Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Surrey named as Canada's biggest Cultural Capital

CBC.CA

The Vancouver suburb of Surrey has been named the 2008 Cultural Capital among Canada's larger cities, while smaller communities in B.C., New Brunswick and Manitoba also got the designation. Surrey won among cities with populations of more than 125,000, Heritage Minister Bev Oda said Tuesday. Nanaimo, B.C., got the designation among cities with populations of 50,000 to 125,000, and Sackville, N.B., and Morden, Man., were both picked among communities of less than 50,000.

The communities were among those that submitted proposals for cultural festivals to the Heritage Department. Since their submissions were selected, they get the designation of Cultural Capital for a year as well as funding from the department. Surrey could get up to $2 million from Heritage for a new multicultural festival called Fusion 2008. Nanaimo could pocket up to $750,000 for an exhibition about the region's industrial history and a multicultural arts festival. Both are being created with the co-operation of the Snuneymuxw First Nations. Sackville would receive up to $500,000. It is hosting the International Environment Sculpture Conference in 2008 and will present a series of short plays celebrating the town's 300-year-old history.

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