Many of us are still coming down after the gold rush in the mountains of the Winter Olympics. It was a fantastic time for our country. It stayed true too, to the ideals of the Olympic Spirit – faster, higher, stronger.
There is nothing that brings the nation together more than the quest for speed. It’s indicative of the vastness of the country that the national sports are all built around speed and that some of our greatest inventions have been built for the purpose of making quicker connections. Whether it’s RIM’s Blackberry or Bombardier’s ski-doo, the WonderBra or the humble zipper, they were necessitated by a desire to join disparate elements quickly.
Not surprisingly, Canada has been an early adopter of online social media serving as a means to bridge the enormous gaps between communities. Facebook—and its sort—erase distance.
Now that we can connect in mere moments with anyone anywhere via the cyber-world, there is more time to explore our immediate surroundings, our local culture.
Durham Region, situated between Toronto and Cottage Country, is ideally suited for short day trips but because of its size is really a place that can only be fully realized by spending considerable time here. Durham’s own residents could spend a lifetime exploring the byways and back roads of the area.
There are some truly unique cultural experiences to be found all over the region, but there is no one place that the culture congregates in or around, and therefore no easy narrative to explain us to visitors.
It’s a challenge, but the solution may be staring us all in the face. TVs, laptops, iPhones. Few were lucky enough to be present at that final Olympic gold-winning hockey game, but millions bore witness through live transmission on a variety of screens.
At the Art of Transition symposium, those in attendance were challenged to imagine Durham in a new way. In my mind, I see a Durham Region Art and Music Festival, a place where all voices are heard simultaneously, not as the disharmony that modern life can be, but as a symphony. I see each community with its own stage, filled with its own voices, in a spot unique to its area. All festivals occur on the same day creating one regional gathering. Should one fly over on that day one would see streets, parks, backyards, conservation areas, farms and beaches filled with crowds of folks out enjoying the sounds of their neighbours.
But we can’t all fly over so how do we get a sense of this? The answer is online. Each party broadcasts to a central website. Each concert “Ustreams” its contents. While one enjoys the simple folk sounds in Palmer Park in Port Perry, one can also tune into the heavier sounds of a concert down at Lakeview Park in Oshawa via iPhone or laptop. The audience could also upload and share their views, thoughts, and comments.
The Festival could be called Bridges, or in honour of Durham’s role as a historic trade route, Portage. It would be cool as heck if the festival’s media partner was canoe.ca.
No matter where one is in Durham, one could feel part of the gathering and show off all the wonderful reasons why so many choose to enjoy life here in the region.
Love this idea and would love to help!