Haliburton Highlands Arts Centre Foundation

One of the HHACF's goals is to provide a single, unified box office for shows and events hosted at its facilities. No more need for broad google searches to track down tickets and schedules - online and in-person advance seat-assigned ticket sales could be built-in to hall rentals. As part of our program and business planning, we'll also be researching the feasibility of hosting regular or subscription concert series, providing a valuable revenue stream for the centre. You can help us reach our feasibility study goals by donating today. Let's build the dream together ==> https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

In our recent presentations to local councils, we were asked a number of times about considering an outdoor performance space. We certainly have been considering it - outdoor summertime performances in the Haliburton Highlands are very well attended. As usual, we look around for inspiration - like the Heritage Amphitheatre in Edmonton, which hosts the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and more. They don't let a little rain cancel a show with their canopy covering the stage and 75% of the fixed seating.

With 2021 turning out to be a very active year, the Haliburton Highlands Arts Centre Foundation is very pleased to announce two recent additions to its board of directors: Drew Allen and Brigitte Gall. Click through to read the full post with all of the details.

While we're not looking for the capacity of a 1000-seat hall, we are considering the backstage space and layout needed for the logistics and safety of large-cast productions and crews. Could props and sets for a multi-weekend show be easily stashed aside to accomodate more events during the week? Part of our research will include comparative studies of other halls to see how they do it. You can help by donating today and we'll build the dream together. Learn more at https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

As an addendum to our previous post about rehearsal halls, sometimes an eye-catching space comes along that inspires us to the possibilities. Like this rehearsal hall at the DiMenna Centre for Classical Music (New York). Suitable for large orchestras and choruses, recording sessions, theatrical projects, plus galas and special events. Add in a few windows to take in the beauty of the Haliburton Highlands, and you're set.

Haliburton County's arts community is bursting at the seams - the HHACF's mission is to provide more space for all to benefit from this ever-growing creativity. We can get there faster with your help - give today so we can build this dream together ==> https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

To make the most of donations and funding, the HHACF is researching multi-purpose spaces to complement the main performance hall, like this one at the Aldeburgh Music Creative Campus (UK). This room has social-distancing-friendly retractable seating making it perfect for choir and orchestra rehearsals, solo and chamber recitals, plus lectures and masterclasses. Studies are vital to guiding us in building the right arts centre for Haliburton county - please consider donating to the HHACF today and we'll build the dream together ==> https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

Professional lighting and sound are crucial components to a successful theatre - halls with world-class equipment and facilities make for unforgettable performances. The HHACF is researching what it will take to build this in Haliburton County - you can help build the dream of an arts centre by donating online today or contact us for more giving options ==> https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

To build a #worldclass #performingartscentre our #fundraising will focus on individual and corporate #donors and #foundations plus #grants for #infrastructure builds at the provincial and federal levels - the #hhacf is not looking for financial support from local municipalities or #haliburtoncounty . . . #haliburtonhighlandsartscentrefoundation #hhacfoundation #myhaliburtonhighlands

We can all use more time with our craft #newyearnewyou so the #hhacf is considering spaces for private practicing, warmups, lessons, duets and more. Booking of these rooms would be affordable and self-serve and provide continuing revenue for the #artscentre - help the #hhacfoundation reach its research goals - donate today ==> https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate . . . #haliburtonhighlandsartscentrefoundation #performingarts #performingartscentre

Looking back at our roundtable meeting in early 2020, dressing and green rooms ranked pretty high in importance with local stakeholders. Ample room for a large cast to don costumes and apply makeup (pic from Texas Tech School of Theatre and Dance); a private dressing room where invited soloists can warm up and collect their thoughts before their big moment on stage (pic from Grand Ole Opry, Nashville - Dotting the Map travel blog); and a green room where crew and cast can take a break and keep an eye on the stage via closed circuit TV (Rose Theatre in Brampton).

On this nervous first day of school in Ontario, we wish teachers and students good luck and good health. The HHACF is researching the benefits of including educational facilities in an arts centre, be they for private lessons, lectures, or master classes. Like these rooms at the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts (Mount Royal University - Calgary, Alberta).

The HHACF's president, Dan Manley, has shared a message for his birthday - your support is vital to turn the vision of a world-class arts centre in Haliburton county into a reality. Please consider a charitable monthly gift - 5$, 10$, 20$, 100$ or more - https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

You might recognize this famous brass quintet (hint: they're Canadian), here in recital at Ithaca College's Ford Hall - more to point though, we're sharing these photos for how they show the hall's Schlicker concert organ. There is no grand pipe organ within an hour's drive of Haliburton County so the HHACF proposes including one in its designs. This would open the door to baroque organ festivals, concerti for organ and orchestra and, notably, performing Saint-Saens' famous Organ Symphony. Inspiration for the opening concert celebrations of an arts centre?

