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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, October 16, 2013 | 20 Stars recognized at Oakville Arts Council gala by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver Oakville's arts community shone brightly last week as its top stars were honoured at the Oakville Arts Council's (OAC) annual awards ceremony. The fifth annual Cogeco Stars Among Us gala recognized local organizations, musicians, actors, painters and writers for their creative contributions. The celebratory event was held at the Oakville Conference Centre. "The Oakville Arts Council is a leader in the arts sector (and is) mandated to promote and foster artistic development, participation and appreciation of arts and culture for the benefit of all Oakville residents," said OAC president Bill Smith. "The Oakville Arts Council has flourished over the last seven years." Awards were presented in six categories -- visual arts, literary arts, digital arts, performing arts, young artist and arts group -- along with an International Achievement Award. Each recipient received $500. "We have an independent panel from outside of Oakville that selects the top two or three artists in each category based on specific criteria, such as artistic merit, emotional impact, originality, innovation and technical execution," said Smith. Oakville pianist Yuan Tian took home the The Oakville Arts Council held its annual Arts Awards, Cogeco Stars Among Us Thursday. Here, the six category winners, from left, David Tucker (Literary Arts), Michael Willems (Digital Arts), Yuan Tian (Performing Arts), Robin Mitchell (Visual Arts), Madison Leeson (Young Artist), and Don Pangman (Arts Group). | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) Performing Artist Award. Tian is a winner of the Aspen International Music Festival Concerto Competition and recipient of the Canadian Yamaha Award. She has performed at Carnegie Hall and has released a solo CD and several music videos. Tian also helps other musicians and has founded a children's talent competition. "I feel very grateful for being recognized. (I'm) very much involved in music activi- Protect yourself and your family this winter. Get your flu shots! ties and the arts and I feel that the people in Oakville appreciate music very much," she said. Tian, who has been playing piano since age four, moved to Oakville with her family in 2011. "(Playing piano) can really express my thoughts (and) my feelings. It is something you can't express by words," she said. The local musician was "born into a musical family," so playing music comes natural to her, Tian said. Her mother is also a pianist and her father teaches conducting and music theory. "I made the choice to learn piano, but they put me into that field. Later on, I found that I really enjoyed this career," said Tian. "Music as a profession is not very easy, but the important thing is you have to put your passion into (it) and keep yourself moving forward." FLU SHOT CLINIC Wednesday, October 16, 2014 Saturday, October 19, 2014 905-825-DOCS (3627) 2983 Westoak Trails Blvd info@healthsensemedical.ca www.healthsensemedical.ca The Arts Group Award went to Oakvillebased ArtHouse -- a charitable organization that provides free arts programming to more than 500 children aged seven-11 in Oakville and Burlington. "It's a great organization. We're doing so much for young kids in the community. To be recognized (for) doing things for young kids, makes me feel really good," said founder Don Pangman. The recognition is highly-valued by ArtHouse because it brings more awareness to its work in the community, Pangman explained. "The work we're doing (is) improving the lives of young kids. If more people know what we're doing, I can continue to grow the organization. That's what is neat about (the award)," said Pangman. He noted ArtHouse has helped more than 540 children in the past year. "My favourite thing at the end of the day (is) to hear from a parent or a child how much ArtHouse has meant to them. It's knowing that we've changed a life," said Pangman. "We get a lot of feedback from parents." The International Achievement Award was given to Kaj Pindal -- a self-taught animator and faculty member at Oakville's Sheridan College. He has been involved with Sheridan since the 1970s. Media Rez Studios sponsored the award. "Kaj has been around with the Sheridan (College) faculty for a while. As a student, being able to sponsor the award is kind of a big deal for us too. We're really happy to be able to involved in that," said Derek Lee, Media Rez Studios managing director. Pindal was born in Denmark and joined the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada soon after settling in Canada in the 1950s. He created the Academy Award-nominatsee Local on p.23 Sale in effect October 2-31/13, on selected in-stock merchandise. Many more items on sale in-store! See flyer for full details! Look for the red sale tags! Saturday, October 26, 2014 HOURS Mon - Fri 8:30am to 8:30pm Saturday 10:00am to 2:00pm Fall into Fashion & Save Thursday, October 24, 2014 up to 50% off our regular prices! Suitworks & Check Mark Collections Our Reg. $12-$35 m Now 40% off our reg. price Fall Knit Spectacular! Our Reg. $14 m Now 50% off our reg. price Sweater Knit Collection Selection varies, where available. Now 60% off our reg. price Skin & Camo Fleece Prints Our Reg. $12 & $14 m Now $6 & $7 m No appointment necessary South of Dundas, at Bronte Rd Costumes on the Cheap! McCall's 6812 Shiny Costume Fabrics - Selected Organza, Satin, Velour. 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