St. ALBERT TO HOST NEXT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AWARDS
EDMONTON, June 22: As one of a series of events marking the 150th anniversary of the establishment of St. Albert, the city has now been selected as the host of the next Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards Gala in April 2011.
Susan Green, chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation, announcing the Board decision today, said: “After reviewing three excellent submissions received from communities across the province, our Board members were unanimous in selecting the St. Albert proposal.”
“There are so many reasons for this being an appropriate venue for our Distinguished Artist Awards Gala, in addition to the significant anniversary of the city. A key factor is that it was the home of our founder, the late and much-missed former Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Lois Hole, who embraced the idea of communities across Alberta being able to showcase their arts, while hosting our awards gala,” she added.
The City’s strong and positive reputation for supporting and promoting arts was also considered by the Board in making its decision, with the International Children’s Festival as a prime example.
Similarly, the Board was impressed with the concept of St. Albert’s strong francophone and metis heritage, and the intention of those groups to build a powerful and colourful presence in the planned arts festival.
Responding to the approval of the Foundation, Mayor Nolan Crouse said: “The City of St. Albert is extremely excited to be able to host the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards gala in 2011, especially as it coincides with the city’s 150th anniversary celebration. St. Albert has built a strong reputation for its thriving arts and culture scene, which enriches the lives of our residents and visitors. Hosting the gala will further enhance that reputation.”
The highlight of the bi-annual Awards Gala involves the presentation by the Lieutenant Governor of the Distinguished Artist medals to the selected juried artists or supporters of Alberta’s broad range of arts. Those winners will join the existing laureates, who include architect Douglas Cardinal; writer and playwright John Murrell; Edmonton author and professor, Greg Hollingshead; Calgary theatre ensemble, One Yellow Rabbit; the husband and wife team of musicians at The Banff Centre, Tom and Isobel Rolston; and this year’s award winners, Lethbridge’s Southern Alberta Art Gallery’s curator, Joan Stebbins and Edmonton writer, Rudy Wiebe.
Mayor Crouse attended this year’s Awards Gala and presentations, held in the Douglas J. Cardinal theatre at the Grande Prairie Regional College on Saturday night.
The four-day arts festival planned by the City for its 150th anniversary will be held from April 7 – 10, 2011, with the gala awards presentation being scheduled for Saturday, April 9th, 2011.
For further information contact
Susan Green, Foundation Chair at 780-908-1149
or
Donna Cardinal, Executive Director at 780-434-2635
