Team OSB plans to participate with the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride, June 23rd, Leg is Woodstock to Fredericton leg. Email Smoothie or Turbo to add your name.
Friday May 8th: 5:30 SS Complex
Burton Loop (social pace)
Post as you please for Saturday and Sunday (I'm fishing)
17 comments:
So, I was getting some ice cream at Dairy Queen (I rode 60K today) and while waiting I picked up the Telegraph (I don't subscribe). I was pleasantly surprised to see JAZZ on the cover of the Magazine section!! He's pretty modest but you should all take a look at this cool article and congratulations on his award that he received last night! Way to go JAZZ! See you on the road! Click on this or paste it into your browser.
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/magazine/article/652996
Congrats Jazz: OSB takes Pride in your Friendship.
Honour Brent Staeben has been described as a visionary and a strategic thinker. Tonight, the man who heads Fredericton's annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival will be recognized for his contribution to music and the performing arts
When Brent Staeben first got involved with the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival 17 years ago, it was mired in debt and there was concern it wouldn't be able to continue.
Previous
1 of 2
Next
Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge
STEPHEN MACGILLIVRAY PHOTO
Click to Enlarge
STEPHEN MACGILLIVRAY PHOTO
This is Brent Staeben outside the Harvest Jazz and Blues office in Fredericton.
With $65,000 in bills accumulated over its first three years and a projected $150,000 in expenses for the 1994 edition, Fredericton's fall music festival had reached a crossroads: Either find a way to break even, or call the whole thing off.
Staeben helped the festival, which received virtually no government funding in its early years, trim its expenses and generate more revenue - by booking quality acts music lovers were willing to pay for.
The festival keeps growing, becoming the focal point of the capital city's fledgling music scene and a rallying point for the community. Initially run by about a dozen volunteers, it now boasts a 1,000-strong team of volunteers and three full-time staff.
Tonight, the 42-year-old Staeben will be recognized for his contributions to the festival at a gala at the Fredericton Playhouse. The annual award, introduced last year, recognizes outstanding contributions to music and the performing arts in the local community.
"He's a visionary," Tim Yerxa, executive director of the Fredericton Playhouse, said of Staeben. Yerxa first met him in 1994, when Staeben was chairman of the festival and Yerxa was a volunteer.
"He has a great capacity to galvanize people, and I think that what the festival looks like today is in large part because of him."
A native of Cornerbrook, N.L., Staeben moved to Fredericton to attend the University of New Brunswick as an undergraduate.
He has been seriously involved with the festival since 1993, when he returned to Fredericton following a stint in Ontario doing a master's in economics, and has served as the festival's music director for the past decade.
"It's a bit surreal," said Staeben, when asked about the award while on business in Toronto. "There are so many other people who have contributed to this thing. I consider myself a pretty young guy."
Staeben manages to balance the demanding volunteer position with his day job as the director of marketing and communications for Service New Brunswick, and a married father of two.
Yerxa said that even though over the years the festival has grown in size and scope, Staeban has always made the Fredericton community a priority.
"One time he made a statement to me and it stuck with me ever since: He feels that a festival can be judged by the quality of its free programming."
Angela Watson, cultural development officer for Fredericton, said Staeben has made it a priority to develop local and Atlantic Canadian musicians - such as Matt Andersen, Ross Neilsen and Keith Hallett - and has also brought in a slew of major national and international recording artists to the festival.
"He's done a lot for the music scene - he helped create a music scene here," said Watson, who worked alongside Staeban as executive director of the festival in the late '90s. "We're starting to see the results of that, a lot of young musicians coming up."
Watson called Staeban a strategic thinker who is always contemplating growing and cultivating the festival audience.
"In the really early days it was truly a focus on jazz and blues, but they brought Cajun and zydeco music, so they introduce music lovers here to that music, then Chicago blues."
She said Staeben was instrumental in establishing a strong base of volunteers.
