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Prognostications
LOOKING BACK AND FORWARD
» Thursday 14 January 2010 | 5 pm
» The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing ideas
and people in the Okanagan creative economy. Join us as David Bond, Stan Chung and Jim Taylor, three of the best minds in the Okanagan, share what they learned in 2009, and where they think things might go in 2010.
» $2 at the door. Refreshments are available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
Pundits Ponder, Proscribe and Predict
Every February 2 - Groundhog Day - in a pretty Ontario town on the Bruce Peninsula between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, the groundhog Wiarton Willie emerges to pronounce his yearly prognostication about the duration of winter. How this translates to far flung locales like the Okanagan is part of Willie's mysterious powers of prediction.
Groundhogs are woodchucks, members of the squirrel family, marmots, sometimes called "whistle-pigs." They are quite remarkably stupid, as animals go. When nervous, they emit a high-pitched squeal, which might as well be an embossed dinner invitation to predators who follow the squeal until they find and eat the groundhog.
How groundhogs got a reputation for predicting weather patterns is a mystery, because they are not the least bit interested in their shadows or the number of winter weeks remaining. The only reasons they come out of hibernation are for food and sex. Fact is, they aren't very good at predicting weather, or anything else for that matter.
On Thursday, January 14th at 5 pm the ongoing weekly Okanagan Institute Express series starts a new year at the Bohemian Café by presenting Prognostications: Looking Back and Forward. Instead of depending on rodents to tell us which way the wind blows, we've inviting three of the best minds in the Okanagan to share what they learned in 2009, and where they think things might go in 2010. Join us as David Bond, Stan Chung and Jim Taylor give us the benefit of their insights, and foresights.
Expect a wide-ranging, engaging and lively discussion about what we've learned, and failed to learn, about life in the Okanagan, the life of the mind, the temper of the times, the forces at work and the state of economic and social affairs. They will also examine the issues that we need to think about, propose to our legislators, and promote in our communities to ensure that the future is sustainable and fulfilling. No punches will be pulled, no lame prescriptions offered, no low roads taken.
These three dedicated, passionate and intelligent people bring their considerable experience to bear on the critical issues that are worthy of our attention.
 Jim Taylor is known in Canadian publishing circles as the editor's editor. He's the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Wood Lake Books. Recently he was honoured with a lifetime membership to the Editors' Association of Canada for his achievements and development of the Eight-Step Editing program, which helps writers and editors identify and fix the most common obstacles to readership. Jim was born in India, where his parents were missionaries. He taught Sunday school for 20 years, has written more than a dozen chancel dramas, and wrote a religious observance program for Scouts Canada, called Focus Breaks, that is now in use all around the world. He writes a weekly column for the Lake Country Calendar, and occasional guest editorials for the Kelowna Daily Courier. Jim is the author of 17 books, including Everyday Parables, Sin: A New Understanding of Virtue and Vice and Precious Days and Practical Love: Caring for an Aging Parent.
 Stan Chung is well-known for his ability to provide visionary, consultative, and transformative leadership in the Arts sector. His 20 years of experience in the BC college system includes senior experience as Director, Associate Dean, and Acting Dean. He serves as the founding Director of the Institute for Leadership in Learning and Teaching and as Associate Dean of Arts and Foundational Programs at Okanagan College where he co-leads over 100 faculty and instructors. Stan studied at UBC (BA Hons English), Toronto (MA English), and Simon Fraser (PDP). Stan is a professional writer with over 500 publications in the last five years, ranging from his Global Citizen column in Okanagan Sunday to short stories, screenplays, and articles in international publications such as Adbusters. A collection of his essays, Global Citizen, will be published this year.
 David Bond was born in Hamilton Ontario and earned his doctorate in economics at Yale University. The former chief economist of the Hong Kong Bank of Canada, he has served in various federal government departments including Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Statistics Canada and the Ministry of State for Economic Development. He settled in the Kelowna area and now serves as executive director of the Association of BC Wine Growers. He was the Board Chair of Simon Fraser University and taught at University of Western Ontario, UBC and l'Universite du Quebec. A witty and erudite thinker and speaker, David's broad-based knowledge and experience is matched by his passion for the arts and ideas. He is the co-author with his wife Diane of Future Perfect: Retirement Strategies For Productive People, and his message is loud and clear: retirement is no longer an end, it is a beginning. He has also written numerous books on money, banking and the impacts of free trade.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE
Prognostications: Looking Back and Forward takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 121st event the Okanagan Institute has held since the Express series got underway in July 2007.
Express has played host to many Okanagan luminaries, including former deputy secretary general of Amnesty International Derek Evans, artists Lee Claremont and Gary Pearson, BC Book Award nominee Don Gayton, CBC Literary prize winner poet Harold Rhenisch, distinguished editor and author Jim Taylor, poet and professor John Lent, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, community activist Don Elzer, dancer David LaHay, architect Jim Meiklejohn, culinary artist and writer Heidi Noble, broadcaster Marion Barschel and others from a wide range of creative fields.
Introducing a new and exciting community arts program:
 The Sage-ing With Creative Spirit program commences January 2010 at The Rotary Centre, and will:
build community awareness of ArtsCare and healthy aging through the arts
recruit and stimulate ambassadors to spread awareness of the vital contributions of the arts to lifelong learning, creative expression, health and well-being
provide free weekly classes led by community professional artists from a variety of expressions
train confident arts ambassadors to move into the community to engage others in creative expression.
Produced as part of ArtsCare at the Okanagan Institute.
For information and to join: www.sage-ing.com
The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that has gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact.
Our mission is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We invite the participation by all members of the creative community.
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