I have never been an ambassador until now. Since moving here in 2006, I’ve shown family and friends from out of town what Nelson has to offer from the freshly baked fougasse at the French Bakery to the beautiful backcountry of Kokanee Glacier Park. I’ve always marvelled at the quality and breadth of cultural and artistic initiatives that go on in a city of 10,000 people. As I dig deeper into research for the Knowledge Network history series entitled “If These Mountains Could Talk” I only get clearer how this community was founded by a creative spirit. It takes imagination to live here – many of us traded in steady paycheques and a bit of our rational brain to move to this remote mountainous town. Unlike big city living where closing doors and saying no is habit, here, in Nelson, people are ready to say yes – to a conversation in the grocery line-up, to reinventing the local movie theatre, to giving folks like me opportunities to make a living here. Now, it’s my turn to say YES! – Nelson is a unique and special place to live. As the cultural ambassador (I know many of you play this role with me), I get to make it my official duty to turn attention to what people have known for generations about living here – it’s the relentless creative spirit of Nelson that captures people’s imagination and supports the claim that it’s Canada’s best small arts town.
