By Gillian Brunette
Ten honourees receive a Brenda Wainman Goulet bronze sculpture
Following 16 successful years that have made it a firm fixture on Huntsville’s summer cultural scene, the Huntsville Festival of the Arts recently recognized 10 members of the arts community who helped make it all possible.
In Partners Hall, current festival board members paid tribute to those who had made a significant contribution to the festival. Each honouree was presented with a Brenda Wainman Goulet bronze sculpture as a token of appreciation.
DEDICATION: Huntsville Festival of the Arts honourees stand in Partners Hall with their bronze FBEA awards. From left are: Susan Alberghini, Gerri Mar, Attila Glatz, Jim Alexander, Stina Nyquist, Jane Alexander, Kerrry Stratton, Pam Smyth, Gregg Evans (accepting for his father, Bruce Evans) and Pamela Hoiles; missing from the photo is Hugh Mackenzie. [Photo by Jon Snelson.]
Other honourees included Bruce Evans, a strong financial supporter and provider of the Grandview Inn property for nine years, including the venue, staff and rooms for the artists, Pamela Hoiles, a seasonal resident who has embraced the local arts scene, become a major benefactor and has also performed in the festival on a number of occasions, Hugh Mackenzie, past festival president, who provided leadership at a difficult time and was also instrumental in initiating the successful theatre campaign, and Kerry Stratton, leader and music director of the Huntsville Festival Orchestra and an ambassador for the festival throughout the province.
Three former festival board members were also honoured. Gerri Mar, who each season tirelessly arranged and co-ordinated hundreds of volunteers, Stina Nyquist, writer, producer and director of a number of plays presented through the festival that told people about Huntsville’s history, and Pam Smyth, who was a leader in co-ordination and developing the guidelines for backstage volunteers. She wrote a production manual, which formed the basis for the theatre’s operating procedures and spent thousands of hours over the years delivering programming of the highest quality.
Presenting the awards, festival director Bruce Gowan and president Kareen Burns recalled their own memories. Gowan remembered how his grandchild, who normally has a short attention span, was mesmerized by Nyquist’s play Dinosaurs and Dreams, and Burns noting that the distinctive tie Mar created for the festival is still used by the theatre today.
Concluding, festival general manager Rob Saunders said: “While Attila may not have met his goal of developing an artistic event with international impact, he should be very proud of the legacy he has created, that of an arts organization that has integrated fully into the community and whose principle goal is to enhance the development and enjoyment of the arts, specifically in our youth at the grass roots level.”
The Huntsville Festival of the Arts plans to continue to award significant contributors in the coming years. However, it will not become an annual event, Burns said.
