Time does have a way of slipping away from you. As I sit here, we’ve just entered our third year as an organization. In retrospect, we’ve accomplished a lot; perhaps more than we’d anticipated back at the beginning. But with accomplishments come hunger, drive, and determination. Underneath the surface there’s been in the making a collusion of events and circumstances that, with luck and perserverance, will result in our most successful year yet.

Two-thousand-eleven will be a busy one. Already we’ve had low points — putting our first attempt at a community arts centre behind us — and high points — the early success of our federally-backed GenerationART program, which aims to bridge generational gaps through craft and culture and to ensure our seniors access to methods of creative expression. As we move from winter to spring, planning will begin on our 3rd annual Dooryard Arts Festival. The success of 2010′s Dooryard was overwhelming, and we hope that this next edition will be the best yet. Be sure to check out the festival page for information on how to get involved.

With the retirement of the 702 Main Street project, we’ve redoubled our efforts to establish a public gallery and workspace in downtown Woodstock. We believe that such a facility will benefit not only our region, but the province and its artistic community as a whole. We are more excited, confident, and tenacious than ever in reaching that goal, and we are hopeful that we’ll soon be able to share with you our new vision for the project.

If you are interested in supporting our ongoing projects, please consider purchasing a 2011 membership via the link on your right, or at one of our monthly members nights at Fusion Cafe. We are proud to be part of a vibrant and growing arts community in the Saint John River Valley.