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December Update Problems viewing this e-mail? Read this bulletin from our website:
President's Message President’s Message As we near the end of 2009, we have many things to be thankful for. The worldwide recession seems to be easing and Canada remains in a reasonably strong economic condition. However, this has not translated into any apparent government support - at any level – for heritage, culture and the arts. The Federal Government continues to ignore the potential benefits of a heritage tax investment program similar to the United States Rehabilitation Tax Credit program that has been successfully in effect since 1980. In addition, Parks Canada is cancelling the contribution agreements to the provinces that have been supporting the Historic Places Initiative. In turn, the B.C. Government has unfunded their heritage programs, and clawed back gaming grants. This has been disastrous to many organizations, such as Heritage BC, that were reliant on this funding. Heritage Vancouver lost our annual gaming grant of $15,000 that we have received in past years. At the municipal level, the freeze on the Density Bank remains in effect. Financial support for heritage is at a twenty-year low. These are indeed tough times for heritage. Will this situation improve in the post-Olympic world? Or have our politicians lost any understanding of the importance of our built and cultural heritage, which seems to fall to the bottom of the priority pile whenever there are budget constraints. Heritage Vancouver enters these challenging times with renewed vigour. We look forward to many exciting new events and programs in 2010. In the meantime, if you run into a Councillor, MLA or MP over the Christmas season, it wouldn't hurt to remind them that an investment in heritage is an investment in our future as well as an excellent stimulus to the economy. We send our best wishes for the Holiday Season to our Members and supporters. We look forward to seeing you at our exciting events in the New Year.
Heritage and the Arts: Long Table Social With the goal of strengthening Vancouver’s cultural identity, Heritage Vancouver is forging new relationships between heritage buildings/historic landscapes and Vancouver’s creative professionals through a new program under the “Heritage and The Arts” cultural initiative. Conceived in partnership with Vancouver-based international creative agency Superdelux, our first instalment, the Long Table Social, is to be a series of themed networking events which will be popping up in Vancouver’s Heritage Areas in early 2010. Later installments of “Heritage and The Arts” will further incorporate visual arts into the rich cultural and historical value of Vancouver’s heritage areas and architecture. “An increasingly connected society is vulnerable to volatile and drastic changes. The function of both creative professionals and our city’s heritage is to provide our society balance, allowing its identity to be adaptable and resilient in a rapidly evolving world,” explained a spokesperson at Superdelux. “A strong sense of identity and a vibrant cultural context together yield far-reaching value to the competitiveness of a city. We are very excited about Heritage Vancouver sharing this vision.” Imagine the possibilities of bringing our city’s heritage and creative professionals together! We're accepting venue suggestions for our first Long Table Social now – please e-mail us at alyssa@rufproject.com
Upcoming Events in 2010 January 13: An Evening at The Penthouse Nightclub (1947) View full details on these events at our website: www.heritagevancouver.org
Thank you for your support! • Bulletins: Sign-up or view all previous bulletins at: www.heritagevancouver.org/bulletins.html • All upcoming events at www.heritagevancouver.org • Not a member of Heritage Vancouver? Join!
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