Have a look at this impressive video: it's of the seating by Gala Systems inc. for the Salle Pierrette Gaudreault (Centre culturel du Mont-Jacob, Saguenay, QC) - total size of the hall is 396, with 300 of them transformable via the automated lift and rotation system. The HHACF is exploring potential seat systems and configurations that could help maximize revenue in hall rentals and uses.

Thanks to LIP funding received from the Haliburton County Development Corporation, research is moving forward with the HHACF engaging Melissa Johnston. Read all about it in our latest blog post.

If you're a fan of modern architecture, the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix en Provence, France, might be what you're looking for. The building includes a 500-seat performance space that is just stunning with its asymmetry, evoking the free-spirited music of its namesake composer. It was designed in 2013 by Kengo Kuma and Associates out of Japan. The HHACF is scanning the globe for inspiring performance spaces -- do you have any favourites?

We're very excited to announce that our application for the Local Initiatives Program at Haliburton County Development Corporation was approved! We're now able to take the Needs Assessment Reports done by students at Fleming College to the next phase of the HHACF's research goals. Do you want to help us reach our goals sooner? There are flexible donations options to suit any budget ==> https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate

Slowly but surely.... the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra has started up some recitals and performances with social distancing in mind. This large studio space includes windows for a hint of natural lighting, modular risers for a flexible setup, plus acoustic dampening panels and high ceilings for balanced sound in an intimate setting. The HHACF envisions a rehearsal space like this which could double as a recital or lecture hall.

While our endgame of building an arts centre in Haliburton is years into the future, this was a topic of conversation in a recent board meeting. Could COVID and social distancing have a long term effect on arts centre design going forward?

With the U-Links and Fleming Celebration of Research cancelled due to COVID-19 and us waiting on results of our OTF Seed Grant application, things have been quiet at the HHACF. Reviewing the students' Needs Assessment Reports though is helping us look toward the future and the possibilities ahead.

Today is #givingtuesdaynow - with so many charities doing great work in the Haliburton Highlands during the COVID-19 crisis, your giving options are many and you can feel secure that your gifts are going to work right in your community. To name a few.... SIRCH - https://www.sirch.on.ca/donate/ Point in Time - https://www.pointintime.ca/donate-2/ HHHS - https://www.hhhs.ca/donate... Minden Food Bank - https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/minden-food-bank/ and should you want to donate to the HHACF, you can here - https://hhartscentrefoundation.ca/donate More charities can be found at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/donate/?find - search for minden, highlands east, haliburton, or algonquin highlands.

A lobby or crush space seems obvious, but it's an important consideration the planning of an arts centre -- it needs to flow well for patron entry and exit and for gathering and mingling during intermissions. With a bar or cafe, refreshments can be served and the space can also host receptions, which can be an additional income source for the centre. The lobby/lounge at the Chan Centre at UBC, pictured here, allows for natural lighting and showcases the surrounding landscape.

Did you catch us in the Haliburton Echo this week? Students from the Fleming College Frost Campus ventured north to take part in a roundtable discussion with local arts groups. Join us on March 28th when U-Links Centre for Community Based Research hosts the Celebration of Research to release their completed Needs Assessment Report.

The celebration will include the Needs Assessment Report created for the HHACF - we can hard wait! Everyone is welcome to attend so come find out what the students have discovered.

Fly systems are important to theatrical productions (and, research says, highly desired by local user groups). They allow curtains, backdrops and scenery to quickly and quietly fly up out of view and drop into place. Having a fly tower in a new arts centre would enable more elaborate staging of plays and operas and transport audiences anywhere the imagination will go.

Thanks to U-Links Centre for Community Based Research, we're thrilled to have been taken on by a graduate class at Fleming College Frost Campus - we're looking forward to seeing their recommendations and findings in the final Needs Assessment Report.

There are lots of options when trying to design for maximum usability of a performance hall, including a hideaway orchestra pit for musicals and operas. This system from Wenger, installed at Butler University in Indiana, converts quickly and easily with a small crew.

Haliburton County is home to multiple dance companies - imagine a naturally-lit spacious studio where dancers could feel like they can touch the sky, like this rehearsal hall at the University of Minnesota. We're dreaming big, so part of the HHACF's research goals is to determine the arts community's requirements. This will allows us to scope the project for the needs of today with room for growth.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from us to you. Donations made through this post result in an official tax receipt issued by Facebook and PayPal Giving Fund.