"It's been a role model for other community events and festivals," she said.
In the past five years, the festival has also donated more than $50,000 to local school music programs - all money gathered from patrons' tips.
"I'm always very proud and happy to know that the festival looks outside itself and gives back to the schools," Watson said.
Brent Seabrook, manager of Fredericton Tourism, is a close friend to Staeben and one of a small group who started up the festival in 1991. He said the festival has brought name-recognition and revenue to the provincial capital.
"It's responsible for almost $6 million in economic impact," he said. "That has become crucial to many businesses in Fredericton."
The festival has been subjected to its fair share of challenges - including seven hurricanes blowing through the city during the festival, another - Katrina - leaving several scheduled performers stranded, and the 2001 edition running only two days after the Sept. 11 attacks. But Staeban said he has always been optimistic about the festival.
"I never once thought, 'we're done, we're going under,' " he said. "I think it was because there was so much support in the community for us."
As he prepares for the 2009 edition, the energetic Staeben shows no signs of becoming complacent. He said festival organizers have made changes that will address problems with last year's festival, including the long line-ups at the Buddy Guy and Bloc Party.
Staeben promises another strong lineup this year - including headliners Original P Parliament Funkadellic, the American Chicano rock band Los Lobos, and blues singer Susan Tedeschi.
Reflecting on his many years involved with the festival, Staeben acknowledges it has been hard work - and sometimes difficult to balance his career and personal life with putting together a good show. But, he said: "It's pretty cool to think that my kids are growing up in a city where there has always been a Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival."
Yes, congrats Jazz. But enough about you :), I will be out for tonights ride, looking for a steady pace line, good subhammer pace.
Hey, Thanks for waiting for me this evening. You don't smell or anything - what happened is that I was looking for a "social" pace, and when I got into the group and recognized you all I realized I'd crashed a faster ride than I wanted! That was actually my second attempt to ride with OSB this year. I hear the third's a charm...
sorry i missed the Train, just a tad late getting together so i went for a spin with Da Miss's. Good soul searching ride.
20k TT tonight. 5:45pm @ Ramada by the Princess M. Bridge. Bring your licence/membership & $2. You can register for a $30 membership onsite as well.
Been working late and missing departures lately. Hope to catch ya'll soon :-)
to wet today to post, will blog something for friday and weekends. Bravehearts can continue to ride.
post if any interest in a friday ride, i suspect with weather it will be a game time decision
Turbo, sure hoping to ride Friday night.
Thanks Mel et al.!
Rat, I have a wicked saddle sore I need "lanced" (I love saying that) - can you do it? ;-)
BB Jazz
Looks like we should have co-operative weather for tonight, So I'm up for a ride. Haven't been out in almost 2 weeks!
Looks like a friday night ride. 5:30 SS complex. Burton loop.
Unless someone has a prefered route
I'm working both Sat/Sun sp probably try to make is out late afternoon or supper hour.
Hey guys and dolls,
Bubbles and I are up for a Sat ride, start time 0900 or so. It will be an easy ride as it's with Bubbles you know and she hasn't been on her bike except for a 35k ride last Sunday.
But seriously floks, likely a ride in the 60-70k range from the SS Complex. Will consider an earlier start or later ie 0800-1000h.
Rat,I'll be there for a ride on Saturday morning. Just confirm the time, I'm easy.
Rat : I am in for 900am from seniors complex. please confirm time and place.
0900H IT IS.SEE FOLKS AT THE MEETING PLACE. CAN DECIDE THE RIDE THEN. PUT YOUR THINKING CAPS ON.
AS AN OUT IF IT RAINING OR TOO WET MAY PUT OFF THE TIME .WILL BLOG IF ANY CHANGE FROM OUR END IE RAT AND BUBBLES
Good morning one and all!.
It looks good for a ride. I have a loop of 60-65k duration. There are options to make it shortteror longer along the way depending how folks feel. The afternoon ain't lookin' so good.
Post a Comment