After witnessing some of the horrifying images from last week's devastating earthquake in Haiti, many Canadians have been inspired to make donations to aid organizations to assist in relief efforts. But a group of Whistler residents has been inspired to take things one step further and hold a special event in hopes of raising even more money for the people of Haiti.
Tim Livingstone, a well-known local DJ, already had a gig booked at Tommy Africa's on Sunday, Jan. 24, but after seeing that a few restaurants were donating a percentage of sales towards Haiti relief efforts, he decided to transform his show into a fundraising event.
"It's just horrific what they're going through down there and it's just like a different reality," he said. "Up here, there's almost no way to relate to how bad it is down there."
Rather than just make a private donation to an aid organization, Livingstone decided to try and tap into a bigger pool of donations by hosting an event; getting people out to party, while raising money for the cause.
The Canadian government will be matching contributions made to eligible Canadian charitable organizations in support of recovery efforts in Haiti, up to a total of $50 million. That means that any money that is raised at the Tommy's event will be doubled. Livingstone is hoping that they can bring in about $3,000, which would mean they could send $6,000 for aid efforts.
He approached the management at the club and they were receptive to the idea of giving all proceeds from the door to the Canadian Red Cross.
"I went and talked to a few local businesses to see if they would be interested in donating some silent auction or raffle prizes and the response has just been amazing," Livingstone said.
Goods and services donated so far include activities with Powder Mountain Catskiing, Outdoor Adventures and Whistler Bungee, gift certificates to an assortment of local restaurants and merchandise from many local retailers, as well as a print from local painter Chili Thom, entitled Dawn of Hope.
Livingstone will be DJing, spinning a seamless set of funk, house and disco, so don't expect this night to be a downer - Help for Haiti will be a feel-good party and fundraiser. He's also hoping to produce and sell a special CD for the event, with all proceeds from sales going to the Red Cross.
Cover will be by donation, with more tickets to the raffle given to people who make larger donations at the door. The party starts at 9:30 p.m., with prizes being given away throughout the night.
$200,000 set aside for artistic legacy of Games
After the Olympics are over, Whistler will be left with more than fleeting memories of the Games. A special piece of artwork will be commissioned to help the community remember the 2010 Olympics.
The Whistler Games Legacy Art Project will see an artist or team of artists creating a "signature piece" of public art for the community, including "substantial components" that feature all three pillars of the Games - sport, culture and sustainability - while also capturing the spirit, essence and emotions of the events.
"We've learned a lot from some similar projects in the Lower Mainland and our budget basically is $200,000, and $190,000 of that is going to the artist," said Kevin McFarland, Parks Planner for the Resort Municipality of Whistler. "It's the biggest (commission) we've done, and yet, compared with the Vancouver projects, it's not big enough."
What Whistler will get for $200,000 is anybody's guess.
"There's been lots of discussion as to what the nature of the art is - it could be anything from traditional sculpture or multiple pieces to media-oriented pieces," McFarland said.
"It's a real challenge, to be sure. I mean, how can any one piece try and capture a town's experience, because a town is made up, in our case, of like 10,000 people."
The completed piece will be placed at Whistler Medals Plaza after the Games, to be installed in 2011.
"This will be the obvious place for people post-Games to find the story of Whistler's experience with the Games, and that's what this artwork is all about."
The Whistler Arts Council looked at a number of previous Olympic hosts to see what their lasting arts legacies were.
"Folks actually come looking for it, post-Games, so they created a budget for a specific art work," McFarland said.
The official call for submissions won't be issued until April or May, after the Olympics have wrapped up, but organizers wanted to give local artists a heads-up to keep the project in mind as they are experiencing the Games in Whistler. The selected artist or artist team will also have access to Whistler Live!'s photo and video archives from the Games to create their concept.
The opportunity will be posted online and through the Whistler Arts Council, with artists from within Sea to Sky and further abroad invited to submit a proposal. Artists will be asked to propose a budget and justify their costs and expenses. Funding for the project comes from the RMOW's Games budget, funded through the hotel tax, with any remaining money from the legacy project going back towards the general fund.
A small chunk of the overall budget will be set aside for infrastructure costs, like footings or foundations, while the rest (up to $190,000) will go to the artist or artistic team for materials and their time.
"We know from the scale of the art that we do and the scale of other projects that have been done by private sector here in Whistler that our normal $20,000 or $30,000 wouldn't really do it," McFarland said.
