Linda Tiffin couldn’t believe when her name was called as the recipient of the Qennefer Browne Achievement Award Wednesday night.
“They got the wrong girl!” said the owner of Tiffin’s Creative in an interview after the Orillia Regional Arts & Heritage Awards ceremony had ended. She and Leslie Fournier were nominated for the award.
The award honours Browne who was well-known in the community for the many projects she spearheaded at the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) as well as in the community.
“It’s so nice to be recognized,” added Tiffin. “But there are so many people in town who do so many things. We could have had 10 nominees.”
Tiffin was nominated for her work, which includes bringing a women’s art show to town and her instrumental role in the Starry Night Studio Tour.
“The ideas was coming from the artists and community,” said Tiffin. “And so many have done so much. I somehow ended up being chair of the arts district organization, but it’s been an amazing journey.”
The awards ceremony was held at Geneva Event Centre in downtown Orillia.
“We’ve put together the OMAH heritage awards with the Orillia Arts Awards and this is the first year of the amalgamation,” said Anna Proctor, a member of the awards organizing committee.
Awards were presented in five categories, instead of four as it had in the past, added Proctor.
“We also have a band,” she said, pointing to Orillia’s Big Little Band, which had taken to the stage. “We just thought it would be nice to have the event at a great venue with a bar and a stage to make it the big event it should be.”
Proctor said finding nominees for the categories wasn’t difficult, considering how many talented artists and community-minded people Orillia boasts.
Deciding the recipients was the tough part, she said.
Whether winning or not, it felt good to be nominated, said Mary Jo Pollak, who was nominated in the Emerging Artist category with Craig Mainprize.
“It’s really lovely to have recognition,” she said. “This time last year I was pretty new in Orillia and now I know so many people I can’t decide which table to sit at.”
Mainprize, on the other hand, returned to Orillia a couple years ago after wrapping up school in Ottawa.
“It’s good to get some support and affirmation,” he said. “It’s a good confidence booster, not that you’re doing what you’re doing to get recognized, but it’s important.”
Mainprize said the richness of Orillia’s arts and heritage is because most change makers volunteer their time, not expecting a whole lot in return.
“They just want to make the community a better place to live and work in,” he said.
Community support is key to achieving success for some projects, as was evidenced by Friends of Washago Water Tower, the recipients of the Heritage Restoration Preservation and/or Publication award.
“The response from the village was key,” said Kathy Nicholson.
The project to restore the water tower, located next to the Washago CN railway station, started in 2016, she said. With the help of $32,000 collected entirely through fundraising, the group was able to hire artist John LeBarr to create a new mural, which was then printed by Pixels ‘n’ Print.
“It’s a very fanciful view of the village against a beautiful midnight sky that shows multiple constellations,” said Nicholson. “Residents were excited because the tower represents a connection between the history the village and the CN.”
She added that with the completion of the next fundraising step, the group wants to purchase lights to have the tower lit up for people to see at night.
Leanne Young, history teacher and chair of Canada and World Studies Department at Orillia Secondary School, took home the Education in the Arts, Culture, and Heritage award.
“I’m very humbled,” she said. “I was very honoured to receive the nomination. Through our work with OMAH’s speaker series, our students have learned a lot about key history sites. They’ve developed relationships within the community through collaborations with the Legion and Army, Navy and Air Force Vets.”
The Event in Arts, Culture, and Heritage award went to the Chippewas of Rama First Nation Powwow.
