1. Volunteer E-Newsletter - Spring 2015

harbourfrontcenter.com/volunteer | 416-952-3625

VOL 7 | ISSUE 1 Spring

Welcome to the first of our quarterly newsletters. Going forward, we will be publishing seasonal newsletters instead of bimonthly. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the newsletter team whose two-year term of office ended last month. Under the leadership of Lynn Allen, the committee — Jennifer Chai, Nida Haroon, Lidia Jarmasz and Kathleen-Sonja Mooney-Childs — worked hard to ensure each issue was packed with interviews, festival write-ups and lots of photos of volunteers in action.

I would like to welcome the new team members—Sean McCluskey, Christine Dang and MaryAnn Punzalan—who will be joining two current committee members who have kindly agreed to stay on: Lidia, who can edit like no one else, and Lynn, who does the most amazing interviews. Welcome aboard!

It has been a long, blistering winter, but Harbourfront Centre was still a hive of activity in February with three very successful festivals: Kuumba, HarbourKIDS Skating Festival and LunarFest. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers who braved the cold and came down to work at the festivals. It was especially challenging to get volunteers for some of the activities in the cold, and yet you did not let us down! At LunarFest we had volunteers in Ontario Square shepherding the cute little sheep and making sure no one attempted to run away with them. And indeed we did not lose a single sheep! How amazing was that?

It is such a relief to have the streetcars running again and to not have to walk to Union Station in the cold. Things are looking good as the construction is nearing completion, and everyone is looking forward to strolling down the beautiful boulevards in the summer.

The volunteer statistics for 2014 are on pages 2 and 3, and they look impressive. Do take a look to see the huge contribution all of you are making to each of the departments at Harbourfront Centre. And to say a big, big thank you, we are hosting the annual Volunteer Recognition Party on April 17. I hope you have sent in your RSVP for our Mexican- themed party with dance performances and interactive workshops by the Mexican Folkloric Dance Group and a delicious, authentic dinner. It’s going to be a great bash.

Enjoy the newsletter, and I hope to see you at the party!

Genevieve Peng

Volunteer Coordinator

Right to left: Elinna, Genevieve and Zuzana at LunarFest

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Festival Highlights

Kuumba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

HarbourKIDS Skating Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

LunarFest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Harbourfront History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Call for Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Upcoming Festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/volunteer

harbourfrontcenter.com/volunteer | 416-952-3625 2

Acknowledgements

Congratulations and thank you to the following volunteers who contributed an exceptional amount of their time in 2014!

Yingdan Zhang — 884 hours

Tom Bilenkey — 787 hours

Victoria Ojubuyi — 565 hours

Jasmine Ardio-Dalpe — 534 hours

Volunteer Contributions in 2014

Volunteer Office14%

Performing Arts 6%

CEA (Festivals)41%

IFOA12%

Miss Lou's Room2%

School Visits5%

Visual Arts, Craft Studio & Power Plant

9%

Facilities (Front of House)

3%

Development3% Finance 0.3%

Planning 1%

Integrated Communications 4%

Volunteer Contributions in 2014 Volunteer Contributions in 2014



Acknowledgements



Festival Highlights

The snowy weather didn’t stop the beat booming down the halls at the Kuumba festival. I found my head bobbing and my hips shaking to the rhythm all the way to Miss Lou’s Room, an atmosphere lit with delight. Spread across the long tables were sparkling studs, glittering glue and silver sheets ready to be claimed by creative hands (my own hands were thawed to a tingle). The two different projects communicated Afrofuturism imagined by young minds, as seen through either a kaleido-scope or the lens of futuristic specs. Though it wasn’t the typical buzz of children pasting and cutting or shuffling in and out, I did get to meet a young girl named Eden and her father, David. Eden, thrilled to be there, was quietly immersed in creating her imaginary portal while

her father acted as her assistant. In the quiet environment, we were able to take the conversation beyond the project at hand. I learnt that David often brings Eden downtown from their home in Brampton to expose her to the city’s vi-brant culture. When I informed them about the upcoming craft activities included in February’s calendar, Eden surged with excitement, and although she was still in the middle of assembling her futuristic lens, she anticipated attending the upcoming festivals. We continued exchanging pleasantries, and after the duo left I found that the warmth shared wasn’t just limited to the colourful crafts scattered around the tables—it followed me as I braved the wintery cold home.

