A vital part of Banff

For over seventy years, The Banff Centre has been part of the cultural heartbeat of Banff. Since its beginning in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama, to its role today as a globally respected educational institution, The Banff Centre has enriched the lives of Banff residents and inspired the creativity of local artists and performers. The impact of The Banff Centre reaches into every corner of the community. Thousands of Banff residents enjoy dance, theatre, and music performances at the Centre. The careers of local artists and leaders reach new heights thanks to Centre programs. Banff Centre events attract tens of thousands of visitors to Banff every year.

Contributing to the Banff economy

The Banff Centre is a key economic driver in the Bow Valley. The Banff Centre produced over 400 on-campus performances, concerts, exhibitions, and screenings in 2005-06, reaching a total ticketed audience of 48,500. Exhibitions in the Centre’s galleries were seen by audiences totalling over 14,000. Approximately 60 per cent of these audiences were visitors to the Bow Valley – filling Banff hotels, restaurants, and shops.

In 2004-05, the Centre generated 687 jobs, $22.8 million in wages and salaries, and $34.8 million in value-added economic activity in the Bow Valley. Additional business impacts include: the economic impact of the 27,000 participants who attend programs and conferences at the Centre annually; the international attention the local area receives because of The Banff Centre; and the community service impact to Banff residents who use the Centre’s facilities, including the Sally Borden fitness and recreation centre. The Banff Centre’s Revitalization Plan will generate additional spending of approximately $100 million
over a 10 year period, another $5.6 million in added value, and will create approximately 122 person years of work.

An integral part of Banff’s volunteer network

Banff Centre staff volunteer their time and energy to over 47 different community organizations. Approximately 1,400 hours of Banff Centre Theatre Arts staff time is donated annually to community performances, including the Banff Community Christmas Concert, Precipice Theatre, Banff Players, Banff Skate Club, and many others. The Centre waives equipment and costume rental fees for these groups.

Four decades of Christmas memories

The Centre has hosted the Banff Community Christmas Concert since the Eric Harvie Theatre opened in 1968. Every year, Theatre Arts staff contribute their time, and the Centre’s professional theatre production facilities, to create indelible Yuletide memories for Banff grandparents, parents, and children. For four decades of Banff kids, this annual concert is as much a part of Christmas as Santa Claus himself.

Part of Banff’s mountain culture

Since 1987, the Summit of Excellence Award has been awarded annually at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Bow Valley recipients include Bernadette McDonald, Craig Richards, Barry Blanchard, Bob Sandford, Chic Scott, Sharon Wood, Tim Auger, Kiwi Gallagher, Roger Vernon, Jon Whyte, Pat Morrow, Hans Gmoser, Jim Davies, and Bruno Engler. The Banff Mountain Festivals attract audiences of over 11,000 to Banff during the November shoulder season.

Training and inspiration for Bow Valley residents Banff Centre programs have contributed to the creative and professional development of many Banff “locals”. Centre alumni include:

• Banff classical guitarist and choral conductor John Goulart, musical director of the Bow Valley Chorus since its inception.
• Well-known Banff soprano Karen Minish, an active participant in Centre and community music performances.
• Banff singer/soloist Nan Hughes, who has appeared with orchestras worldwide and toured throughout Europe, the United States, Ukraine, and Brazil as a soloist with New York’s Continuum chamber music ensemble.
• Cellist Shauna Rolston, who grew up in Banff and spent her formative years training at the Centre where her parents Thomas and Isobel Rolston founded and co-directed the Music & Sound program.
• Banff soprano Michelle Todd, renowned for her interpretation of contemporary works.
• Ian McRoberts, a participant in the Centre’s Opera as Theatre program and a member of the Mountain World Heritage Interpretive Theatre (WHIT) troupe.
• George Ross a longtime member of the Theatre Arts department and tireless supporter of community theatre.
• Colin Funk founder and artistic director of Banff’s Precipice Theatre and director of Creative Development for Leadership Development at the Centre.
• Playwrights Colony alumni and Banff resident, Lance Woolaver, whose works include World Without Shadows, Lord Strange, and Portia White: First You Dream.
• Angela Booth, Kelsey Brill-Funk, Kaleigh Doherty, Celeste Edwards, Morgan Fernie, Jasmine Ing, Mallory Kosterski, Robert MacNamara, Macalla Miller Dube, Fabienne Moser, Guy Pettigrew, Jasmine Retzer, Hana Lane Thorson, Rochelle Turner, Lana Vanderlee, and Fuyumi Yokura – all of whom participated in the Centre’s production of the children’s opera The Raven King.
• Banffites Kelsey Brill-Funk, Jordan Crawford, Keith Driver, Kevin Driver, Leslie Elliot, Danielle Fish, Lee Fish, Angela Foster, Sadie Freeman, Trevor Funk, Paddy Mulloy, Katrina Pallagi, Lia Penagli, Anne-Marie Puccini, Ian Schultz, Sheila Snowsell, JP Thibodeau, Sam Whalen, and Zoe Whalen – all of whom have appeared on stage in Centre theatre and dance productions.
• Visual artist Jan Kabatoff who has exhibited widely throughout the Bow Valley.
• Visual artist and ceramatist Ed Bamiling.
• Well-know Bow Valley artist Holly Middleton.

Published: Summer 2007.