36
Municipal Cultural Planning as Placemaking
“Municipal Cultural Planning is about building local economies through culture. It is about municipalities responding to major new economic and demographic realities. It is about attracting jobs in a new knowledge-based economy. It is about building municipalities that are livable and environmentally sustainable. It is about regenerating downtowns and building healthy neighbourhoods.”
Placemaking / Municipal Cultural Planning Resources
• Culture 365 Blog posts:
“4 Key Elements for Creating Successful Public Spaces”
“The Treasures of Minto: Cultural Planning in Rural Ontario”
• Municipal Cultural Planning Inc. www.ontariomcp.ca
• Creative Cities Network www.creativecity.ca
• Artscape DIY Toolkits, webinars and more artscapediy.org
• DIY City: http://www.curiousarts.ca/placemaking-diy-city
• Young Street Media Feature “Creative placemaking changes the
narrative of cities”
Ontario Culture Days is supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund and the Government of Ontario in recognition of Celebrate the Artist Weekend.
Introduction to Culture Days
Open classes at Canada’s National Ballet School, Culture Days 2015.
How can people get involved?
Anyone in Canada can register an activity at www.culturedays.ca
There are only four requirements:
• Activities must be free
• Activities must take place on the Culture Days weekend
• Activities must be interactive or participatory in some way (very broadly defined)
• Activities must be registered on the Culture Days website Studio Tour Preview and artist demos, Richmond Hill Library.
Photo by Stephanie Graham
Who Participates in Culture Days?
• Open to the full spectrum of creators (amateur to professional)
• Broad definition of Culture includes heritage, multicultural, culinary arts, etc.
• The quality of engagementis key
• Activities can be as big or as small as you want!
Drum circle in Kingston. Photo by Rob Mooy
Ontario Culture Days 2015 Snapshot
• More than half a million Ontarians engaged in arts and culture
• 1581 cultural activities registered and 2128 cultural activities promoted
• 1451 activity organizers participated
• Ontario represents 54% of national registration
• Activities in 168 cities and towns
• Activities in 100 out of 108 provincial ridings
• Trends in participation – increasing participation by:
• Indigenous communities and artists
• Businesses and BIA’s
• Craft Artisans
• 68.1 Million media impressions generated
• 70.9 Million marketing impressions leveraged
Yearly Growth of Ontario Culture Days
0500
10001500
20002500
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Ontario Activities
Since it’s inaugural year, the number of Culture Days activities in Ontario has grown by 129%.
Ontario Culture Days Top 10 Communities
Cities/Towns Regions
CITY # of Activities REGION # of Activities
Toronto 171 Halton 184
London 96 Toronto 172
Oakville 80 Muskoka 116
Brampton 74 Wellington 108
Kingston 66 Middlesex 98
Huntsville 61 Peel 97
Burlington 52 York 74
Milton (tied 8th) 46 Frontenac 66
Guelph (tied 8th) 46 Timiskaming 59
Napanee 43 Durham 53
Stratford 39
Business Engagement in Culture Days
• Registration by Business or BIA jumped from
6% in 2014 to 10% in 2015
• When activities presented in partnership with a
business are counted the total jumps
dramatically to 22% with 349 activities
presented wholly or in partnership with a
business in 2015.
• At least 13 BIAs and 3 Chambers of Commerce
participated
• Many participating businesses reported
increased traffic and sales as a result of
participation in Culture Days. Leather tooling at the Burlington Apple Fest
Photo: Aubrey Reeves
Local business support for Culture Days
Only 10% of activity organizers asked a business for support, however of those who did, 85% were successful.
4%
4%
6%
19%
32%
36%
43%
49%
Other
Prizes
Food/Refreshments
Volunteers
Advertising/Promotions
Financial
Materials/Equipment
Space
First time success in Brockville
2015 was the first year Brockville participated in Culture Days:
• Included street closure of their main street for celebrations
• Attendance estimated at 2400 with record number of visitors reported by Brockville Tourism at their visitor centre.
• Received international media coverage with two radio interviews on North Country Public Radio in Upstate New York.
Photo: RONALD ZAJAC/The Recorder and Times
Partners in Brockville said…
“We were so pleased with the tools and resources for organizers but also the level of support online and through the database to upload the events. From a BIA perspective, the resources were wonderful to help us promote our events for a low cost. We're very excited to have Culture Days back next year and to grow it each year.”
