The Clairion Symphony Orchestra and Chorus was founded in 1997 as a labour of love by classical music lovers to present Sarnia with a symphony it can call it’s own. Approximately 40 musicians and singers in both orchestra and chorus make up this wonderful organization whose charter goals are fulfilled by bringing the best in classical music with renowned soloists to Sarnia for an affordable price.

The Clairion Symphony is extremely proud to be conducted by Maestro Zdzislaw (Stan) Kopac. Maestro Kopac is a graduate of the State University of Wroclaw, Poland. He holds a Masters degree in conducting and a Bachelors degree in composition. Maestro Kopac conducted several Orchestras in Europe and North America, as well as being guest conductor to many others and holds numerous awards for his accomplishments. He is past chairman of conductors for the Ontario Federation of Symphony Orchestras. He has been involved in conducting Youth Orchestra Festivals as well as the National Music Camp. Presently he also conducts the London Youth Orchestra.

In addition to our musical performances, our main goal is to integrate young people into our orchestra and chorus. With the decline of musical education in the school system, we make this our mission. The Clairion offers young musicians education, instructions and exposure to symphonic music in front of a knowledgeable audience. Our annual Young Artists Showcase is the crowning performance in our eight concert repertoire every concert season. It features eight or more young musicians from the area as soloists with full orchestra on a variety of instruments as well as voice.

The combined effort of a very diligent Board of Directors and great enthusiasm of all the musicians working together for the same goal has enabled us to have five years of successful concerts.

Anyone interested in joining this very special group, please call Doris M. Kretschmann at 519-869-6861.

Gallery in the Grove was started in 1980 when a small group of people interested in establishing an art gallery was given permission to use the vacant upper floor of the library.

The Gallery in the Grove is a non-profit, volunteer-operated organization fostering a fuller understanding of the visual arts through exhibitions and art education.

Gallery Hours:

Mon-Thur. 2:30pm-8:00pm
Fri. closed
Sat-Sun. 2:00pm-5:00pm

GALLERY IN THE GROVE is located at:

2618 Hamilton Street
P.O. Box 339
Bright's Grove, Ontario
N0N 1C0

Contact:

Phone: (519) 869-4643
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Website: http://www.sarnia.com/groups/grovegallery/

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Hosted by: Photos by Design

This new and exciting non-profit international photographic club will offer many opportunities for the novice to the professional. If you have an interest in taking photographs, this will be an excellent endeavor to share and experience ideas with photographers around the world. With the endless possibilities of the Internet it will allow other photographers to give input and expertise from their own country. What better way to travel the world through the eye of a lens and creativity of others? Come join the excitement, learn and share with us.

Contact Person: Holly Chaytor

Phone: (519) 344-2873

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The International Symphony Orchestra is a unique example of a musical cooperative effort between communities located in different countries. Formed in 1957 by the joining of two musical ensembles, the Little Orchestra Society of Sarnia and the Port Huron String Ensemble, this "international" organization has continued successfully for the past forty years.

The International Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit organization, administered by a paid Executive Director and a volunteer Board of Directors. Assisting the Executive Director is a full time office coordinator, a part-time bookkeeper and numerous volunteers. We are pleased to have two auxiliary organizations: the Symphony Association of the Port Huron Area, and the International Symphony Association, each of which hold special events and activities to help raise the funds required to maintain the orchestra’s cultural and educational programs benefiting our communities. The Symphony’s annual budget is approximately 250,000 dollars, most of which must be raised within our two communities, as we receive limited funding from state and provincial sources. Many individuals on each side of the border work very hard to ensure the successful continuation of this important cultural tradition because they realize that music contributes greatly to the spiritual, emotional, and cultural well-being of our entire community.

Contact: Phone: (519) 337-7775
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web site: http://www.rivernet.net/~iso/

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The Lambton Concert Band continues the tradition of concert band music making that has long been a part of the Lambton County community. This strong tradition has been established by many great ensembles in the past which have include: The Bluewater Symphonic Band, The Sarnia Citizens' Band, The Petrolia Music Makers, The Petrolia White Rose Band, and the Forest Excelsior Band to name a few. The band is comprised of members of the community who travel from various areas of the county to play with us. Our membership also includes students currently studying music in their respective secondary schools to retired members of the community. This has provided a great opportunity for the young people of the community to learn in a more demanding situation and allowed our older members to share their experience and knowledge.

Our intention is to operate as a non-profit organization with all concert revenues being used to cover expenses, buy scores and equipment for the band, and contribute to the musical activities within the community. All musicians involved, including the Executive and Musical Directors, do so on a volunteer basis.

