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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, September 26, 2012 · 24 Stars among us awarded by Oakville Arts Council By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The best of Oakville artists were recognized for their achievements Thursday night at the fourth annual Cogeco Stars Among Us awards ceremony, hosted by the Oakville Arts Council. While only a few artists went home with awards an aura of pride and recognition of the importance of the arts permeated the event, which was held for the first time at the Oakville Conference Centre. "This is really amazing. Thank you to the arts council for putting this whole thing together and recognizing talent in Oakville," said 11-year-old award winner Mira Meikle, as she accepted the Young Artist Award. Earlier, the budding singersongwriter had performed her original song, Solar Activated, for the hundred or so guests at the dinner gala. In all, six awards were handed out amid numerous musical performances by many of the nominees, including Andrew Cole, Colin Brennan, Annie Drysdale, Whiskey Epiphany and Krista Earle. Also performing throughout the evening was Oakville's Studio 1 Jazz Orchestra. This year, a juried panel selected the top two or three nominees in each category, while the winners were selected through online fan voting. Results were not revealed until the envelopes were opened. "I want to thank the Oakville Arts Council for choosing me in the first place and to everyone who took the time to go online and vote for me," said Stephanie Faye, winner of the Digital Arts Award. Faye is a freelance artist who Artscene eric riehl / oakville beaver / @halton_photog the stars: The 2012 Cogeco Stars Among Us winners are pictured together after Thursday's awards show. They are (L-R) Mike Przysiezny (Literary Arts), Sarah Morrison on behalf of the Oakville Children's Choir (Arts Group), Lynn Borysiuk (Visual Arts), Mira Meikle (Young Artist), Krista Earle (Performing Arts), and Stephanie Faye (Digital Arts). To see more photos from the gala, visit www.oakvillebeaver.com. Country singer/songwriter Krista Earle picked up the Performing Arts Award. The artist has given numerous performances and radio interviews in connection to the release of her first single and music video, Bad Hair Day. Earle, clad in a flirty, frothy dress and be-sparkled from head to toe, performed that single at the gala. "Singing and performing... is such a passion and I tell people like you, everyone here who supports people like us, it means the world," she said. Lynn Borysiuk who has been a painter since a young age and was inspired by her grandmother, who was also an accomplished painter, picked up the Visual Arts Award. "Congratulations to my fellow nominee, Angela Card, we were both winners in this," she said. Mayor Rob Burton, in his opening speech, indicated all the artists were winners. "I want to congratulate everybody who is a finalist this year," he said. "Your talent, your hard work, your dedication will take you very far. Many of those who've taken part of these awards are now creative ambassadors for our town." The mayor advocated that the success of the town is dependent on the success of its artists and performers. He noted that he, and Town council, is committed to strengthening the arts in Oakville, and called for support from the community. "The future is bright for arts and culture in Oakville. Together, we are finishing a master plan that's going to guide the creation of more facilities for our community," he said. He urged people to attend the Town's next master plan public meeting to help direct the next step in improving the town's arts and cultural sector, as has recently been accomplished through the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre. "This involves you, if you want a new modern performing arts centre by the time Canada's sesquicentennial arrives in 2017," he said. "Centennial Square, in my view, has not kept up with us and I don't think it was built to last as long as we made it last. There's an opportunity there to take us to the next level in the performing arts... I hope you didn't think that Queen Elizabeth Park Community Cultural Centre was the last thing we were going to do for arts and culture in our town." DIRECTED BY DIA FRID | PRODUCED BY JOHN O'HARA FEATURING KITTY VARLEY AND VINCE CARLIN SEPTEMBER 27, 28, 29, 2012 | 7:30 PM SEPTEMBER 30, 2012 | 2:00 PM OCTOBER 4, 5, 6, 2012 | 7:30 PM AT WEST END STUDIO THEATRE 1109 NORTH SERVICE ROAD EAST - OAKVILLE, ONTARIO L6H 1Z6 TICKETS: $25 ($23 MATINEE) STUDENTS AND SENIORS: $20 ($18 MATINEE) TO ORDER TICKETS VISIT WWW.CARLINPRODUCTIONS.COM OR CALL 416-550-8030 works on children's book illustrations, children's television show design, web and graphic design, and branding. Mike Przysiezny, a film director, producer, writer, editor, composer and musician, picked up the Literary Arts Award. "This is very emotional. I'm a very emotional guy, that's why I'm crying in public," he said as he began his acceptance speech. "I hope people realize how amazing the town of Oakville is. I didn't realize until a couple of years ago and now I'm blown away," he said, adding, "Everyone is so nice and appreciates everyone's work. It's amazing." The Oakville Children's Choir (OCC) won the Arts Group Award. "This is not my award," the choir's artistic director Sarah Morrison told the audience from the speaker's podium. "This is really about our choristers, our artistic team, and everything that is a part of the Oakville Children's Choir community. I want to thank the Oakville Arts Council. They're a big part of why we've been able to be sustainable for 18 years here in Oakville." The OCC is a non-profit organization providing children with choral, musical and entertainment training.