Downtown Streetfest: We're taking it to the Streets!

A Blast from the Past

When I came back to Burlington after living in the U.S., for many years, I was shocked by the changes…the Pig and Whistle was now a (gasp) retirement condo… most of Shell Park was now a subdivision and there were houses north of Highway 5!

But that wasn’t all; the Sound of Music Festival had changed as well, morphing into a huge event, with musical acts from around the world. For those of us that remember, originally Sound of Music was a showcase for local musical performers in a casual outdoor setting…today it is one of Canada’s largest outdoor music festivals.


Away from the hubbub of the main stage you can stroll down Brant Street and on Saturday, Pearl Street too, enjoying music from local PAB performers in a wide range of genre’s. Whether your musical taste runs to Jazz, Dixieland, Latin or World you’ll find it on Brant Street. Venture over to Pearl Street on Saturday for acoustic, folk, rock from great artists who may live right around the corner from you. Sit at one of the outdoor patios, enjoy a cold beverage and listen to the great music of our great town.

Downtown Dining - July 12th 2009

Burlington Downtown Dining 2009 – a tasty tour showcasing the delights of downtown restaurants – takes place on Sunday July 12th, 2009.

At this unique fundraising event, guests start their day off at Burlington's Civic Square, gathering together to kick off the event until they break off into groups and start their restaurant tour. Each guest visits 5 different downtown restaurants with a sampling of food and an alcoholic beverage at each accompanied by a performance from a local musician.

Money raised at this event will be donated to Performing Arts Burlington (PAB), a not-for-profit organization created to promote, support and advocate for the local arts community. Proceeds will be used to support PAB’s arts development program, a series of workshops and seminars aimed at helping local performers and arts groups expand their resources and skills.

This year’s tickets will go on sale May 15th 2009 at www.downtowndining.ca or by calling 905-631-6666. To receive email updates on the event, send an email to: updates@downtowndining.ca.

French Quarter Festival Burlington - Tickets 10% off!

A Musical & Culinary Adventure
benefiting Performing Arts Burlington

Enjoy Great Live Music:
The 905 Band, Annie Marleau, Killin' Time Band,
The Kori Pop Trio, The KooGle Theatre Company, Michael Maguire,
Margo Jamieson, Subourbon Street, The Topher J Duo.

Relish Gourmet Food:
Marche' style food stations provided by Pepperwood

Try Your Luck & Open Your Wallet:
Door prizes, Raffle, Silent & Live Auctions

With French Quarter Festival the freedom is yours: choose your musical entertainment, your dining pleasure and even your seating arrangements. It's all up to you!

Join us for a unique event to support the arts community.
Friday, January 30th, 2009: 6:00pm to 11:00pm
Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains West, Burlington
$150 per person $135 per person, 10% off until Oct. 15th! (bar included in ticket price)

To Order:

Online Ordering and Printed Order Form available at: www.performingartsburlington.com
Phone: 905-631-6666
Fax: 905-631-1307

Downtown Dining Tour 4 Is Here!

Downtown Dining, a walking tour of Downtown Burlington's finest restaurant venues, has gained the long awaited Tour 4.

Participating Restaurants:

Tickets are available by calling 905-631-6666 or by visiting http://www.downtowndining.ca/. Remember: if you're buying 4 or more tickets, a membership with Performing Arts Burlington saves you money!

Urgent - The Burlington Performing Arts Centre Needs Your Help!

Performing Arts Burlington is looking for its members and friends to show support for the performing arts centre. Please read the letter below and if you agree and would like to show your support publicly, please email info@performingartsburlington.com indicating your name, and the names of any others who would like to be included in your reply. We will be attempting to have this letter published in the Burlington Post on Friday, February 15th, and will be presenting it to the Community and Corporate Services Committee of Burlington City Council on Tuesday, February 19th, at 7:00pm. Please also plan to attend that meeting, held in the council chambers of city hall. This is vitally important to the future of the Performing Arts Centre.

Looking forward to your reply,
Deb Tymstra President, Performing Arts Burlington

Letter of Support NEEDED
A Performing Arts Centre for the Citizens of Burlington

For thirty years those who enjoy theatre, dance and music have shared a vision for a centre for the performing arts in Burlington - a centre to appreciate, participate in and enjoy the creative talent of, musicians, dancers and actors of all ages, who proudly call Burlington home - a centre that will attract entertainers from other cities and countries. Why travel to Oakville, Hamilton, Toronto, Mississauga and beyond when we can be entertained here? Why spend our hard earned money in other communities when we can spend it at home?

The arts are not a "frill". They are an enormous part of our economy and how we enjoy life. A performing arts centre is the missing link in the facilities that significantly contribute to our quality of life, our economy and our sense of community. It is a community need, as important as recreational facilities, parks, libraries, museums and art galleries. The time has come to make this vision a reality.

We support the performing arts centre, as performers, as people who will be entertained and most importantly as people who live and work proudly in Burlington, north, south east and west.

Signed,

YOU! Email us at info@performingartsburlington.com to get your name added in support of the Performing Arts Centre!

Paid Evening Parking in Downtown Burlington Are you aware?

In April of 2007, City Council was presented with and approved a Draft Financial Strategy for Parking in Downtown Burlington. At the April 17th meeting of the Community and Corporate Services Committee of Council, delegations spoke to one strategy involving the introduction of paid parking in the Downtown area from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Pam Eddenden, Executive Director of Performing Arts Burlington, spoke against extending the hours of paid parking into the evening and in support of the continuation of free-to-user evening parking in the downtown. Performing Arts Burlington has many member performing arts organizations that will rent the future Performing Arts Centre, located at 440 Locust Street, and downtown business members are impacted by this proposed change in paid parking.

A copy of this PAB presentation can be read on our website.

Content highlights are as follows:

• Community renters of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre will need to build audiences and paid parking will further challenge this growth.


• Current audiences of theatre, music and dance performances are not paying for parking at venues throughout the city.


• The Burlington downtown core is not yet economically strong enough to compete with neighbouring Oakville that has all surface lots and meters free-to-users as of 5 pm.

The perspectives presented in April indicated that paid evening parking appeared to be a new initiative that had not been fully discussed directly within the local stakeholders. As a result, Council authorized a meeting with Downtown Stakeholders on August 8, which Pam participated in on behalf of the organization. On September 18th, 2007 Committee and Council will once again be deliberating on this issue. To advocate on behalf of the PAB membership effectively it is critical that we receive your comments on the important topic.

What are your thoughts?

PAB would like to hear from you! Please post a comment on our blog or email us.