Collaborating on Culture – Propelling the Plan

In 2012, the Municipality of Port Hope created a plan to help grow and support the facets of our community that contribute to our rich and unique local culture. It’s a lengthy and dense document with plans that span 20 years – from 2012 to 2032. This year marks the halfway point, and it’s time for a pulse-check.

A community feedback project has been created to help the Municipality tune in to our current cultural state. Collaborating on Culture is an engagement series aimed at gathering ground-level feedback, thoughts, and ideas. Whether it’s positive or negative, idealistic or stark, we want to hear what you have to say. All these comments will help us make the next 10 years as productive and positive as possible. We want to ensure that the Cultural Plan yields the best results it can, and truly betters the cultural landscape of Port Hope for the long run.

The Cultural Plan

“Culture is a creative expression of who we are and who we want to be. It recognizes our values, customs and beliefs, heritage, built and natural environment, and our intellectual and social achievements. Culture is all those things that make our Municipality unique and vibrant - how people express life and live in our community.”

The Port Hope Cultural Plan is meant to be a guiding hand for the Municipality over 20 years, showing us which sectors need help, what needs changing, and what needs financial investment. Checking in at this 10 year point is crucial, particularly as today’s cultural climate has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to staggering extents.

In a move to make the priorities of the Cultural Plan more easily digestible, five pillars have been created:

1. Communicate municipal support of cultural assets
   • How can we help support Port Hope’s current and future cultural fabric?
2. Raise awareness and leverage existing cultural assets
   • How can we help support the advancement of local culture-creators, and promote our existing cultural resources among the community?
3. Strengthen the capacity of emerging cultural sector groups
   • How can we help support and promote the projects of new and established culture-creators?
4. Increase cultural participation
   • How can we help increase community attendance at cultural events?
5. Be aware of and respond to current and future cultural space needs
   • How can we help support the creation and use of local culture hubs?

In focusing on these five priorities, we hope to gain comments that drive our next steps in a direction that best supports Port Hope’s current and future cultural needs. The Cultural Plan belongs to the community as a whole, and in providing everyone with this information, we hope to empower all organizations, businesses, and individuals to take the growth and support of our community culture into their own hands. In this way, our culture will truly become something that is by and for us all.

Community voices are the driving force behind this project, and ensure that the outcomes of the Cultural Plan reflect the needs of our current cultural landscape, culture-creators, and community members.

The Cultural Plan is not yet available in an accessible format. We are working to remedy this, but in the mean time, if you'd like a copy of the Cultural Plan to review, please contact us.

Collaborating on Culture

Visit us around Port Hope this year! Our informative display and engagement activities will pop up at many events and festivals, as well as community hubs like the Port Hope Public Library, Jack Burger Sports Complex and the Town Park Recreation Centre. Information on specific pop-up locations will be available in the table below.

Propelling the Plan

You can have your voice heard in a myriad of ways. Visit our pop-up locations (see chart below) to have a chat or write a comment, leave an idea or comment at the bottom of this page, or email us anytime. Please note that locations will be added to this chart as they're confirmed.

If you'd like to schedule a time for a discovery chat regarding the Cultural Plan, please contact the Special Events Office at events@porthope.ca

Are You a Local Culture Creator?

If you are a local event organizer, experience producer or community builder, get in touch with staff in our Special Events Office to learn about upcoming education and networking opportunities. Email events@porthope.ca with the subject line “Culture Creator” to introduce yourself and get connected!