When I go on a “work trip” to work with my favourite client – Ptarmigan Music and Theatre Society – I get to sail across an ocean on a ferry, have meetings on beaches, and sit at a desk with the view you see in the picture to the left. I am blessed.

So is Ptarmigan. It is exactly the work environment you would dream of having if you ran an arts charity that spends countless – and sometimes thankless – hours bending over backwards trying to manifest enough money to keep extremely important arts programs running. Arts programs that bring music and theatre and dance and poetry and art to people who would otherwise not have the chance to participate. The people in our societies that are underserved, isolated & often dealing with serious illnesses and disabilities. The work that Ptarmigan does is heart wrenching work…but fulfilling in ways that a hundred cement cities could never know.

And to do that work, this week, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, breathing in the salt air, saying hello to ridiculously friendly community members as I go for short walk-breaks, taking in the view while having meetings on our rooftop deck (a far cry from those beige board rooms)…well, it is an honour. I can’t wait to return again.

Until I do, I will be back in Saskatchewan hopefully bringing you all more videos and picture documentation of some of the great programming Ptarmigan is unfolding in these lucky BC communities. I’d also like to bring you a video tour of our office facilities, so you can see for yourself how great it is here, and maybe some up-close-and-personal discussions with Ptarmigan’s core management – Pat and Lisa – about their vision for Ptarmigan.

Of course, all this will depend on funding. As is always the case with charities. If you would like to donate, and help ensure that all this magic continues, call Ptarmigan toll free at 1-866-859-0634 or email ptarmigan@gulfislands.com to make arrangements.

Have an amazing long weekend everybody!

In the past few years, I’ve done many things with Ptarmigan. I learned to have fun with the mundane grant applications and bookkeeping, and I learned just how open and transparent a good charity needs to be. It’s hard, but worth it. Organising and playing at community events has been an ongoing joy, especially when we can bring something new to a community that would otherwise do without. Working with Ptarmigan to bring mentors into my school music classes has probably made the most long-term impact; some of our mentees are heading off to careers in the arts, which can be a tough thing coming from a small island.

There have been some outstanding moments in this long and valuable relationship.

One day, while I was working for Ptarmigan as a school music mentor, a principal called me aside and offered me a job. I’ve worked for the Gulf Islands school district ever since.

I joined Pat for many of his sessions with a group of folks living with developmental disabilities. It was a riot. We had so much fun with what I had feared would be a difficult gig. Almost all of my experience had been with fairly elite musicians, yet I consider these sessions to be the peak of my career in music. Pat taught me that music that is based in love can never be bad.

Working with survivors of childhood cancer. Proud, talented, shellshocked, and inspiring.

Several times while playing with Pat for disadvantaged seniors, we would have an otherwise catatonic patient start to sing along. Sometimes they sang very well. Sometimes I cried, knowing the catatonia would return as the last song ended.

People are surrounded, through the media, with an astounding amount of very slick performances. For kids, who have great creative instincts, media slickness is stifling. Only the organic experience of live performance and constant encouragement can keep their artistic impulse alive. Having the expertise, the time, the instruments, and the moxy to just *do* community arts is essential. Ptarmigan does this with thoughtful, artful, stubborn patience.

For Patrick Smith, artistic director and co-founder of the Ptarmigan Music and Theatre Society, the arts are an essential link for building connection and vitality in communities.

“I believe the arts reflect the very best of the soul of humanity and supply us with spiritual archetypes to live by”.

Smith, a professional musician and formerly a member of the Vancouver folk group Under The Moss, formed the Ptarmigan Society charity with band mate John McLachlan in 1991. Since then, the society has developed free or low-cost and accessible art programs and recitals that aim to engage, innovate, heal, and educate communities throughout Vancouver Island, the Southern Gulf Islands and in Vancouver.

The society currently runs three core programs; Mosaic for children and youth, Taking Flight for seniors and Strength Within for people with disabilities and survivors of illness.

