Public lecture to explore role of heritage in revitalizing communities
Heritage Week is an occasion when residents of Saskatchewan are invited to consider their cultural inheritance and its value. In order to discuss and promote the issue, the fifth annual Heritage Week Public Lecture will be held at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel in Saskatoon on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.
“The guest speaker is Jennifer Keesmaat. She’s an urban planner from the greater Toronto area and has extensive experience in managing various complicated planning projects,” says Bill Hutchinson, Minister of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport in Saskatchewan. “Jennifer is one of the key consultants chosen to help both of Saskatchewan’s largest communities move ahead, so she’s in an ideal position to comment on what’s going in our province.”
Keesmaat has already played a role in shaping Saskatchewan communities. “She helped recently with downtown Regina’s revitalization plan,” Hutchinson reports, “and also is helping with Regina’s new, official, community plan, the development plan for the U of S and she led the development of Saskatoon’s Culture Plan.”
At the lecture, Keesmaat will discuss how heritage benefits communities in tangible ways. “The topic is ‘What Makes a Place Great: Culture, Heritage and Place-making,’” says Hutchinson. “She’s going to talk about the importance of ‘quality of place’ in building successful communities, and the role that culture and heritage play in helping create those great places. She feels this is a great way to discover why communities that have actually embraced their culture and heritage have become great destinations for visitors and wonderful places to live in for residents.”
Hutchinson says the lecture “has the potential to significantly increase awareness in the public about the value of heritage and culture in society, and what it can contribute. Our history and culture are both important parts of who we are as a community and as a province. A great number of people in Saskatchewan recognize its worth and the value of preserving, appreciating and celebrating it.”
As an example of how a concerted emphasis on heritage has benefitted Saskatchewan communities in the past, Hutchinson cited the Main Street Saskatchewan program. “The whole idea was: there are many Saskatchewan communities that have interesting, historic downtowns. Are they reaching their full potential? If the answer is, ‘Not actually,’ what could we do about it?” says Hutchinson.
“The results of those early experiments were a revitalized Broadway district in Saskatoon. Moose Jaw has really turned a corner recently. Many valuable heritage buildings have been preserved, much new development has been added and, together, that’s led to a real revitalization,” Hutchinson notes. “We thought, ‘Why don’t we bring the Main Street program back again?’ We now have a threeyear program, and a facilitator will be made available to each of the communities that are taking advantage of it.”
Hutchinson is enthusiastic about this approach to civic and provincial identity. “We’re blessed with such an incredible legacy. Let’s preserve it, appreciate it, celebrate it, build on it. That, I think, is what Jennifer’s going to be able to do. It’s going to be an exceptional evening.”