Contact
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: http://www.lambtonconcertband.com

The Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association is a professional organization of music teachers. The requirements for membership include a degree or diploma equivalent to that of the Associate or Licentiate Diplomas issued by any recognized University or School of Music, examinations in pedagogy and proof of teaching experience satisfactory to the Board of Examiners.

The Sarnia Branch of ORMTA brings talented musicians to the area, both in our annual recital and in workshops for the continuing education of teachers. Our recitalist this year is the distinguished Canadian teacher Jean-Paul Sevilla, who is including Sarnia in his farewell tour. M. Sevilla is perhaps best known as the teacher of Angela Hewitt, winner of the first Glenn Gould Competition.

Every year, ORMTA students are eligible to compete in a three-level competition, starting here in Sarnia at the Branch level and proceeding through the Zone level to the prestigious all-Ontario final. One of the prizes for this competition is a recital tour through Ontario. We are proud that the teacher of this year’s winner is one of our members, Gwen Beamish, and look forward to hearing Young Artist Kati Gleiser at the Zone Convention.

Our Branch annually presents plaques to those of our students who have excelled in practical and theoretical Conservatory examinations. Most of these are Memorial Awards in honour of former Branch teachers. The Lambton County Music Festival is sponsored by ORMTA and we also present cash awards for the overall winner at each level.

Phone: (519) 542-6308

Website: http://www.sarnia.com/groups/ormta/

The Sarnia Artists' Workshop (SAW) was formed in 1964 when Mary Phelps and Pearl Annand encouraged eight people to join them for lessons in drawing and painting.  Gordon Pierrier from Chatham and Hugh Mackenzie from London were among the group's first teachers.  In the late 1960's members were instrumental in getting a Continuing Education Art Program started at Lambton College. Mandate

To help members in the study of their chosen forms of visual arts. To promote the appreciation of visual arts in SAW members and in the community. Today SAW has expanded to include 170 artist members who work together to foster the advancement of visual arts in the community.  The group includes artists who work in various art forms including drawing, painting, wheelthrown and handbuilt pottery, prints, photography, wood-turning and carving, fabric art, jewellery, dried and pressed flowers, basketry, and stained glass.  SAW collaborates with Sarnia Community Services to provide an annual Children's Waterfront Program held for one day each summer.  SAW offers its members' work for show and sale at its annual ART AT THE LAKE, show held at the Sarnia Riding Club each November.

Membership is open to persons interested in the visual arts.  New members are most welcome.  Membership fees are $30.00 per annum.

President: Dagmar Vrkljan

Website: http://www.saw.sarnia.com/

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The Sarnia Concert Association (SCA) has been around since about 1936. For a time, it was a member of the Community Concerts network, but became independent in 1981.

The SCA is a not-for-profit group run by a volunteer board of about 20 members. There are the usual President, Past President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and others interested in quality community entertainment.

The Sarnia Concert Association (SCA) brings musical entertainment to the Sarnia and Lambton County area in the form of a 5-concert series each year. The series, traditionally, has been slanted toward classical and "serious" music, although in recent years the emphasis is shifting more toward "popular entertainment".

In addition to pure musical performances, the SCA also brings opera, comedy/variety, and musical theatre. The overall aim is to present artists that will be attractive and entertaining to our audiences, and price those artists at about what it costs us to bring them in.

Contact:

Phone: (519) 542-8905
Website: http://www.sarnia.com/groups/sca/

The Sarnia Handweavers and Spinners Guild, founded in 1962, currently has over 30 members. We are located in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada and have members from the Sarnia region and from nearby areas of Michigan.

Guild meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of the month from September through June. The meetings usually include a workshop in weaving, spinning, dyeing, or basketry. At these workshops, members share their knowledge, improve their skills, and learn new techniques. Our Show and Tell sessions at each meeting provide an opportunity for members to share their work, to exchange ideas, and to get advice on projects. We also look forward to meetings for the opportunity to socialize with other members.

Guild members range in skill from novice to expert. Most members enjoy weaving and spinning as a hobby. They make household and fashion items for personal use or as gifts for family and friends. Weaving and spinning equipment is available for use by guild members. Three floor looms at our loft are used by members for individual or group projects. Table looms are available for workshop and home projects. The Guild also has a reference library of books, magazines and journals.

If you have an interest in weaving or spinning, or in learning to weave, you may attend a meeting as a visitor.

Contact:

Phone: (519) 336-3737
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Website: http://www.sarnia.com/groups/weave-spin/

The Sarnia Lambton Arts Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate, promote and for the arts in Sarnia-Lambton

Its mandate is to cultivate, cherish and celebrate the work of current and new members and member-groups, encouraging communication, not only between the performing and creative members themselves, but also with the general public, in order that awareness of the arts among the population may be heightened and the community at large may share in a richly-diverse, vibrant and highly-visible arts environment.

