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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, January 15, 2010 · 26 Bands needed for contest By Catherine O'Hara METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Groups anticipate co-operation Continued from page 25 The second installment of Metroland's Best of the West battle of the bands contest kicks off this week and bands from the Oakville, Burlington, Flamborough and Milton communities are encouraged to register for a chance to win an appearance at this year's Burlington Sound of Music Festival, which takes place June 17-20. Again this year, the Oakville Beaver, Burlington Post, Milton Canadian Champion and Flamborough Review community newspapers have teamed up to introduce local, talented musicians who will rock your socks off. Last year's winner was Oakville's own Alright Alright. If you are in a band, are between the ages of 15 and 25 and want to share your wicked sound with the community, then Metroland's Best of the West battle of the bands competition is the contest for you. The registration format remains the same as last year's sound off. Bands must record a one- to threeminute video and post it on the popular video-sharing site, YouTube. Remember, videos must be kept short, the music in good taste and the lyrics totally original. Bands of all genres are required to submit a band bio, which must include the name of the band, a list of its members, the title of the song performed in the video, their video's YouTube link and contact information. To register for Metroland's Best of the West contest, bands must log on to the Beaver's website, click on the Metroland's Best of the West link in the Features section and fill out the online registration form. The deadline to enter is Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. In early February, each community newspaper will announce the names of local entrants. Then, it will be up to local residents to check out each of the videos and vote for their favourite online. The band with the most votes in each region will be featured in the print edition of its hometown newspaper and will move on to the contest's championship round to battle it out for the Best of the West title and the chance to perform at the 2010 Burlington Sound of Music Festival in June. In mid-March, the 2010 Metroland Best of the West battle of the band champion will be crowned. The band will be featured again -- this time in all four of the participating community newspapers. If you're ready to enter your Oakville-based band in the contest, visit www.oakvillebeaver.com and look for the Metroland's Best of the West link in the Features section. "CUAS (CommUnity Arts Space) is eager to further explore suggestions for interlocking board structures and enhanced communication strategies, which were put forth by Erich Almasy to avoid duplication of efforts and to further strengthen the arts community in Oakville," read the statement submitted by the group's board of directors. "CUAS welcomes this dialogue with the OAC (Oakville Arts Council) to determine how the groups' needs are best met, how to leverage funding and how to build capacity within our community in alignment with the recently released cultural plan of the Town of Oakville." The dispute between the two groups went public last month when CommUnity Arts Space issued a representation agreement via e-mail. The agreement asked members of the arts community to sign over the right for CommUnity Arts Space to unify the voice of amateur artists and negotiate on their behalf with the Town of Oakville regarding QEP. A blanket e-mail from the Oakville Arts Council soon followed on behalf of its board of directors, asking local arts groups to select which organization they would prefer to have represent them on all issues, including QEP. The e-mail tag continued, with CommUnity Arts Space clarifying that they want to represent the groups solely on the issue of space allocation, management and access to the space at QEP. Almasy said arts groups can now ignore last month's representation requests. "I think there was misunderstanding," he said. "There was concern on some of our members' parts that the representation was for more than QE Park space issues." Meanwhile, he said both groups are keeping their eyes on the larger prize -- QEP. CommUnity Arts Space and the Oakville Arts Council were among the leading proponents for a shared facility at the former QEP High School in southwest Oakville in 2009. The approved plan features a sizable arts and culture component in excess of 54,000 sq. ft. of dedicated space for a variety of applied arts and music, including both rehearsal and performance spaces. This portion of the 144,000 sq. ft. facility will be available for rent by local arts groups. The building is currently undergoing a $23.3-million renovation and is expected to be open in fall 2011. Take a Cruise Without Leaving Oakville Even though you're active, winter isn't your best time of the year. This year you can actually enjoy it. At Delmanor Glen Abbey we offer furnished suites with cruise style services, fine dining, seminars, events, activities and professional healthcare staff around the clock. Choose one of the short term or all winter cruisecations you worked hard to achieve. Call us for our extensive list of "shipboard" features and a tour of our Model Suites. Oakville's Premier Retirement Residence (905) 469-3232 www.delmanor.com 1459 Nottinghill Gate (west of Dorval, south of Upper Middle) Ask about our move-in incentives