– Meghan Plooy, Brockville Downtown BIA
“One of the more interesting bits of feedback was that those participants that were selling, whether tickets, memberships or wares, had a very, very good day. In Brockville and area the usual complaint is that there are mostly window shoppers. The fact Culture Days brought out a different demographic wasn’t lost on the DBIA and merchants. Moving ahead we need this sort of mutually beneficial aspect.”
– Russ Disotell, Brockville Arts Co-operative
Major Growth in Muskoka
Year # of Activities
2014 10
2015 116 a 1060% increase
How it happened • A spring information session hosted by the Town of
Huntsville was presented by ONCD staff to 40 members of cultural community.
• Local volunteer and Antoni Cimolino Leadership award winner, Pam MacKenzie personally invited arts collectives, cultural centres and individual artists and crafts-persons throughout the Muskoka region to participate. As a member of the Task Force, Pam receives one-on-one support from ONCD staff throughout the year.
• Town of Huntsville spent just $1412 on marketing and PR and contributed staff time to coordinating promotions.
• ONCD increased the digital marketing impressions served to Metroland’s muskokaregion.com to 75K in recognition of the huge jump in activities registered.
• ONCD’s Publicists pitched local, regional and provincial media on stories about Muskoka Culture Days events.
Major Growth in Muskoka
Results
• Attendance of 5,225 across the region, the majority in Huntsville.
• Mayor Scott Aitchison participated in Culture Days activities and held press conference.
• 5 news articles, 1 television interview and 3 radio interviews including province-wide coverage on CBC’s Fresh Air
• Social media reached a minimum of 40,000 followers
• One couple ONCD staff met travelled from Oakville (566 km roundtrip) specifically to attend the Ghost of Tom Thompson Reading in Huntsville.
• Post-event presentation to Huntsville town council was very positively received Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison makes candles at Soapstones
in Hunstville during the 2015 Culture DaysPhoto: Catherine McLeod
Funder – Leader – Cultural Advocate
LONDON ARTS COUNCIL
LOCAL EVENT ORGANIZER – A CITY PERSPECTIVE
LONDON ARTS COUNCIL
Call to Community for participation
Developing and Curating
Fund Development
Marketing and Promotion
Attendance
Approx.
25,000
Collaborate
Cluster
Support
London is one the
LARGESTCulture Days
celebration in
Canada
HOW WE CREATE THIS EVENT• Activities and sites must fit into the programming of this
skillfully curated weekend
• Programs or activities must be hands-on and/or interactive (AND interesting for the visitor)
• Partner organizations with venues if they do not have an existing space. (*Not everyone meets the requirement and guidelines to become a site or activity)
• Oversee all details in rolling out the weekend; promotion up to and including the weekend
• Intake submissions for participating sites and organizations
• Development of funding to present the weekend
THE CULTURAL MIX
ARTS
Artists
Arts organizations
HERITAGE
Museums
Heritage Buildings
Walking Tours
MULTICULTURAL
FUND DEVELOPMENT
PRESENTING SPONSOR
POSTERS
5,000posters
distributed throughout London and
Region
OTHER ADVERTISING
$50,000+invested in print, radio, transit and
Online Advertising
MAPGUIDES
10,000Map
Guides circulated
MARKETING
THE OTHER 362 DAYS OF THE YEAR
25
Ontario Culture Days
Tourism Strategy 2016
The Art of the Tart, Muskoka Rose Guest House and RetreatPhoto: Catherine McLeod
Developing a Tourism Strategy
“Culture Days is a highlight of the year for Centre Wellington! It gives all of us the chance to explore our rich cultural heritage and rediscover what makes our Town the place to be!”
– Mayor Kelly Linton, Centre Wellington
York Region Newcomer Bus
Photo: Courtesy City of Vaughan
Reaching out to Visiting Friends and Relatives
Creating Destinations
Arts At the Albion, Gravenhurst
Photo: Catherine McLeod
“It’s called Culture Days and it’s really an opportunity to find out what’s happening in Brockville in terms of artists, libraries, museums, cultural events, etc. Arts and culture takes centre stage in downtown Brockville on Saturday… for folks who haven’t been to Brockville, it is one of those jewel-like little Canadian cities with a beautiful town square, right on the St. Lawrence River. A nice place to just take a walk but it sounds like Saturday is the day to do it. So stroll the west end of King Street from 9 to 5, from the art centre to Home street is where you will find a lot of this activity.”