At the moment, the Arts Council is the umbrella organization for SHOWCASE and Studio Tour, SHOWCASE is a venue for Lambton County artists, artisans, writers and musicians to showcase their work and the annual fall Studio Tour opens artist studios to the public

Website: http://www.sarnia.com/groups/artcouncil/

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

President: Brenda Beaumont Box 562, Sarnia, ON N7T 7J4

Work Phone: (519) 344-ARTS / 344-2787

Folk Arts – For everyone, all origins the preservation and development of regional and local cultures across Ontario

To promote the preservation, development and advancement of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Canada especially within the Province of Ontario

To promote cultural activities of all kinds representative of the cultural background of the people of Canada and to further the better understanding among and appreciation of, the lingual, racial, and national groups

FOLK ARTS IN SARNIA!

Living, Learning, Sharing Life

Cultural Interaction

Folk Dances

Songs, Music

Traditional Costumes

Traditional Cuisine

Crafts



Volunteers assisted in Enrichment program in Schools with multicultural, Cultural Sensitivity, Ethnic Dance and Citizenship programming

Bernice Harper in 1956 originally founded the school, under another name. It is now owned and operated by Anita Hobbs and is affiliated with the Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) in England, which provides training for teachers and a graded examination system for students of classical ballet. Sarnia School of Dance follows the Academy’s philosophy by encouraging its young people to develop an understanding and appreciation of all types of art, while studying and performing classical ballet to the best of their individual abilities. National dances provide a framework for exploring the cultures of other nations

Performance opportunities form an important part of the School’s yearly activities. The annual recital usually follows a theme from a classic children’s tale and at Christmas time students are also prepared to take examinations, following the RAD syllabus.

The School aims to give to all children a sense of physical and mental confidence, to encourage good posture, to enhance expressive language skills, to develop social interaction and, to foster audience appreciation. Only a few will have the necessary ability, dedication and willingness to pursue a professional career. Previous graduates of the School are now teaching or performing in England, Germany and France and two are now RAD examiners themselves. There are, however, hundreds of young people who have enjoyed a dance education and who bring their own children for lessons. Some of them have also found dancing or otherwise participating in the theatrical entertainments mounted by our local school or performing groups.

Anita Hobbs, Principal Phone: (519) 337-5622

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Writers in Transition (WIT) is a Sarnia-based writers’ group comprised of approximately 30 members, from professional and award-winning scribes to beginning writers, poets, and storytellers. Several members of WIT are also members of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers, Canadian Authors Association, Canadian Poetry Association, PEN Canada, The League of Canadian Poets, The Ontario Poetry Society, and The Writers’ Union of Canada.

WIT History

First established in the late 1970s, Writers in Transition arose from a desire by local writers to support and encourage each other in a workshop setting. Many of the original members, Anne Beachey, John Drage, Jean Elford, Peggy Fletcher, Hope Morritt, Norma West Linder, and Carmen Ziolkowski, were former members of the Sarnia Creative Writers (established in 1963), an organization that eventually became a branch of the Canadian Authors Association. This core group has been working together for over 45 years. Many are still writing and attending WIT meetings.

Regular Workshop Meetings

Members meet informally every Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Mall Road Library where they share their writing and welcome comments from other members. There are no fees, no board, and no executive. Anyone with a keen desire to improve his or her writing may attend. Poets, fiction writers, journalists, and beginners welcome. For more information, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Monthly Spoken Word Event

Check out Spoken Word where WIT members and the general public present new work and/or the work of a favourite author. Anyone may take part in these open mic sessions held on the last Friday of each month, except July, August, and December. The event starts at 8 p.m. in the Walter Petryschuk Turret Room of The Lawrence House Centre for the Arts. Admission is free. The evening is hosted by Lambton College English professor Ryan Gibbs and Ontario Poetry Society Vice-President Debbie Okun Hill. For more information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Special Literary Events

WIT members are involved in ARTwalk, organize contests, and host book launches, poetry readings, and author events. WIT members also showcase their work on First Fridays.

For a closer look at WIT’s history, through true stories & fictional work by former and present members, pick up a copy of Ode to a Flattened Toad and Other WIT Stories: An Informal History of Writers and Writing Past and Present in Sarnia-Lambton (ISBN-13: ISBN 978-0-9732123-7-2), edited by former Sarnia resident Heather Rath, and now available for reading at your local library. This and other WIT books are also sold at First Friday events at The Lawrence House. Stop by the WIT table for more information