February 10, 2012

Folklorama is thrilled to announce that its member, local Franco-Manitoban performing group Ça Claque, has been chosen from over 500 song entries from around the world to compete in the Folkloric category at the 53rd annual Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Viña del Mar, Chile.

From February 22 to 27, over 100 million viewers are anticipated to tune in to Chilevisión and A & E’s Latino network to watch some of the biggest stars of the Spanish speaking world, including Marc Anthony and Luis Miguel, take the stage at the largest and most celebrated music event in Latin America. Folklorama has been working with the Viña del Mar International Song Festival since 2010 to facilitate opportunities for it members to take part.

Included in the six night festival concert series are two international song competitions in the categories of Contemporary and Folkloric, each of which is composed of six competing countries. Winnipeg’s Ça Claque, who celebrates French Canadian folklore with a fusion of song and dance, has been chosen to represent Canada on the world stage with their original song, Automne.

“In addition to representing our country, we have the added honour of representing our culture in the Folkloric category of the competition,” says Ça Claque guitarist Mario Savard. “We couldn’t be more proud to be showcasing our heritage by singing in French and wearing our own voyageur sash during our performances.” Adds violinist Nicolas Messner, “It’s a big role but we feel capable and ready for it. We’ve put many hours into practising so we can represent Canada the best we can. We’re proud to be Canadian and excited to show it in Chile!”

Ça Claque will be competing in their category against artists from Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. Amazingly, this is the second year in a row that a local artist and Folklorama member will be representing Canada at the festival. Last year, singer and songwriter Sierra Noble won the festival’s top award for best song and best interpreter in the Contemporary category for her song, Try Anything.

Ça Claque and Folklorama representative Christian Hidalgo-Mazzei will be leaving for Chile on Monday, February 13 to prepare for the competition. Winnipeggers who are eagerly anticipating a performance by the group at this year’s Festival du Voyageur need not worry though. While the troupe’s musicians are heading to Chile to participate in the competition, its dancers will still be entertaining and celebrating their French culture in Winnipeg during this year’s Festival du Voyageur.

To learn more about the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, please visit www.vina2012.cl and for further information about Ça Claque, please visit www.caclaque.com.

The Folklorama board of directors is pleased to announce Debra Zoerb as the new executive director for Folklorama effective today.

Debra brings with her many years of executive leadership from her previous role as Director of Operations for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School where she was responsible for maintaining superior standards of the school’s professional and recreational programming. She also takes with her valuable experience as the executive director for Dance Manitoba whose efforts included contributions in the development of all forms of dance in Manitoba.

“Folklorama is a huge contributor to the promotion of the ethnocultural diversity of Manitoba and I am excited to step into my new role as executive director,” says Debra.

Debra brings to this leadership role true commitment to the arts and culture scene in Winnipeg, complemented by expertise in strategic and business planning and the ability to build strong teams and solid relationships with community and government stakeholders. The board of directors wishes Debra every success in her new role.

Folklorama is, once again, in the process of seeking potential candidates for its board of directors.

“You are the voice of the community,” said Zaleena Salaam, the newest member of the Folklorama board of directors. Zaleena, who began her two-year term on March 31, 2011, said being a director has its challenges and rewards. She believes being on the board means being the voice of change that will drive Folklorama to become a better and stronger organization in the future.

Folklorama’s nominating committee is responsible for recommending people for election to the board of directors. The committee was formed in April and is chaired by Folklorama Past President Jim Court.

“A committed individual who is passionate about Folklorama, its mission and ideals,” is the key quality Jim and his committee will look for in an interested candidate.

If you are interested in running for the 2012-2013 board, you must be a member of Folklorama or a member of a member organization. Each candidate must submit a nomination form along with their résumé and two letters of reference from two different communities, not-for-profit organizations or Folklorama members by February 6, 2012 (date subject to change).

After all applications have been submitted, the nominating committee interviews applicants and then presents the slate of candidates 30 days prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM). At that point, members have up to three days before the AGM to challenge the slate. Other interested members not on the slate may still be nominated by three Folklorama members. Once the slate has been finalized, the election commences at the AGM.

Folklorama will be hosting an information evening for members interested in running for the board of directors in the second week of January 2012 (date to be determined). Please call the Folklorama office at 204.982.6210 for more details or contact your member organization president.

It was money well invested when six scholarly students received $7,500 worth of scholarship awards at the Folklorama Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on September 13, 2011.

The six were honoured with the Mark & Dorothy Danzker Scholarship of Excellence, a joint endeavour between Folklorama and the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. The awards were presented by Ashley Sharpe, Chair of Scholarship Committee at Folklorama. (Left, in photo above.)

Recipients were selected based on their direct and active involvement in preserving cultural heritage, done either through volunteer work or employment within Canada. These individuals also volunteered in a cultural activity in the Winnipeg community while performing well in their studies, keeping a grade point average of 3.0 or better. This year’s scholarship awardees were (from left to right in photo above): Eric Garcia, $2,500 award; Zoë Wreggitt, $1,000 award; Katherine Jantz, $1,000 award; Miguel Marchildon, $1,000 award; Kaitlin Vitt, $1,000 award and Lindsay Bristow, $1,000 award.

“It is important for students to preserve their cultural heritage because it personifies who we are as individuals and we should be proud of our cultural heritage all the time. When we preserve our cultural heritage, we ensure that it is going to be passed on from generation to generation,” said Eric Garcia, winner of the post-graduate studies scholarship award.

In order to be selected for one of the five $1,000 scholarships, the applicant must be accepted to or currently enrolled in a university, college or other recognized post-secondary institution within Canada. The student must be between the ages of 17 and 25 years old and a resident of Manitoba. A student pursuing post-graduate studies can be eligible for the $2,500 post-graduate scholarship award. The applicant must be accepted to or currently enrolled in a post-graduate institution. The student must also be a resident of Manitoba and plan to stay in Manitoba after completing his/her studies.