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!

Burlington Downtown Dining 2008!

Downtown Dining is a annual walking tour of Burlington's finest Downtown restaurants in support of Performing Arts Burlington.

“Downtown Dining 2008 is an opportunity to spend a wonderful afternoon sampling fantastic cuisine provided by some of the best restaurants in Burlington while enjoying the performances of local musicians. This year we have introduced membership pricing, giving our members more value for their buck.” said Deb Tymstra, PAB President.

The afternoon event is divided into three different tours, each featuring five restaurants.

Tour 1

Olivé Ristorante di Rocco
Siam Dish
Di Mario's Trattoria Ristorante
Ivanka’s Downtown Bistro
The Queen’s Head

Tour 2

Kaareli’s Restaurant and Wine Bar
Pepperwood Bistro
Paradiso
2020 Lakeside Ristorante & Bar
The Rude Native Bistro & Lounge

Tour 3

The Martini House Bistro
My - Thai Restaurant
La Costa Nuova
The Landmark Steakhouse
Emma’s Back Porch / Water St. Cooker

The restaurant tours begin at 11.15 a.m. on Sunday, July 13, and run through 3.00 p.m.

Tickets to Tour 1, 2 & 3 are already sold out! But not to worry, Tour 4 is coming soon. Click here to get your name on our Tour 4 waiting list or by calling the Performing Arts Burlington office at 905-631-6666.

StreetFest is just around the corner!

During the Sound of Music Festival, Performing Arts Burlington and Burlington Downtown have entered into an exciting partnership to provide entertainment at Brant & Pine Street. Beginning at 7:30pm on Friday June 13th, our performance pod will be featuring 12 different groups over the entire week-end. Festival goers will be entertained by a variety of genres of music including jazz & latin.

Schedule & Performers for Brant and Pine Streetside Pod:

Friday June 13th

7:30-8:15 & 8:45-9:30 Margo Jamieson Trio
10:00-10:45 Kori Pop Trio

Saturday June 14th

1:45-2:30 Halton Chinese Canadian Band
3:00-3:45 & 4:15-5:00 Mexico Amigo Mariachi Band
7:30-8:15 Kori Pop Trio
8:45-9:30 & 10:00-10:45 Jorge Lasso Latin Jazz Trio

Sunday June 15th

1:45-2:30 The Entertainers
3:00-3:45 & 4:15-5:00 Subourbon Street

The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is Coming!

Thank you to all of you, for your names and letters in support of the future Performing Arts Centre in Burlington. PAB received over 776 names and letter of support, which were presented to committee last night. After a very long evening, the Community and Corporate Services Committee of council voted in favour of moving to the detailed design phase of the project. This was the vote we were hoping for. The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is a REALITY! Over 100 people filled the council chambers and seven delegations made their presentations. As was said many times last night this was a momentus occasion. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for speaking up.

If you would like more information about the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, it's available on the City of Burlington website as well as Performing Arts Burlington's website.

-- Deb Tymstra President, Performing Arts Burlington

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!

French Quarter Festival

BURLINGTON, Ont. – An exciting array of musical talent presented on three stages will highlight French Quarter Festival, a benefit for Performing Arts Burlington (PAB), taking place on Friday, January 25, 2008, at the Royal Botanical Gardens.

The scheduled entertainment includes eight musical performances ranging from jazz and pop to classical and country, ensuring that the signature event will be one of the highlights of the year in Burlington. The musicians include:

• Margo Jamieson
• The Full Circle Band
• Subourbon Street
• Annie Marleau
• The 905 Band
• Maria D’Amelio
• Porkbelly Futures
• Symphony Hamilton
  
  Click here or the image below to take a look at our French Quarter Festival brochure.
  
  

French Quarter Festival is PAB’s premier fundraising event that has grown increasingly in popularity while benefiting the community.

When: Friday, January 25, 2008 - Entertainment 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; Dinner 7:30 p.m.

Where: Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road West

Tickets are $150 per person and include dinner (Live cooking stations by Pepperwood), open bar, live entertainment on three stages, and live & silent auctions. A portion of the ticket price will be eligible for an income tax receipt. Tickets can be acquired by calling 905-631-6666 or on our online order form.

Performing Arts Burlington (PAB) provides innovative and quality arts programming; promotes theatre, music and dance performances and classes; and acts as a resource to the City of Burlington for the continuing development of its performing arts centre.

For more information, contact:

Performing Arts Burlington
Tel: 905-631-6666
Email: pab@cogeco.net
http://www.performingartsburlington.com/

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.

Federal Goverment Pledges $2.5 million to Burlington's Performing Arts Centre

In a press conference held Friday afternoon at 2:30pm, Federal Minister of Canadian Hertitage and the Status of Women Beverley Oda announced that the Burlington Performing Arts Centre would received $2.5 million dollars in federal funding.

This falls a little short of the $4 million the City of Burlington was hoping to receive. However, Mayor Cam Jackson and MP Mike Wallace are still optimstic about future funding from the provincial government as well as local supporters.

The Performing Arts Centre is designed for shows presented by local arts groups, as well as performers from across Canada and around the world. The Centre is located in the heart of Burlington’s downtown at the corner of Locust and Elgin, just behind City Hall, and a stone’s throw from Spencer Smith Park on the lake.

Conceptual design for the building has been completed and City Staff are in the process of selecting a detailed design architect, who will base the final building plans on the existing concepts. The building will contain two theatres: the Main Stage Theatre, with its full fly tower, is expected to have about 718 seats, and the multi-purpose Studio Theatre will seat about 250 on fully-retractable seats. With these two options, there are endless possibilities for the kinds of performances we will be able to see at this theatre.

The Campaign for the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, co-chaired by Keith Strong and Gary DeGroote, has seen great success to date. The Fundraising Cabinet is fast approaching the $10 million mark, with well over $9 million in funding already collected.

For more information, and to donate to the Campaign for the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, please contact Sandra Baker, City of Burlington, at 905-335-7600, extension 7484, or by e-mail at bakers@burlington.ca

Burlington Downtown Dining

Burlington Downtown Dining 2007 – a tasty tour showcasing the delights of 19 downtown restaurants – took place on Sunday July 8th, 2007.

For the first time ever Downtown Dining was comprised of four tours, each consisting of five participating restaurants, with Tours 1-3 selling out in a record breaking 48 hours. The tours ran from 11:15 a.m. to 3:00 pm, with twenty groups of 32 guests spending the afternoon strolling the streets of Burlington’s downtown and indulging in food, wine and beer provided by 2020 Lakeside, 5050 Tandoor and Grill, Di Mario's Trattoria, Emma's Back Porch / The Water Street Cooker, Ivanka's Downtown Bistro, Kaareli's Restaurant and Wine Bar, La Costa Nuova, Le Chef Complet, My-Thai By The Lake, Paradiso Restaurant, Pepperwood Bistro, Siam Dish, Sonzi, The Grinning Gourmand, The Landmark Steakhouse, The Martini House, The Poacher, The Queen's Head and The Sugar Bar.

The $27,000 raised was donated to Performing Arts Burlington (PAB), a not-for-profit organization created to promote and develop local performing arts. Proceeds will be used to support PAB’s arts development program, a series of workshops and seminars aimed at helping local performers and performing groups expand their resources and skills.

Next year’s tickets will go on sale May 5th 2008 at http://www.performingartsburlington.com/ or by calling 905-631-6666.