Lidia sharing a laugh with a visitor Dorothy at the kaleidoscope crafts activity

Eji as a Greeter in Marilyn Brewer Community Space Lauretta and Dorothy talking with craft visitors

Part of the TD Then and Now Black History Month Series

Kuumba

By MaryAnn Punzalan



Prasanth and Stacey learned a great deal about slavery through a riveting and colourful high-definition app created to complement The Book of Negroes. Clicking around a map of North America allows users to learn about famous Afro-American or Afro-Canadian leaders who came from that area. There were biographies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama as well as movies and interviews with famous artists and politicians.

Dorothy enjoyed seeing the African designs and clothing. There were so many beautiful patterns and colours on the fabrics. She also really enjoyed the drumming.

Eji was a greeter at the Brigantine Room for a spoken word performance entitled 5 Fingers, 1 Fist: Looking to the Future. He learned about freedom fighters around the world and how their messages are used to motivate, unite and inspire others to work together towards a common goal.

Lauretta had learned a great deal about African heritage during the two years she lived in Johannesburg, South Africa. She found that because she was a foreigner, people were very eager and proud to teach her about their culture and heritage.

Jackie and Carol reminisced about past Kuumba festivals and how many wonderful memories they had made, especially how colourful and musical it has always been. Jackie was particularly keen about the gospel choirs that came one year. Both of them remembered that there was always a vibrancy about the festivals.

Lidia was greeter for the SocasizeTM dance workshops, which were a creative blend of high-and low-impact aerobics combined with African and Caribbean dance movements set to a variety of musical styles. They reminded Lidia of how widespread the influence of African culture is all over the world. So many aspects of African culture are part of disciplines that might not immediately come to mind, like South American dance.

Festival Highlights

Stacey and Prasanth giving directions at The Space PLAYce

What did volunteers learn at Kuumba? By Lynn Allen



Festival Highlights

Family Day, while cold, was bright and sunny, making the rink a pleasant place to be for the HarbourKIDS Skating Festival. The attempt to hold the World’s Largest Skating Lesson fell a bit short, but there were enough people there, including sports legends Wendel Clark and Patrick Chan, to make it a fun event. Everyone was grateful to warm up indoors. Our volunteers were on hand at the LEGO area, craft tables and the ToyBox, where kids could get into costumes and then see themselves on a screen with interactive computer-generated back-grounds.

Kayo at Play Zone

Carmina and Hanna helping a child with crafts

Audrey at the LEGO activity Di Li at StoryMobs

Presented by RBC Learn to Play Project

HarbourKIDS Skating Festival

By Sean McCluskey



Festival Highlights

We were joined that weekend by volunteers out-side of our own group. RBC had their own team for the Guinness World Record Attempt for the World’s Largest Skating Lesson and RBC Sports Day, and students from University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus shared their enthusiasm for all things scientific at the Let’s Talk Science table. Let’s Talk Science is a national organization, with chapters in many universities. The Scarborough group participates in several community events every year, in locations ranging from Dundas Square to the Toronto Zoo, and makes many visits to high schools also. On Family Day weekend, the students had kids playing with dry ice and soap bubbles, working with slime and looking at fossil snowflakes. Let’s Talk Science coordinator Bilal Ahmadi said they always enjoy coming to Harbourfront Centre; the organizations have similar missions, and they feel like they fit right in. It was clear they were having fun, and I was very impressed with the rapport they had with the kids. I am not alone: Jo-Ann at the Info Desk thought they were a lovely bunch and a pleasure to work with. She credited Bilal’s friendly and supportive training. We provided them with some information on the Harbourfront Centre volunteer programme, as we would be happy to have any of them join us.

Let’s Talk Science volunteers

RBC at the RBC Guinness World Record Attempt

U of T students assisting children with crafts

Patrick Chan, RBC Athlete

Volunteer Partners By Sean McCluskey



Festival Highlights

Juliet, Louise and I surveyed and photographed as many of the HFC volunteers as we could during their shifts at LunarFest on Sunday, March 1. We asked them if they knew what their Chinese Zodiac animals were and whether they felt the animals reflected who they were. We were pleasantly surprised to find that almost all knew their Zodiac animals. Many volunteers knew a little something about they represent too! Did you know that the zodiac animals are either closely related to ancient Chinese people’s daily lives or they have lucky meanings? Our findings are shown below as percentages. As you can see, many volunteers were snakes and tigers. Snakes like to help others, are very flexible and sympathetic. Tigers like

challenges, are trustworthy and tolerant. These zodiac signs make great volunteers! We could not find a single person born in the year of the pig. Pigs are very amiable, calmly diligent and compassion-ate. Almost every volunteer we surveyed felt that the qualities of their zodiac animal fit with their personalities. Only two volunteers did not relate to their zodiac animal. Interestingly, they were both rabbits. Rabbits are creative, but cautious! We have such a wonderfully divergent group of volunteers that it should not surprise you to see that we found volunteers born under 11 of the 12 zodiac animals.

