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The Story of Us
Our Mission
Our mission is to celebrate and promote arts and culture at the Lake, enriching and enhancing people's lives by providing diverse programming that energizes the community. We offer opportunities for connection and participation through music, classes and a curated event space, inspiring creativity and fostering a love of the arts.
Much of this happens in the Christina Lake Welcome & Arts Centre. The building's design reflects historical Kootenay architecture, linking it with the area’s rich heritage. It is home to the gallery and many of our live performances.
History
In the summer of 2006 local Boundary Country artists and artisans from the Christina Lake and Kettle River Valley area formed a society to represent & facilitate the growth and development of the regions artistic community. Although the area had an abundance of artists in an impressive range of mediums, there was no central place to come together and share their expertise and showcase their wares.
It was envisioned that a Studio Teaching Space and public Gallery/Welcome Centre would be created to further the Arts in our area. In partnership with the Christina Lake Chamber of Commerce, CLAAS spearheaded the construction and funding of what has now become known as the Christina Lake Welcome & Arts Centre. Nearly $2 million was raised through grants and donations, art auctions, and other means, to construct the area's first "Green" high performance building, which has become the Centre of our community.
Ground Breaking at the Site
The Christina Lake Arts & Artisan’s Society was formed to bring a voice to the arts and cultural activities in the region. The Society is now a registered Charity whose purpose is to increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of performing and visual arts through art displays, performances, and the operation of an arts centre. CLAAS also provides instructional seminars and workshops on topics related to the performing and visual arts.
The Floor Mural
The giant 3D floor mural was the first of its kind to be designed and installed by Tyler Toews and Stephen Skolka of Canadian Murals. It is a collage of the treasures of Christina Lake, from a historic, (the photos of Christina McDonald, the RR trestle) and scenic natural beauty perspective.
Re-done in 2018 by Tyler Toews of Canadian Murals, the new mural expands over the walls, and features many more iconic aspects of Christina Lake’s rich history.
What We've Achieved
Honored by the Boundary District Arts Council for outstanding contributions to the arts in the Boundary region.
Nominated by the Kootenay Association for Science & Technology for Top Innovative Organization.
Awarded the Top Innovative Community Organization from Community Futures.
Finalist for the 2012 Spirit of Innovation Award.
Received the 2012 Boundary District Art Council's Board of Directors Award.
The Cultural Pole: Story Pole
Grand Forks teacher Bob Grieves worked with us to bring in Internationally known coastal carvers, to work with students and residents to design and carve two authentic story poles. Each pole is composed of animal images that have special symbolic meaning in the region.
Our Vision
To inspire community, artists and artisans to engage in meaningful participation thru the showcasing & education of the visual, studio, and performing arts.
Sustainability
The Centre was originally designed to conform to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver standards, but because of the added and considerable costs involved in the Certification process, plus some changes to the LEED rules which happened midway in construction, we decided to forgo the certification, knowing that it was still the most environmentally friendly building we could build and could set an example for other construction in our region.
Nearly all of the contractors hired were local, thus increasing the local knowledge of “green” construction and keeping the money in the local economy. Nearly $2m was raised to build it, and because of a huge amount of volunteer effort, the building was constructed mortgage free!
Features of the Welcome Centre
The Design
The design of the building allows for passive solar gain through the south facing windows of the mezzanine
The Foundation
The foundation was formed with eco-friendly oil (vegetable based) being applied to the cement forms.
The Insulation
Roxul insulation, locally sourced and produced, was used throughout the building. The walls are 25 cm (10 inches) thick, using staggered stud construction, and filled with mineral wool insulation. Eco-friendly foam insulation was used in much of the roof cavities as well.
The Frame
All of the timber frame and cedar siding came from a local sawmill and tree farm (Son Ranch) using dead standing timber and the studs were all beetle killed pine also sourced locally. The only live tree used in the building was a large cedar tree which was carved by Indigenous carvers to represent the native tribes that used the area as their hunting and fishing grounds.
The Walls
All drywall waste was diverted from the landfill by installing it into the wall cavities which served as further sound insulation and fire retardant.
The Floors
The floor is the source of radiant heat, which gives more heat to the lower parts of our bodies, thus allowing it to be kept at a lower temperature to achieve a comfortable warmth.
The Windows
Most of the windows in the building were sourced from a building materials recycle centre, and feature low E thermal insulation.
The Roofs
Two Living Roofs grace the lower ends of the building… they are planted with a mixture of sedum and moss and serve to increase the insulation factor during the winter, and cooling of the building in summer through green shading and evaporation.
The Finishes
All of the finishes used on the timber frame were iron oxide (rust) based and all paints in the building have extremely low VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).
The Temperature
The heating and cooling of the building is accomplished geothermally through two 5-ton heat pumps which use groundwater as a heat source.
The Water
A large solar hot water panel sits on the roof to supply most of the domestic hot water needs. All of the building’s waste water is handled by a Solar Aquatics System in a separate building, which uses plants and microbes to break down the waste naturally and cleanse the water before returning it to the aquifer. It was built with the capacity to accommodate other buildings and businesses in the area, should they wish to connect to it. It is only one of three such systems in BC at present.
The Lighting
All lighting within the building uses either LEDs or CFL’s.
The Walkways
The patio and walkway around the building is composed of pavers created from recycled tires, with the help from a grant from BC Tire Recycling.
The Road
The main road constructed for the building access was topped with RAP (Recycled Asphalt Product) to help deter erosion and dust.
The Trees
All trees that were cut were chipped, and the chips put on existing trails in the Nature Park or made into firewood .
The Landscape
Bio swales, which capture and cleanse excess water, were constructed to handle run-off from the roads and roofs. All of the planting around the exterior is drought tolerant and requires very little water to survive.
The Solar Aquatics System
Also on the property is a state of the art Solar Aquatics Eco-Machine waste water processing system that was built with RDKB funds. Recently world renowned scientist, Dr. John Todd, the founder of this amazing technology, toured the facility and shared some of the latest biological and technological research developments and possible upgrades for our facility.
A Chance for Learning
We are working toward training more local residents in the daily operations so that the existing system can be used as an educational facility. Elementary, High School and University science students can observe the different ways that plants, air and beneficial bacteria work together to clean the water, using nature as a model. What better way to introduce our young people to lessons in ecology, engineering, and environmental stewardship.