Tuesday, December 1, 2015
There are many expert poster fairies in our county who tirelessly volunteer their time to run around and put up posters to promote all kinds of special events. I have special appreciation for posters because whenever I travel I always take the time to pay attention to them. It’s how my family and I learn about what is going on in an area. I especially love busy poster walls because to me it is a sign that it is a vibrant place with lots to do and that people in the community are passionate and interesting and dedicated to whatever they are promoting from concerts to bake sales to art shows to fitness classes. I always appreciate that business owners/ managers allow posters in their space. This past week I donned my own poster fairy wings and headed out to put up posters about the upcoming performance of the Nutcracker being put on by Heritage Ballet. It is the kind of job that I resist doing and yet once I got out there was so heart warmed by the response from business owners and other places who welcomed me and were delighted to put the poster up. What I particularly enjoyed were the conversations I had with people as I put the posters up. Some had questions about the event, and others shared their own story of having attended the show previous years, or of having seen the National Ballet performances in other cities. As I cruised around town and talked about this year’s performance of the Nutcracker and how there are 2 special guest Ukrainian Dancers , Jennifer and Paul coming from Winnipeg, I had this vision of the whole town knowing about the event, and welcoming Paul and Jennifer as they spend 5 days here. No doubt they will eat in local restaurants, buy groceries and shop while they are here. Our committee that is bringing Jennifer and Paul here has sent them lots of information about our county and how friendly we are, and what makes us so unique. Our intention is that they will feel that warm embrace and go home with lots of great stories about their experience here. I am fascinated by how we as a village and as a county promote events to our own community members and to people who are visiting. There is so much to do here all the time and how do we keep getting the word out. Social media is part of the puzzle, but nothing replaces personal story telling and 1:1 word of mouth about an event. So thank you to all the people who are behind the scenes of every event putting up posters and spreading the word. And thanks to everyone who lets a poster hang in their building. It all helps. I hope to see everyone tonight at the United Church in Haliburton as the Highland Festival Singers perform at 7:30 – Halleluja! It’s Christmas and this weekend at the Nutcracker on Saturday or Sunday. These events will warm your Christmas heart!