Yorkton Aims for Cultural Excellence

Yorkton was one of the first Saskatchewan communities to develop a cultural plan. Organizers saw its development as an opportunity to achieve greater community engagement in the development of Yorkton’s cultural sector and its contribution to the city’s quality of life.

Approved in 2009, the Municipal Cultural Plan will help guide the community’s development into a centre of cultural excellence. In the months ahead, the City will be recruiting participants to form a steering committee in 2011 to plan the next steps of the development process.

Plans include: Increasing communication between cultural organizations and events to improve coordination; Adopting a municipal cultural policy; Increasing awareness through a strategic communication and marketing strategy; Increasing volunteer support through recruitment/ retention/reward programs; Building recognition of Yorkton as a Cultural Hub – a centre of cultural excellence and activities while offering programming that appeals to all communities within a significant radius outside of Yorkton; and establishing a new or refurbished community facility for cultural activities, events and organizations that is accessible, affordable, and sustainable.

The steering committee will be responsible for ensuring that these objectives are met and will establish measurements by which the success of this plan can be monitored and evaluated.

Yorkton received funding support from SaskCulture to begin its cultural planning. For a copy of the Municipal Cultural Plan, visit www.yorkton.ca