The Mosaic program organizes a steady variety of artistic workshops, musical and theatrical performances. It also fosters creative mentorships for children and youth living on the southern Gulf Islands. The goal has been to give students living in these small, isolated communities the opportunity to socialize and learn about their local history through different art mediums. Since its conception in 2007, Mosaic has conducted 2,000 hours of workshops, recruited 43 local artists, and has involved 800 children in their events.

Bryce Woollcombe, a teacher on Pender Island, credits the Ptarmigan Society for sustaining the performing arts on the island amid the increasing decline in arts funding for schools.

“Having the expertise, the time, the instruments and the moxy to just do community arts is essential. Ptarmigan does this with thoughtful, artful, stubborn patience”.

Ptarmigan’s Taking Flight program brings vocal and instrumental recitals to seniors living in Victoria and the Gulf Islands, with the objective of having a positive impact on quality of life. All performances are planned with the consultation of the care facilities, therapists and activity coordinators. For many seniors, live performances are inaccessible due to their financial or physical limitations. For Smith this is a good reason why this program exists.

“We wanted to take our programs right to the communities where people could have a hands-on experience with artistic engagement”.

Bryony Moorman, the recreation manager at the Sandringham Care Centre in Victoria, said the shows give members something to look forward to. Moorman credits the reception to the quality and effort that Ptarmigan puts into their performances.

“They are very professional musicians with a wealth of performing experience and a wide range of musical offerings which was well received (by the residents) at the Care Centre. Alison is an excellent harpist and Patrick is a multitalented musician, they are very engaging and interactive”.

Harpist Alison Vardy, who is also Ptarmigan’s program coordinator, has also performed at the Victoria Hospice and says families of patients will often express their appreciation for the atmosphere created by her music.

“ The feedback I get is how relaxing and soothing the harp music is. I always get thanked and once I got a kiss from a woman whose husband was a patient”.

Moorman also adds that verbal recognition isn’t necessary.

“ I enjoy offering music with no strings attached, no expectations of a reward or gratitude. It’s very liberating”.

The Strength Within program focuses on providing members of the special needs community with ways to experience positive interactions through workshops and music events in hopes of encouraging social engagement, creativity, and self esteem.

In 2011 the Strength Within program joined with the B.C. Children’s Hospital and the Starlight, Starbright Children’s Foundation to design art workshops for survivors of childhood cancer. The activities spanned a range of art forms, from music to drama, to visual arts to dance, and gave the children the opportunity to express their experiences and connect with others who shared similar trauma.

For more information on programs, events, or how to get involved with the Ptarmigan Society, see http://ptarmigansociety.org/contact/. For more information about the Victoria Foundation, see www.victoriafoundation.ca.

Had a full day of school workshops (6 groups of students) at Cloverdale school (K-5) yesterday.Took in 2 harps and a HD and there were lots of questions and interest and time for each group to make a din on the instruments at the end.

Fiona Thomson, the music teacher in charge wrote these comments for us:

The students loved it! It was great for them to see, hear, and even get the opportunity to play instruments that they had not previously had the opportunity to be exposed to.

Fun, entertaining and relevant for all ages.

Alison was great! The students were captivated by her presentation and performance.

Absolutely beautiful music from a wide range of musical genres.

The children were entranced by not only the beautiful and varied music, but also by the interesting and educational musical background that Alison provided.

I’ve now booked Quadra School for Thursday, April 5th, all day and George Jay is calling me back this week. There is great interest and appreciation from the schools for this sort of enrichment.

Cheers,
Alison

Although our numbers have fluctuated, our core group has been very committed and engaged in the program. We’ve had the opportunity to work with many guest as well as regular instructors, each of whom have brought to the program great insight, skill and energy. Theatre games, puppet making and performance, dance, music, filmmaking, script writing, and improvisation have been just some of the artistic disciplines that that have been explored.

There have been some truly wonderful moments. I remember how blown away I was when we had an informal talent show one day. Each person got up, surprising and delighting us all with some before unseen talents including stand-up comedy, spoken word, and singing. Some very funny and clever scenes have been spontaneously created and performed. And we were thrilled one day to witness the enthusiastic creation of many new puppets. Each person has contributed a unique and thoughtful voice to the group.