– NPR North Country Radio Host Todd Moe
“The fantastic thing here is you get to talk to the artists. I put on a hand-made elk jacket and I looked closely at this painting… and it had a herd of bison out in the wild. I thought I am truly in Canada!”
– Jane Moberg Ladwing, visiting Corbeil from Illinois
Culture Days Travel and Spending in Ontario
34,441 (11%)
137,765 (44%)
65,750 (21%)
75,145 (24%)
313,000 (62%)
103,020 (85% of travellers)
121,200 (24%)
131,300 (26%)
505,000
Willing to travel (unspecified)
Willing to travel less than 40 km
Willing to travel 40 to 79 km
Willing to travel 80 to 150+ km
Willing to travel to attend Culture Days in another community inOntario
Spent money during Culture Days in another community in Ontario
Attended Culture Days in another community in Ontario
Brought visiting friends or family to attend Culture Days
Total participants
Culture Days Travel& Spending in Ontario (2015)*
* Travel and spending estimates are based on a national survey of Culture Days attendees undertaken by The Strategic Counsel in 2015
Of those who travelled to another community during Culture Days, 51% travelled primarily to attend
Culture Days and 28% took Culture Days into account when planning their travel.
Culture Days Travel and Spending in Ontario
1.5
3.8
1.7
$6.9 million
23,057 travellers (19%) spent nothing, or prefer not to say
58,175 travellers (48%) spent up to $49
31,510 travellers (26%) spent $50 to $199
8,485 travellers (7%) spent $200+
Total spending
Estimated Spending by Culture Days Tourists in Ontario (2015)*in millions of dollars
• *Travel and spending estimates are based on a national survey of Culture Days attendees undertaken by The Strategic Counsel in 2015.
• Using the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s Economic Impact Model (TREIM), Culture Days across Ontario generates an
estimated $13.1 million in total spending, including $5.8 million in direct and $11.5 million indirect impact to Ontario GDP.
Culture Days is Ready for Tourism
Culture Days is equipped to respond to the major trends in tourist consumer behaviour
Desire for Authenticity• Culture Days offers travellers an unparalleled
chance to meet, talk with and take part increative activities directly with local artists, craftspeople and cultural organizations
• Culture Days showcases the distinctly local character of each community’s culture
Travellers are hyper-connected and want to share their experiences • Culture Days has a strong social media
presence and growing engagement levels• Culture Days experiences are photogenic,
active and shareable – travellers can show themselves participating hands-on in a huge range of unique activities!
Kids show off their masks at Culture Days @ the
Library: Mask Making Workshop in Scarborough.
Photo: Alejandra Higuera
Mobile technology is driving travel choices in
real-time
Culture Days website is fully mobile-
friendly
“Find Activities Near Me” search capability
on mobile devices introduced in 2015 lets
travellers immediately find the closest
activities
Travellers want personalization
The Culture Days Bright Spots Scheduler is a
customizable itinerary tool that lets the
public select and plan their Culture Days
weekend
The Bright Spots Scheduler can be saved to
calendar programs, emailed and shared as a
PDF to meet anyone’s needs
Culture Days is Ready for Tourism
Culture Days Support for Activity Organizers
Capoeira workshop in Kingston Photo by Rob Mooy
Resources
• Participation Guide
• Community Organizer Toolkit
• PR Toolkit
• Customizable advertising templates for a variety of media including posters, postcards, video bumpers, web badges and banners, social media graphics, etc.
• Tipsheets on a range of topics
• Bright Spots Personal Scheduler
• Recorded webinars and whitepapers on crowd funding, digital marketing, etc.
• And more
Activity and community organizers have access to a wide range of customizable tools and resources to make planning and hosting their activities easier, including:
Support from Ontario Culture Days
• Answer questions and concerns
• Present information sessions in your community (spring)
• Direct you to resources
• Support peer to peer learning through social media, blogs, tips and tools, and the Ontario Culture Days Task Force where community organizers share experiences, get new ideas, problem solve, learn from each other, etc.
• Purchase advertising and develop media sponsorships to raise the profile of Culture Days across the province
• Conduct a provincial PR campaign
Social Media
Connect with us through our social media channels – we’ll help get the word out about your activities!
Ontario:@ONCultureDays@Onfdlc
National:@CultureDays@FeteDeLaCulture
Start your engagement now with Local Connections!
2016 Campaign media partners
National Media Partner
Provincial Media Partners
2016 Ontario Culture Days’ Supporters
Public Sector Funders
Corporate Supporters
