THUNDER BAY – Magnus Theatre and the North McIntyre Recreation Centre are growing their youth programming with the help of grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Magnus Theatre will receive $295,200 over the next three years to boost its young audiences school tour program, which performing arts to schools and northern communities in the region.
“It's really got a huge reach and a lot of these young people and members of the community probably have never seen live theatre before, or at least not seen it for a long time. We are really excited to be part of that experience for them,” says Jordan Blaxill, director of education for Magus.
“With that money, we hope to be able to go further, reach more communities, reach more young people, and inspire the next generation of artists, critical thinkers, engaged citizens, and do that through the power of the performing arts,” says Blaxill.
The program includes question-and-answer session with performers after the play, said Blaxill.
“Students can ask the actors anything that they like, whether that's about the play, whether that's about them as people, whether that's about their careers and how they get into it,” says Blaxill.
“We also do workshops with the young people where we teach theater skills, but also confidence building, teamwork, and those kinds of soft skills.”
The North McIntyre Recreation Centre is getting $166,300 over two years for new youth programming.
Multiple generations walk through the doors of the center, said facilities marketing and program coordinator Charlene Rogers, and with this funding they will hire staff who will focus on creating school-age children's programming and welcome in the youngest generation.
“We've not been able to do that on a regular basis since I've been here; I started in 2018. We've been doing older adult programming, but seeing a growth in the young families in the area. Without the capacity to offer more programming, we haven't been serving them as much as I think we can. We're going to be able to now with this funding,” says Rogers.
Rogers says they are going to start small.
First the plan to create a PA day program and a drop-in programs for those parents who cannot find childcare.
From there, they will gradually expand the programming from “the basic family things,” says Rogers, to stand-alone programming for youth to play sports and learn life skills like cooking, crafting, sewing, knitting, and crocheting.
“It's just a blank canvas at the moment. We'll be consulting with our community, and it'll be our staff that look after what it'll look like on the ground,” says Rogers.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland was present Tuesday to announce the funding.
He said the multi-year funding stream provides these organizations with the security to organize and plan their events.
“I come from a small community where I was mayor of my community for 31 years, and I know how important recreation centres are to a community. Whether it's part of a larger city or whether it's part of a small community, the community centres and the programs that are put on there is really important to the communities,” say Holland.
“It's a gathering place. It's where the neighbourhood kids can meet and play, and engage in activities that they otherwise may not have the ability to do so. I'm always excited to see these types of announcements because it's really about investing in our youth.”
