We are still High on Ice!

Perhaps you would like to join us for a day of fun with ice - we hope you say yes! Come join us in “Finding your Creative Spirit”. All interested people are encouraged to attend, artistic ability or not, we will help you find your ability and spirit within.

The Fort St. John Community Arts Council in partnership with the City of Fort St. John present: the FSJ Ice Carving Workshop "Finding your Creative Spirit” on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at Centennial Park form 9 amd to 4 pm. Registration is only $25 and lunch is provided.

Instructor Jesse Forrester FSJs professional carving competitor for three consecutive years. He was born and raised in the Peace and has lead the local High On Ice team for the last five years in park and site preparations. He is an artist by hobby and a successful entrepreneur by trade. Jesse promises to provide hands on techniques and ice loads of fun.

Instructor Sonja Butts is one of FSJs most recognized artists and the local and professional judge for High On Ice for two consecutive years. She was born and raised in the Peace and has added to the beauty to our community with her art and continues to showcase her pieces. She is an artist at heart and a Director of the FSJ Community Arts Council. Sonja promises to share carving tips and help awaken your spirit with your artistic creations.

The registration deadline is Thursday, February 9th, 2012 so get your forms in and unlease your creative spirit on the ice!

The reels of movie film as we know it are coming to an end. Along with the demise of photographic film and conventional cameras, celluloid film will be a thing of the past. Movies will soon come to the local cinema on digital. The familiar saying of left on the cutting room floor will take on a new meaning.  

Stage North has found a way to celebrate the well-known strips of black mini-frames by challenging creative people to make wearable art and art forms out of recycled movie film. As a Landmark Cinema, the local Aurora is making the switch gradually this spring and has supplied rolls of film for all competitors in the challenge.   

A showcase of the creative works will be featured at Stage NorthÆs Annual Oscar Night on the Big Screen on February 26. A fashion show and art exhibit opens at On the Rocks Nightclub on Sunday with the Red Carpet at 5pm and Fashion Show at 7:30pm. The Oscars will be shown on the big screen as they happen live in Hollywood. Tickets are only $15 and available online at tickets.npp.bc.ca or at the NPCC box office. 

This unique event is one of a kind and has caught the imagination of many artists. A Youtube video located under Fashion and Form was created by Stage North member Karen Rutledge with the help of local actors and former mayor, Bruce Lantz. Email enquiries have come from as far away as Manchester, England.  

Stage North has partnered with Northern Environmental Action Team who has recycling at the top of their list and the Fort St. John Community Arts Council who encourages new creative projects. Along with Dimitri Karampalas at On the Rocks, Stage North and Fort St. John will be the first to stage a fashion show and art exhibit with recycled movie film.   

Participants have until February 6 to register and all fashions and artworks are to be delivered by February 22. For further information:  www.stagenorth.ca or phone 250-785-6214. 

A natural artistic gift, a lifelong love of art and a streak of perfectionism; this is the happy combination of traits that has made Sonja Butts one of Fort St. John’s most recognized artists. Her work can be seen on the walls of the Cultural Centre, on numerous Flower Pots, along the walking track at the Pomeroy Sports Centre, at North Peace Secondary School, and on the doors of Central School and the Christian Life Academy, just to name a few examples.  

From the time she was a little girl, watching her father doing wonderful drawings of horses, Sonja wanted to make pictures.  Her natural ability was obvious from an early age and was recognized by her teachers who encouraged the talented student.  After graduation she further developed her craft through the 2 year fine arts diploma program at Northern Lights College which, sadly, is no longer available.

Sonja made her presence felt on the local art scene early, and on a large scale, as one of the “Wall People”, a project for the 1984 BC Winter Games, featuring a series of sports related murals around the community.  This was followed up by a similar heritage mural project the following summer.

Painting, drawing and design remained an integral part of Sonja’s life in the years after that, in spite of the “distractions” of marriage, work and raising a family.  It would have been easy to allow art to fall by the wayside, overcome by the demands of a busy life, but Sonja continued to hone her skill, showing her work through membership in the original North Peace Art Group.   Technique and technical quality in her art has always been important to Sonja and she has taken great pride in strengthening her technical abilities through years of hard work and high standards.  Sonja the perfectionist is never far from the surface.

During those years of artistic development, Sonja also became involved with the Community Arts Council.  She speaks warmly of the positive influence that the Arts Council has had in her life, giving her opportunities to travel, to connect with other artists from around the community and the province, and to grow on a personal level.   Sonja is still a key member of the Arts Council, having served as its treasurer for many years.  She was in at the ground floor in the development of Ice and Snow Carving in the community, participating in the very first amateur competition.  As with her painting, her attention to detail and good technique led to outstanding results right from her very first sculpture, which, she recalls, was of a mermaid.  She and long-time friend, Julie Foster and her husband, Myles, have become one of the most successful local ice carving teams, placing first in the amateur division of High on Ice in 2009 and 2010.  She has no desire to make the jump to the professional competition, however, having developed a healthy respect for the physical demands of the higher level of carving competition.  In 2011 she took a break from carving to work alongside NICA professionals as part of the panel of judges, a role which she will take on again this year

Sonja credits her involvement with the Arts Council with building an awareness of the broader art community.  She found herself drawn to the look and sound of Bellydance and decided to give it a try.  Performance art in any form was something she had never, ever thought would come her way, but, as her skill in the dance technique has grown, so has her confidence, and she has come a long way since her first, absolutely terrifying, experience on stage.  She is now a member of the Mystic Borealis Bellydance group which performs a Tribal fusion style of dance; a blend of traditional Arabic bellydance with moves and costuming from other cultures and dance styles.

