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 Judy Sander, NOTC, Creative thinking: out of the box |
 Judy Sander |
 Dawn Lessard, JAC, Print Materials |
You know what's nice about Atikokan? You don't have to leave it to experience good learning opportunities or first-rate cultural experiences. |
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This past week, I did both. I attended some of the workshops put on by the Atikokan Chamber of Commerce for Small Business Week, and I took in the Elmer Iseler Singers, the October offering of the Atikokan Entertainment Series. The two sessions I took in for Small Business Week were "Creative Thinking: out of the box" offered by Judy Sander of the Northwestern Ontario Technology Centre in Thunder Bay. Using a Power Point presentation and copious handouts, Judy had us working our brains, coming up with various solutions to hypothetical problems. Nothing was too outlandish. We also did some brain teasers -- some of us, me included, don't have brains that function so well after 7:00 pm, it seems. Can you decipher this one? Moth cry cry (Answer at the end of the column) I also attended Dawn Lessard's workshop on designing print materials that get results. Using actual advertisements, Dawn explained how we "read" ads and where we need to place important information if we want it to be effective. Armed with numerous handouts, we had a quick course in design principles, the use of white space and achieving balance in our printed materials. The workshop was quite well attended at noon on Thursday and Friday. A very nice touch was the light lunch that was available on Thursday. I am sure we all came away with tips and techniques we will be eager to try in our various organizations. The Wednesday night the Elmer Iseler Singers performed was a wet, ucky night. But once inside the gymnasium at the Atikokan High School, the luxurious voices flowed over the audience like a warm breeze. The choir chose many different styles of song, including some vocal gymnastics imitating wasps, chickadees, trains, wind, and other nature sounds. We heard Mozart, Healy Willan, Celtic, French, traditional and some fairly avant garde offerings. One song that caught us all was the Mi'kmaq Honour Song. Part of the choir situated themselves around the auditorium while a smaller group remained on stage. As the group on the stage chanted, the singers on the floor of the gym softly made sounds of the bush. It was so evocative, it raised the hairs on the back of my neck. It was a glorious piece. It reminded me of an orchestral piece I heard years ago by R. Murray Schafer. He had trombonists situated on the shore of a wilderness lake. He was out in a boat on the lake, and as the sun rose, he directed the music that became an amalgam of the natural sounds and the music. The noises of woodland creatures joined in the concert. It was haunting. It felt the same way in the Atikokan High School gym on Wednesday night. Thank you to the Atikokan Entertainment series for the experience. And, on top of that, Atikokan is pretty in the snow....see below. P.S. the answer to the brain twister above is: moth balls (bawls) |
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 Corner of Fotheringham and Polaris |
 Outside my back door |