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Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre reno Climate change: the
rainy days of spring might get worse Alex Cooper
reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com
This is a designer’s rendition of proposed renovations to the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, which includes an atrium roof expansion to allow more light, a new colour scheme, exterior mural and landscaping towards Victoria Road that will attract visitors and passersby from that major route. The plan, which is in the development stage, is one of many new and upcoming arts initiatives on the go in Revelstoke. Read about them in this week’s feature story. Contributed by Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre
Revelstoke arts scene on the move Summer music festival at RMR confirmed for 2014, RPAC expands programming, Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre expansion planned, downtown mural coming Aaron Orlando
tinue to add to the expanding scene.
Part one of two There’s a vibrant new energy behind the Revelstoke performing and visual arts scenes, which has been rejuvenated and continues to grow in variety, volume and vivaciousness in the past several years. Although there are several contributing factors, the obvious driver is an influx of arts creators and consumers who have been attracted by our lifestyle. I spoke with a sampling of Revelstoke arts organizers to peek into the future of the Revelstoke arts scene. I found out there are lots of initiatives in the planning stage that will con-
Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre (RPAC) theatre manager Miriam Manley took on the new 275-seat facility about half a year ago, and continues to build programming. “It’s early days of the venue,” Manley explained in an interview. She said the RPAC “hit the ground running,” and has been developing a management plan in conjunc-
editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre strives to be a community, not just a facility
tion with the Revelstoke Arts Council. In a nutshell, the RPAC management plan didn’t exist a few months before the school-based facility was completed, and they’ve been building the vision since then. Manley explained that vision is to be more than just a facility. “It’s something that we’re definitely looking at to, in the sense of how do you move away from being a venue, just an empty shell, and how do you begin to have a community and a venue as a more meaningful relationship with artists and with performance groups?” She’s got lots of new acts lined up for the rest of the calendar year, such
Revelstoke arts, page 10
This is a second part in a series on the potential impacts of climate change through the seasons. Last June it rained 27 out of 30 days in Revelstoke. Across the Columbia Basin, rainfall records were broken. Landslides caused by the high rainfalls destroyed homes and roads. Reservoirs filled with so much water to the point that BC Hydro had to open the spill gates at both Revelstoke and Mica Dams for the first time in decades. While last June’s rain was an extreme occurrence, it could be a sign of things to come, according to a climate change report by the Columbia Basin Trust. The report, Climate change, impacts and adaptation in the Canadian Columbia Basin: From dialogue to action, was published last fall. It makes a detailed breakdown of the impacts of climate change, and provides suggestions on how people, communities and industries can adapt. According to the report, spring temperatures throughout the basin are expected to climb, as is spring precipitation. More intense storms are also expected, meaning heavier rainfall when it does come. That means the rains that caused landslides that destroyed homes in Johnson Landing and wiped out sections of highway near Sicamous could be more frequent. “More frequent intense rainstorms, increased glacier melt, rain-on-frozen ground, rain-onsnow and higher winter peak flows may increase the risk of flooding, with more events occurring in late winter/early spring than in the
past,” says the CBT report. The effects of climate change could lead to big infrastructure challenges for people, businesses and communities. Hydro reservoirs will possibly start filling up earlier, fill up with more water, and have to contend with big spring rain events. On the positive side, the growing season will be longer – a boon for farmers and gardeners – and an earlier snow melt will make communities more accessible for people that struggle with mobility, like seniors and the disabled. *** The impacts of climate change on spring will start earlier in the season. It is expected the season will start earlier in the Columbia Basin. Projections prepared by the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium at the University of Victoria indicate springs will be warmer and wetter, though as PCIC climate scientist Trevor Murdock told me, the projections are for ranges, meaning that any given spring will be different. Other climate factors, like El Nino and La Nina also play a role from year-toyear. “There’s a range in the projections and it’s hard to talk about,” he said. “It’s not uncertainty in the sense of not knowing, it’s uncertainty in the sense that what we know with a good deal of certainty is the change in the 30-year average.” Practically, snowpacks are expected to increase at higher elevations over the coming years, though more rain is expected to fall in valleys throughout the winter. Springs will come earlier and also be wetter in the future than today.
Climate change, page 9
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