WHAT WE DO IN OUR COMMUNITY
Committed since 1977 to cultivating and celebrating Creemore’s cultural scene
We have been part of this village’s vibrant cultural micro-scene for nearly 40 years. While we take pride in our contributions, we know that we benefit continually from the ethos of community values that has characterized Creemore for generations.
Want to be involved? Please contact us by email (info@phahs.ca) or by mail (Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society at 10 Caroline St E., Creemore, ON L0M 1G0). If you prefer, contact a Member of the Board directly.
EVENTS, SPECIAL PROJECTS & ANNUAL PROGRAMS
Events
CREEMORE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
SEPT. 30, OCT. 1 & 2 2016. Held in Creemore and area.
Join us for the fifth annual festival! When the valley lights up with the richness of autumn, the time is right to spend a weekend exploring rich colours and textures created by local artists and artisans. Enjoy restaurants, cafés and a pub serving all day, and stay overnight in a local inn or bed-and-breakfast.
Artists on Location
The Artists on Location are the heart of the festival, installed in studios, restaurants and historic buildings–even in the grocery store parking lot. A group show in the heart of the village offers one piece from each exhibiting artist plus a festival map of the happenings, all within walking distance along Creemore’s pretty streets.
Festival Features
The 2015 festival featured THE VIEW FROM HERE, a pop-up exhibition from Ingram Gallery (Yorkville, ON) of paintings by accomplished Canadian artists Ryan Dineen, Shelley Mansel, Peter Mitchell, Ryan Price, Travis Shilling, Yi Song and Sean Yelland. At the Creemore Log Cabin, Sara Sniderhan presented her heritage project, THE VILLAGE AND I, an exhibit of ten portraits of Creemore-area elders and a limited-edition book of the portraits with profiles by local writers.
The 2014 festival featured INSPIRED, a multi-disciplinary show curated by Sara Sniderhan from artists represented by Ingram Gallery (Yorkville, ON). And the Creemore Log Cabin provided an atmospheric space for Peter Adam’s DETRITUS, an installation of found objects that consisted entirely of discarded fragments left behind on a local farm by the inhabitants of the past 160 years.
SMALL HALLS ROCK!
We are part of the CLEARVIEW SMALL HALLS FESTIVAL, which brings the best of rural living into local community halls across Clearview Township, including live music, dinner theatre, art exhibits, dancing, farm festivities, culinary events and family fun.
Festival Supporters
We extend our sincere gratitude to festival sponsors Creemore Springs, The Creemore Echo, Chestnut Park Realty, Barriston Law, John Van Der Marel, Ferris & Celhoffer, Ingram Gallery, Mad River Golf Club and the Station on the Green.
TEA AND HISTORY SPEAKERS’ SERIES
Sunday afternoons. Held at the Station on the Green, Creemore.
This longstanding series brings warmth to a winter Sunday afternoon while deepening our understanding of history.
The 2015 speaker was Charles Garrad, author of Petun to Wyandot: The Ontario Petun from the Sixteenth Century (Canadian Museum of History/University of Ottawa Press, 2014). The book, winner of the Ontario Archaeological Society Award for Excellence in Publishing, distills a lifetime of research on the now-dispersed Wyandot tribe, once called the Petun, who encountered the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1616 in the area now known as Creemore.
The fascinating story of the Petun Confederacy was also the subject of our 2015 AGM Speaker, local historian Pat Raible (more here).
THE LOBSTER DINNER
May 14, 2016. Held at the Station on the Green for members and guests.
The annual Purple Hills’ Lobster Dinner is a longstanding “must do” that brings everyone out to reconnect after a long winter. A Creemore tradition, this springtime gathering is a key fundraiser for the Creemore Festival of the Arts, our Artists in the School program, and our arts and heritage community grants.
Watch for ticket information in our newsletter and member emails.
CREEMORE GARDEN TOUR
Next tour: June 2017.
This longstanding fundraiser keeps getting better.
In 2015, eight gardens in Creemore, Avening, Dunedin and the surrounding hills opened their gates and hearts to help us grow. The Hidden Treasures Garden Tour included six private gardens and two vineyards, all remarkable for their variety of design, plant materials, water and dry features, and many clever ideas.
