It’s so good to see people attending events in person again! The Oakville Arts Council (OAC) team was pleased to attend the annual Community Spirit Awards, held by the Town of Oakville on June 8, 2023, at Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre.
Each year, we nominate an artist or arts organization for the Arts, Culture and Heritage Award (thank you Oakville Beaver, many years the sponsor in this category!) and we pretty much always attend to applaud the incredible contributions these volunteers bring to the community. Also, we enjoy the desserts and the entertainment. Kudos to emcee Chris Mei and the Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra.
The awards gifted to the winners this year were an homage to the fibre arts. Created by local artist Rafia Shafiq (pictured below), who specializes in phulkari embroidery, each of the intricate, colourful works represented the values of each category. In this video, Rafia talks about her creative process when making each of the awards.
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Congratulations to The Oakville Diwali Committee and Reem Al-Rawi, winners in the Arts, Culture and Heritage Award for 2023 and also to those nominated:
The winners in the remaining categories are:
- Hannah Kohler and Mervyn Russell, Climate Action Award sponsored by FirstOntario Credit Union
- Penny Smith and Kim Melhuish, Good Neighbour Award sponsored by Chartwell Retirement Residences
- Gennile Thomas-Smith, Marlyne Van Exan and Nic Hotchkiss, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Award sponsored by Access Abilities
- Lionel Latter, Lorna Van de Mosselaer and Patrick Gorman, Inspiration Award sponsored by RBC Royal Bank
- Desmond Jordan and Grant Foster, Leadership and Innovation Award – sponsored by Amica Seniors Lifestyles
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