In spite of her widening range of artistic interests, painting remains Sonja’s first love and she has recently become a member of the Federation of Canadian artists, admitted to this organization, she thinks, on the strength of her most recent work; a series of water colour portraits.  She has always been drawn to the human face as a subject, loves the technical challenge of bringing life and realism to a portrait and sees herself taking on commissioned portraits in the near future.  Moving forward, she is striving to use her technical skills to reach another level of creativity and to evoke an emotional response while never compromising the visual quality of her paintings.  She is currently preparing work to submit the Federation of Canadian Artists for a show in May at the Peace Art Gallery, just another step in her pursuit of that perfect picture.  

Having an outdoor festival is always challenge - you can't depend on the weather and we know that Fort St. John is particularly finicky. However, there are times when things work out just in time and this year High On Ice is really happy for that! The ice is here, the slides are built, and Centennial Park is looking icily magical. Tonight is the Opening Ceremonies for High On Ice at 6:30pm in Centennial Park. Come see the winter wonderland that has been built in the middle of town, meet the ice carvers who are building masterpieces out of massive blocks of ice, take a slide down the ice slide hill and experience some winter fun!

Did you know... ?

30 loads of snow were trucked in from other locations for ice slides hill.

It's the first year the ice slides have been created by local artists.

The park is brought to magical winter life by the "ice fairy", Angela Loftus.

The ice blocks used to make the slides are 250lbs each.

The carvers use Clinebell ice - grade A, diamond crystal ice made in downtown Vancouver.

This year's carving theme is Forces of Nature.

8th Annual High On Ice – Ice &  Snow Competition is proudly hosted by The Fort St. John Community Arts Council and will be happening January 13th to 15th in Centennial Park. People of all ages are invited to celebrate spectacular sparkling creations carved from ice. Sculpting events by professional and amateur carvers will take place all weekend long, with the amateur event featuring the annual ‘Mayor’s Challenge’ on Saturday and the “Media Challenge” on Sunday. Take in the snow and ice carving competitions in Centennial Park at the following dates and times:

Schedule of Events:  Centennial Park

Thursday, January 12  6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Welcome Reception

Friday, January 13   1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Single Block Competition

                                      10:30 am - 11:45 am Carver’s Connection Meeting

                                       6:00 pm - 10:00 pm Professional carving competition begins

Saturday, January 14  8:00 am - 10:00 pm Professional carving competition continues

                                          9:00am - 4:00 pm Amateur Ice Carving

Sunday, January 15 8:00 am - 2:00 pm Professional carving competition completion

                                       9:00 am - 3:00 pm Snow Sculpting

                                       2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Judging

                                       4:00 pm Awards Ceremony

                                       5:00 pm Fire & Ice Display

For even more High On Ice community events check out the schedule!

Fort St. John’s premiere winter event, the High on Ice Winter Festival, is set for January 12 – 15, 2012. The featured event – the professional ice carving competition – brings in carvers from around the world to compete in British Columbia’s only sanctioned ice carving event.

This year’s competition theme, Force of Nature, will surely inspire some icy masterpieces.

In addition to the professional competition, some of the other highlights include an amateur ice carving competition, a snow sculpting event, sleigh rides, curling bonspiel, snowmobile group ride, ice fishing derby, pond hockey challenge, live entertainment, and the very popular ice slides will be back for another year.

"Fort St John's High on Ice festival has become an opportunity for the community to celebrate our winter season” said Mayor Lori Ackerman. The 2012 event schedule is full of activities both indoors and out. The ice carvings by the professionals differ every year and never cease to amaze us. This is something you do not want to miss!"
High on Ice is a joint venture between the City of Fort St. John, Fort St. John Community Arts Council, and many other community groups and volunteers.

For a full schedule of events and more information, visit High On Ice.

Welcome to 2012, the year the Mayans gave up on calendars, life, the universe, and everything.  Well, not til December at least...which means we have 11 more issues of Northern Groove mag to go until, much like Y2K, nothing exciting happens and we sit around and wait for the next bit of nonsense about the end of everything to come around.

With all this snow and being cuddled up inside, it's time to think about doin' a little decorating! Hang the holly, string up the lights, and toss the tinsel! 

This Christmas, the Fort St. John Arts Council has a great way for you to deck your halls while recycling and being supportive of what the Arts Council does in our community. The ArtsPost is full to the brim of donated Christmas decorations that you can browse and take home by donation. They are also taking donations of your Christmas decorations so that we can swap out our lights and Santas for new-to-us ones!

Check out the photos of some of the fun decorations and Christmasy items that you can take home just by donation.

For more info contact 787-2781 or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Looking to see which candidate you connect with most, regarding all things good like arts, culture, and herritage? Do you have suggestions, ideas, or questions that you'd like to make known?  Would you like to find out where our potential new mayor and council stand regarding the local arts community, support, and funding?  Here's your chance to let your voice be heard!

Fort St. John is buzzing with election news and being plastered in campaign posters and tonight is the night that the people who are passionate about arts, culture, heritage, and tourism of FSJ get to speak up. Arts and culture is an important aspect of our community as well as the heritage and tourism industry so the Fort St. John Arts Council is encouraging everyone to head to the North Peace Cultural Centre at 7pm for the discussion. 

Ask the Candidates, November 3 at 7pm

Talk with the municipal and school board candidates about Arts and Culture, Heritage and Tourism on Thursday, November 3 at the North Peace Cultural Centre in Fort St. John from 7 to 9pm. Everyone interested in the future of arts, culture, heritage, and tourism in Fort St. John and area is invited to discuss the benefits and impacts on our community. The Community Arts Council invites you to drop in and find out what the candidates are thinking about arts, culture, heritage and tourism at Nov 3 from 7-9pm at North Peace Cultural Centre.

For more information: phone 787-2781 or email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.