Boreal Jammers Survive and Thrive for Another Year

Despite the shortened weekend, the Boreal Jam was a hit again this year. Thanks to everyone who enrolled in workshops, facilitated workshops, and volunteered. Thanks as well to the reporters who provided coverage of the event.

The Boreal Jam will be held again next year, on the Labour Day weekend. A committee has been formed, and co-chairs selected. If you’re interested in volunteering, please email borealjam@gmail.com or call Lisa at 306-248-7102.

Here’s a slideshow of this year’s festival. Until next year, keep on jammin’.

2009 Boreal Jam Poster

Once again, the talented Sonja Kresowaty has designed the Boreal Jam poster. You may have seen it in a town near you. Feel free to print a copy for yourself, to  hang above your mantle.

Download here (860 KB PDF)

Just a Few More Days to Boreal Jam 2009!

A few days from now, we’ll all be taking in workshops, hanging out, and jamming around the Canadian Candles that are now part of the Boreal Jam tradition. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re coming to the festival:

• If you’re taking workshops, total cost is $25. That includes camping. Registration fee is payable on your arrival at the festival.
• All workshops are on Saturday this year.
• We won’t be providing food this year. But we will have a potluck on Saturday night, so please bring an item for the potluck, and whatever you’d like to BBQ.
• Not sure where you’re going? Take a look at this map.

Material for workshops will be provided. However:

• If you took the tapestry workshop last year, and still have your frame, we’d appreciate it if you bring it along. Our instructor is a little short on frames this year. You can also bring picture frames you don’t want anymore.
• If you’re taking the writing workshop, please bring pen and paper.
• If you’re taking the cardmaking workshop, please send us a quick email (borealjam@gmail.com) before Friday, September 4th. The instructor would like an idea of how many people are attending so she can bring enough materials. If you have some cardmaking supplies you’d like to bring, she’d probably appreciate that as well.

Remember, even if you can’t make it to the workshops, be sure to swing by Saturday night for the campfire jam, and/or drop by Sunday morning for the AGM.

Any questions, give Lisa a call at 306-248-7102.

Workshop Update

We will now also be having a soapstone workshop on Saturday, September 5th. Tentative schedule for workshops that day will include:

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Writing workshop
• 10:00 am to noon – Mixed media workshop
• 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm – Tapestry workshop (half hour break in the middle)
• 2:00 pm to 4:00 – Card making workshop
• Ongoing – Soapstone workshop

However, be sure to arrive early, as this schedule is subject to change!

2009 Workshops

This year the Boreal Jam will be a scaled-down version of last year’s festival. We’ll be gathering at Moosehead Hall over the Labour Day weekend. Cost for the entire weekend (including camping and workshops) will be $25. Please note that we won’t be providing food this year, so be sure to bring something to eat!

On Saturday, September 5th, we will have workshops on tapestry weaving, card making, creative writing, and mixed media. That evening, we’ll have a potluck and BBQ (bring your own meat to BBQ), and musical entertainment.

On Sunday, September 6th, we’ll have a meeting to discuss the future of the Boreal Jam. After the meeting, everyone is welcome to hang around and work on their art, as we’ve rented the hall for the entire weekend.

If you have any questions, please call Lisa at 306-248-7102.

See you at the Jam!

Boreal Jam 2009 – An Update

Well, unfortunately we didn’t receive a grant this year, so we will not be able to hire artists to facilitate the workshops. This is a disappointment, as we believe it is very important to support artists and have been very happy with the calibre of workshops delivered in the last few years. We rely heavily on project funding to run the festival, which is always an unstable source.

Our organizing committee and returning participants thought that last year’s Jam was the best one yet. Thanks to many amazing artists the Boreal Jam is a unique event that will continue to grow and change every year. We are going to apply for 2010 funding for guest artists and are confident that we have a better chance as there will now be a category just for festivals, rather than for all multi-disciplinary projects.

In the meantime, we do not want to lose the momentum we have built over the past three years so we are going to have a scaled-down Boreal Jam this year. We are planning to host an informal day of activities facilitated and supplied by our local volunteers and organizing committee. In the evening we will have a performance and campfire jam. Stay tuned for details on the workshops and pricing.

The Boreal Jam will go on – visit us at Moosehead Hall on September long weekend!

Any questions, post a comment or send us an email at borealjam@gmail.com.

Download Your Own Boreal Jam Poster!

For the last two years, we’ve had trouble keeping the Boreal Jam posters up – people like them so much they take them home! We can’t really blame them – they are nice posters, and it’s very flattering to the poster artists.

When you see this year’s poster (1.2 mb), designed by Sonja Kresowaty, you’ll probably want to take it home too. “Poor little poster, tacked up on the gas station bulletin board, no shelter from the weather,” you’ll think. “It would look so much better in a nice frame over my aquarium.”

But wait! This year you can download your very own copy of the poster right here! You can print off as many copies as you need, give them away as birthday and Christmas presents, and even post them in your community! We would love it if you posted them in your community…

Download the poster (1.2 mb)

2007 Boreal Art Jam on YouTube

This year, participants in Dale Budd’s Multimedia Workshop took digital photos during the Boreal Art Jam Festival which were used to create this ten minute film which has been published on YouTube.

(Borealjam video on YouTube)

We’d love to hear from all of you regarding your experiences at the Boreal Jam this year – especially photos and articles about the workshops, the music and the Boreal Jam experience that we can publish in the Boreal Connections Magazine. You can send any submissions to

borealtravel@hotmail.com

Boreal Jam Map

Wondering exactly how you’re going to find the Boreal Jam? Wonder no more – here is a printer-friendly map (204 KB PDF) to Moosehead Hall, in northwestern Saskatchewan!

The Boreal Jam is slated for September 1st and 2nd, 2007 at Moosehead Hall in northwestern Saskatchewan.  Questions?  Email borealjam@gmail.com.

The Boreal Jam Community….

The Boreal Mixed Media Jam is being held in northwestern Saskatchewan, about 20 minutes east of St. Walburg or about half an hour north of Turtleford. This community is just on the southern edge of the forest, and is near several lakes, including Bright Sand and Turtle Lake. Residents include farmers and ranchers, business people, professionals, trades people, writers and editors, artists, and more (it’s pretty diverse for a rural community). The town of St. Walburg also recently won a bronze international award for liveable communities.

If you’re planning to attend the Boreal Jam, you might want to check out the Northern Horizons studio tour, which usually takes place in early August and includes local artists. Last year there were about 12 artist studios on the tour, ranging from wrought iron work to painting to soap making. Some of the artists from the studio tour either facilitated a workshop at the Boreal Jam or participated in the workshops.