherine Wheatley teaching songwriting workshop
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Support for ArtsCan Circle
In 2009 we were thrilled to have many successful fundraising events and activities including several benefit concerts and a Fun Run organized in support of ArtsCan Circle.
We would like to thank all of the individuals and music industry supporters who donated instruments and music equipment to help make our programs possible. You helped provide Native children and youth with access to instruments to continue to practice their musical and creative skills throughout the year.
I thought that I would also tell you a little about the benefit concerts and extend my gratitude to the many organizers and supporters that made these benefits successful.
Benefit Concerts
- Queen's Bush Bluegrass Club concert on March 26.
- Songwriter’s Concert at the Sarnia Library hosted by Adam Miner on April 2.
- 5th Annual Silverbirch Charity Concert at Uxbridge Music Hall with Wendell Ferguson, Silverbirch & the Dnes Sisters on March 28.
- Newmarket Folk Benefit Society Concert with the Good Brothers, Russell deCarle, Steve Briggs and a host of other performers on April 18.
- The Rotary Club of Campbellford Spring Talent Showcase on May 9.
- Guelph House Concert Benefit with Ian Reid and Adrian Rasso hosted by Shirley Hunt and Dave Crammer on June 27.
- A Benefit Concert with Kensington Market, A Piece of the Rock, Urban Acoustic, Rosemary Phelan and Jason LaPrade at the Trane Studio organized by Topaz Dawn on September 10.
- Amity Trio at Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society on October 4.
- Norah Love organized a house concert with performers Eve Goldberg, Carol Teal and David Joyce, Norah Love and The Shed Dogs on November 15.
Events
3K to 5K FUNdraiser Run/Walk in support of ArtsCan Circle was held on October 17 along the scenic riverfront in Ottawa's historic downtown.
I would like to thank the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF) for their support in hosting the Fun Run, the 34 runners and walkers who braved the early morning hour to participate, the donors and sponsors and the volunteers who helped organize and promote the Run at the OCFF conference. Together we raised over $4,000.
Aeroplan
Thank you also to those of you who donated Aeroplan Air Miles during our Annual Campaign that collected points during the month of May. Over 125,000 Aeroplan Miles were donated. These donated points helped with the transportation for several trips to our Northern communities.
Grants
We are extremely grateful for the continuing support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. 2009 was the second year of a three year grant that is supporting our current programs and building the capacity of ArtsCan Circle to expand its work.
Also in 2009, we were generously awarded a $20,000 grant by Canada Council for the Arts to support arts programs for Indigenous youth.
We also received a program grant from the Ontario Arts Council for $9,000 to help support our workshops in Native communities.
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Thank You!
It was a busy year for ArtsCan Circle and I am proud of our work in 2009 to provide arts and music programming that brings joy and smiles to children and youth at risk in remote native communities.
Thank you for helping to make this possible.
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