We are currently in conversation with other user groups, and I am pleased to say that in the next few months we will be sharing our work with other children and youth who are living with serious illnesses.

We have heard from many of the participants that Strength Within has meant a great deal to them. It is wonderful to know that the work we are doing is making a positive impact.

A big thank you to everyone who has made this program possible. I’m looking forward to all the fun that is yet to come!

Samantha Taylor

I think you’ve all been able to tell that Ptarmigan has been really building momentum lately. Phew, I’m having trouble keeping up with my do-list. Just this morning, Lisa and I remarked how rewarding it is to be on this end of things and to feel what an excellent team has come together for us. Each of you has done tremendous work and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.

We’re in the middle of a crossroads, a growth stage that we have planned for for quite some time. We’re going from being my one man band to being an organization that belongs to a larger core group of people. I have needed to divest myself of many items of responsibility for quite some time and that is now happening. There are some very uncomfortable moments at times, but it is definitely happening, quite organically, but with the design, planning and diligence of this core group.

The arts are in the middle of some very challenging times. With the provincial budget last week, BC firmly holds on to its spot as the lowest per capita funder of the arts in Canada. I think we all get it. That we have survived and are actually flourishing in these icy times is nothing to be sniffed at. I want to say thanks to you who are the core group that is making this happen.

You’ve all done great work and are really working as a team. I appreciate each one of you very much.

Sincerely, Pat

See our Facebook Event page HERE

Follow us on Twitter HERE

Recently, we found out that another of our programs, Taking Flight, an arts program for seniors, had a successful grant application with The Victoria Foundation. This, along with many other applications that are soon to be adjudicated, should help us continue with this highly-sought-after program. As for our our Mosaic project, it continues to unfold with artistic flair, and our brains are already brimming with big ideas for for future evolutions. We’re just go, go, go here at our beautiful head office on Pender Island:-)

So, from us to you, have a very, merry holiday, and we look forward to keeping you with us on this journey. And, as a Christmas gift that keeps on giving, find out how your donation can help support our efforts. (We’ll even find a way to put a deductible tax receipt in your stocking;-)

Much love from the Ptarmigan Team!

I worked with Ptarmigan back in 2006, and one of my jobs during that contract was to help produce a a Strength Within summer camp for Survivors Of Childhood Cancer. The camp was a true labour of love, and I enjoyed every second of both the prep and the week itself. You can see a few pics of our adventures HERE.

But I knew when I was invited last month to attend one of the new Strength Within ongoing sessions that Ptarmigan has been delivering in Vancouver, that the kids being asked to join this time weren’t just survivors of serious illnesses, but kids that were still facing intense health concerns. I won’t lie, it made me nervous. As an experienced theatre professional, and someone who has taught performing arts to kids of all ages, I wondered how someone like myself could possibly be qualified to spend time with sick kids.

Here is what I realized once the room filled up with these jubilant souls. These kids are just …. KIDS. The youth that filled that space at the Oddfellows Hall in Vancouver, were just as bold, as noisy, as creative, as imaginative, as sometime naughty, and as full of life as any other group of young people I’ve come across. And as for how they learn a song, or play a guitar, or dance to music or put on masks and become a character…their health challenges didn’t compromise the quality of their expression. In fact, it could be argued, that having dealt with so much already, at such young ages, merely enhanced it.

This group inspired me. It also reminded me why I do work with groups like Ptarmigan, and why I will always be such a fierce advocate for why art matters. The theatre company I run is called Live Out Loud Theatre, and I named it so, because I passionately believe that living our lives boldly, authentically, and unapologetically is the key to true health. Not just true health for these particular children who deal with illness or disability, but true health for each and everyone of us.

Strength Within continues to run its sessions until June 2012. Click HERE for more information on the history of this program, and click HERE to find out how you can become a part of such a wonderful program.

For more information, click on the poster image to the left, call 1-866-859-0634 or our Strength Within program coordinator at make.arts.work@gmail.com.