Members of the municipality’s Cultural Plan Task Force are asking the public for their thoughts on Summerland’s culture.
Throughout the summer, task force members have asked permanent residents, part-time residents and visitors for their comments and at present, more than 300 written questionnaires have been received.
More responses have been submitted online.
This is a good start, but it’s not nearly enough.
It is important to bring in more voices during the consultation process.
The community has a population of more than 11,000 and receives thousands of visitors each year.
Everyone who lives here will be affected by the proposed cultural plan.
This is a diverse community, encompassing people of many backgrounds and many views.
Without participation from all segments of the community, the information will be incomplete and the resulting plan may not be an accurate reflection of the views of the entire community.
The committee members have worked to gather responses.
Now it’s time for the public to get involved as well.
Five roving display boards will be set up at a number of community locations. The boards have questions about defining Summerland’s culture and setting priorities for the coming cultural plan.
While Summerland has a thriving arts community, culture extends far beyond the various facets of the arts.
Culture, in its various forms, affects all of us and Summerland’s culture defines us as a community.
We need to think about how we define our unique culture, how to strengthen what we have and which cultural activities would add to our quality of life.
The plan, when it is completed, will be our plan.
If it is to represent us accurately, we need to take time to respond.