Nanowrimo: The adventure starts Nov. 1st!

So you remember that movie, Bucket List? Characters created a list of all the different things they wanted to do before they kicked the bucket. Included on my own personal list are the following:

• Learn how to ice sculpt
• Create a crop circle
• Write a Novel

Guess which I’ve already crossed off the list? If you guessed writing a novel, ding ding ding, you’re correct. I’m sure a few of you are thinking, “You wrote a whole novel? I could never do that…”

Oh yes you can!

November is National Novel Writing Month, a fun, fly by the seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel by midnight on November 30th. By setting a ridiculous deadline you worry about quantity not quality. This approach forces you to take risks, lower your expectations and push yourself further than you probably ever thought possible.

Let’s not kid ourselves though, you will be writing a lot of crap. All of us do. But there is a sense of freedom that comes by simply grabbing an idea and running with it no matter what the costs, to spend the month creating with literary abandon.

Writing a novel in a month is by no means easy. It means late nights, carpel tunnel syndrome and spending more on coffee in a month then you normally spend on gas. But the sense of accomplishment you get at the end is near euphoric. It’s something everyone should experience.

Nanowrimo brings together writers from all over the world, all focused on the same crazy goal. In 2009 over a hundred and fifty thousand participants started vigorously writing their novels on November 1st; astonishingly over thirty two thousand crossed the finish line on November 30th. I was one of those proud few.

Need more to convince you? Another great reason to participate is that you’re not alone. Nanowrimo’s online community has forums specially designed to help you in your journey, a procrastination station to distract you when you need it and weekly pep talks written by bestselling authors to get you through the tough spots.

Sure there are many reasons not to do it. You think you don’t have the time, the energy or the creativity to write a novel. But why not try? You’ll never know what you can accomplish until you pick up that pen and start writing.

Ready to begin? Shoot me an email at heather@creativeburlington.ca, I’d love to hear from local folks that are as crazy as I am, or at least ones planning to write a novel this November. To become an official participant of National Novel Writing Month 2010, visit www.nanowrimo.org and sign up. And remember, crazy loves company.

Downtown Dining - It's Wrap Up Time Folks!

If you don’t know what Downtown Dining is...then it’s sadly time for you to leave the rock that you’ve been living under. Sunshine and a fabulous summer event await you.

Every year Creative Burlington, along with a group of generous and talented restaurateurs present Downtown Dining: Burlington’s only walking restaurant tour. Guests stroll the beautiful streets of Burlington, stopping at five different establishments: enjoying a sampling of fine cuisine and alcoholic drinks at each. Musical members of Creative Burlington from all different genres entertain the crowds adding to the delightful atmosphere that has been perfected over the years.

This year was touted as one of our best years’ ever, with guests and partners alike praising the virtue of our organizational skills. It also helped that I had wisely sacrificed several Twinkies the morning of the event to the rain gods, making sure that while the rain did come, it appeared after everyone was safely at their final restaurant. Never under estimate the power of a good Twinkie sacrifice.

We also had a record number of ticket purchasers who became new members. While I’m not going to twist anyone’s arm, not hard anyway, everyone should do it. It saves you 15% on every ticket, you get all the great member benefits including your very own subscription to Artworks magazine and you make the staff happy. Staff meetings are always much more fun when we can do the “New Member” dance.

Of course there were problems to contend with this year too. Our website server going down the day that ticket sales launched and the resulting headache from me banging my head against a brick wall of customer support. But it wasn’t anything that few Advil and several creatively worded emails couldn’t fix.

On to the thank yous.

Creative Burlington would like to thank all of our restaurant partners, for their generosity, support and investment in the arts. We couldn’t do it without them, and we love each and every one of them for all that they do for us. Here's the official list: Big Tomato, The Dicken's, Di Mario's Trattoria, Downtown Bistro & Grill, Emma's Back Porch/ Water Street Cooker, La Costa Nuova, Latitude,The Martini House, My Thai by the Lake, Paradiso, Pepperwood, Queen's Head, Red Canoe Bistro, Rude Native Bistro, SB Prime Steakhouse.

Next on the thank you list are the companies who brought music to the people by sponsoring Downtown Dining’s entertainers. Bringing an art form to the community is a unique and fulfilling experience, thank you for giving our musicians that opportunity.

A final big thanks to the staff, volunteers and tour guides. I’m happy to report that Downtown Dining raised $25,000! That money is invested in our efforts to support the arts through education and promotion. Speaking of which - watch out for details on our celebration of the arts: Creative Burlington’s first annual Arts Recognition Awards. More on that later though.

For now, make sure you save the date for next year’s event: July 10th, 2011. It’s Downtown Dining’s 10th anniversary and we couldn’t be prouder.