Grateful thanks is due to the gardeners, who shared their treasures with such generosity of spirit. They make it look easy … but it isn’t!
The Creemore Garden Tour is a key fundraiser for the Creemore Festival of the Arts, our Artists in the School program, and our arts and heritage community grants.
Watch for ticket information everywhere!
SPECIAL PROJECTS
The Village And I (2015)
Artist Sara Sniderhan envisioned a project to honour the Creemore elders in her adopted village. The result was a series of portraits and a limited edition book that included their life stories. Portraits were by Sara, Peter Adams, Martha Bull, Juliet Jancso, David Bruce Johnson, Andrej Kovacs, Peter Mitchell, Jim Paget and Christopher Roberts. Life stories were written by Rina Barone, Andy Barrie, Trina Berlo, Catherine Gildiner, Kristi-Ly Green, Julie Pollock, Cecily Ross, Stephen Smith and Emily Worts. Foreword by Dan Needles.
Sara Sniderhan is a local artist who is represented by Ingram Gallery (Yorkville, ON).
Detritus (2014)
Artist Peter Adams created a multi-faceted installation celebrating the rich agricultural heritage of the Creemore area while inviting discussion about our relationship with landscape and our relationship with waste. The found-object assemblage consisted entirely of discarded fragments and excavated objects left behind by the generations that have lived on a modest Mulmur Township farm over the last 160 years.
Peter Adams is a local artist and partner in the Mill Street Art Studio.
ANNUAL PROGRAMS
ARTISTS IN THE SCHOOL
The Artists in the School program is a series of visual art classes for young people in grades four to eight.
Each spring, artists Gail Caswell (Board member) and Jordan Eveland bring a hands-on creative experience to roughly 120 students at the Nottawasaga & Creemore Public School. This year, the series will focus on acrylic painting on canvas.
Past series have focused on printmaking, pottery, acrylic painting, collage/mixed media and principles of design study.
The Artists in School Program was initiated by the former Creemore Artists’ Centre (the Mad & Noisy Gallery, a not-for-profit co-operative group of artists) in 2009. Since then, the art classes have received overwhelming support from students, parents and school staff.
Like other such programs, the Artists in School is a collaborative model for art education. This program would not be possible without our positive relationship with the school principal, Allison Golding, and other committed staff.
These experiences light a creative fire in the students while meeting curriculum expectations for Ontario Arts. We believe arts education is a critical element in helping young people discover their gifts and passions. We have also provided past support to the school’s Band Instruments program.
COMMUNITY GRANTS
We offer funding by application for community groups and individuals in Creemore and the surrounding area. Requests are assessed according to the objectives of Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society. The annual deadline for applications is the end of January. More information is available here.
Some of our past and current recipients:
Avening Community Centre
Creemore Children’s Festival
Creemore Santa Claus Parade
Imaginarium Art Camp
Mill Street Art Studio
Mad & Noisy Gallery
St. Luke’s Gift of Music
Station on the Green
Scholarships
We present annual scholarships to local graduates chosen by their schools for excellence.
Nottawasaga & Creemore Public School
Two graduates are recognized in Arts and two in History.
Stayner Collegiate Institute
Two graduates are recognized in Music and two in Literature/History.
CREEMORE’S HERITAGE WALK
The Creemore Heritage Plaques mark historically significant sites around the village and form the basis for the town’s heritage walk. This project is an ongoing partnership with the Creemore Springs Brewery. Walk around the village and you will find markers documenting the history and human stories of the area in words and pictures. By the time you’ve finished, you will know about the Petun Indians, Champlain’s visit in the early 1600s, the coming and the going of the trains, the history of the buildings and the names of people who have shaped today’s Creemore.
We are currently expanding this project. Contact the Advisory Panel to learn more or share your ideas: Helen Blackburn, Gerry Blackburn, Dorothy Shropshire, Paul Vorstermans, and Chris Raible (secretary). Or you may leave your ideas in writing at The Creemore Echo, at the Creemore Library, or send ideas to Chris Raible: chrisraible1@gmail.com
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