What animal are you? By Lynn Allen



Festival Highlights

Thank you for helping make our Lunar New Year festivities so special at this year’s LunarFest. We hope you enjoyed the traditional and contemporary art, music and food associated with this annual cel-ebration. A programme of the complexity and size of LunarFest 2015 is only possible with the coopera-tion, contribution and hard work of every depart-ment and all members of the entire Harbourfront Centre staff and volunteer teams. We extend our thanks to them all. Have a wonderful Year of the Sheep!

Clayford printing lucky red envelopes Corazon assisting children with crafting masks

Yuezeng folding origami lanterns

Jeffrey and Christine at World’s Little Shepherds

Desiree and Areej making sheep lanterns

LunarFest



Harbourfront Centre History

In May 2006, Harbourfront Centre hosted the 25th an-niversary edition of the Milk International Children’s Festival of the Arts. The lineup was typical of the di-verse offerings of Harbourfront Centre and this was, for many years, one of our biggest annual events. Perform-ing arts groups came from Belgium, France, Germany, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK and the USA. Yes, Mongolia! According to the Harbourfront Centre press release, “the Mongolian National Song and Dance Ensemble TUMEN EKH [celebrated] 800 years since the founding of the Mongolian Empire.” Once again, Harbourfront Centre provided people with experiences they could not easily find anywhere else. While the festival was aimed at children, adults tcould also enjoy the innovation and imagination in many productions. That same year a German group performed the play Henry the Fifth: “In this humorous adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V, a sand castle within a boxing ring, battalions of balloon soldiers and a sparkling chandelier provide the backdrop for the staged conflict between French and English kings.” Many productions aimed at older children were not only entertaining, but also thought-provoking. “Haircuts by Children” may sound like just so much silli-ness: “Adults are encouraged to have their hair cut at

the festival by children (ages 8 to 12) who have trained with a professional stylist.” However, the Toronto group that created this activity, Mammalian Diving Re-flex, describes its intent to make us contemplate trust in the younger generation and “the consideration of young people as creative and competent individuals.” (http://mammalian.ca/projects/haircuts-by-children) Actually, I recall more colouring and styling with gel than actual cutting, so little lasting damage was done!) Sponsors over the years included the Ontario Milk Marketing Board (later known as the Dairy Farmers of Ontario), the Dairy Farmers of Canada and Natrel. Vol-unteers looked forward to this week-long festival of theatre, music, puppetry, visual arts and crafts. Week-days were for school groups, with high school students recruited to fill the many volunteer shifts needed (lots of work for the Volunteer Office!). Weekdays were open to the general public, when most of the regular Harbourfront Centre volunteers took part. Changes in sponsorship made all this difficult to maintain, but some of the tradition continues with HarbourKIDS. If you have memories of your own you wish to share, feel free to pass them on to us!

Left to right: Helen, Sean and Barb

Remembering MilkFest By Sean McCluskey


http://www.mammalian.ca/projects/haircuts-by-children


Call for Volunteers

Craft & Design — Volunteer Animateur

Craft & Design at Harbourfront Centre operates the only national post-graduate programme of its kind in Canada. The unique Artists-in-Residence Programme catalyzes designers-makers to explore, pursue and accelerate their potential in an ideal studio environment. The Studio provides an exceptional opportunity for people to witness and experience work being created in the disciplines of hot glass, ceramics, jewelry and textiles. We wish to enhance and enliven the public’s experience by helping them understand appreciate in more depth what the Craft & Design Studio is all about.

Craft & Design is looking for a dedicated group of volunteers to act as Craft & Design Animateurs to inform and enrich public visits to our Studio. As an Animateur you will have the opportunity to engage the public in lively conversations concerning craft and our Artists-in-Residence. You will also field questions about the activities and processes.

One Craft & Design Animateur is required every Sunday from 2 PM–4 PM

Volunteer shifts start on the May long weekend at HarbourKIDS and end in October

Craft & Design Animateurs are required to attend two mandatory training sessions in April and early May

Requirements

Would you love to engage the public about Craft and Design?

Glass Textile Clay



Upcoming Events



Lynn

Allen

Writer

Lidia

Jarmasz

Editor

Sean

McCluskey

Coordinator

MaryAnn

Punzalan

Writer

Genevieve

Peng

Adviser/Editor

Photos courtesy of

Christine

Dang

Layout Designer

Credits

Tom

Bilenkey

Stefano

Rodriguez

Juliet

Dang

Ricky

Yu

Yang

Louise


Documents

1. Volunteer E-Newsletter - Spring 2015