The Crescent Valley Resource Centre (CVRC) is a neighbourhood-based facility serving the residents of Crescent Valley, Anglin Drive, and beyond. The CVRC offers free programming and services aimed at building leadership and resiliency in individuals and families, and promoting healthy and active lifestyles. Programs and resources aim to empower residents, help them live healthy lifestyles, and develop personal growth and leadership skills.

The Irving Oil Field House is a 110,000 sq. ft. indoor track, turf, and fitness facility. It features two indoor turf fields, a 200 metre track, and a fully-outfitted fitness centre. 

The Field House offers sports and recreation programs and clubs, along with trainer-led group fitness classes in HIIT (high-intensity interval training), boot camp, yoga, and much more. It also serves as a community centre for locals, with childcare, after-school programming, and newcomer services. 

The City of Saint John donated $3 million toward the construction of the building and also funds a free evening recreational program as part of the community centre.

Saint John Story Series is a place to profile and highlight City of Saint John staff, service areas, and the positive impacts of City led initiatives within our community.

Measure of success: P.R.O. Kids marks 20 years and over 20,000 children helped

P.R.O. Kids is marking a major milestone this month as they celebrate 20 years of helping children in greater Saint John.

Since it was first formed, the charitable program, operated by the City of Saint John and led by a dedicated group of 14 volunteer advisory members, has helped more than 20,000 children access sports, recreation, arts and cultural activities.

“A lot of our families are from single-income households and many are newcomers. These are people who may have a more restrictive budget and, unfortunately, just don’t have the means to pay for the fees associated with these activities,” says P.R.O. Kids program manager Lori Lambert

“Our program takes care of that,” adds Lambert. “ Children who have financial barriers that prevent them from attending activities – whether that be hockey, basketball, music lessons, or art lessons – can have the opportunity to play, attend, participate and belong in the same way that other children do.”

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P.R.O. Kids will be celebrating its achievements this week at its upcoming annual FUNraising dinner, an event that was put on hold for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the group is looking to raise approximately $30,000 through the dinner, with 100 per cent of the funds going directly to help support children in the community.

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“We’ve got some great sponsors that have come on board from the very beginning including U.C.T. Jack Kidd Council 755 and Emera New Brunswick,” says Lambert. “We’re fortunate and we feel very confident that we’re going to exceed our goal and have a great event that will close off a great year for P.R.O. Kids.”

Two community champions who embody the values and mission of P.R.O. Kids will be honoured during this year’s dinner, and they are Chris Green of Top Corner Hockey, and members of the Dickie Crossman Memorial Foundation Committee.

The FUNraising dinner will take place on Thursday, November 17 at the Delta Brunswick Hotel.

Tickets are still available for the event and can be purchased online HERE.

Anyone who cannot attend the event but would like to donate can click HERE.

For those who would like to learn more about criteria and the application process for P.R.O. Kids, click HERE.

Administrative costs for P.R.O. Kids is funded by the City of Saint John, Town of Rothesay, Town of Quispamsis, and the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield. One hundred per cent of funds raised through events, donations, sponsorships and grants go directly to supporting children and youth throughout greater Saint John.

The Ethnocultural Small Grant Program is designed to assist new and existing ethnocultural groups in obtaining incorporation, growing their membership, and increasing service delivery within the City of Saint John, resulting in increased settlement and retention rates of newcomers. 

Since 1985, the Centre Communautaire Samuel-de-Champlain has been the essential site for services offered in French in the Saint John region. Located in Millidgeville, this community centre is managed by the Association Régionale de la Communauté francophone (ARCf) de Saint-Jean. 

Services: 

• La Croisée Help Centre: reception, wellness, early childhood, community development, support for newcomers and seniors and much more.
• Samuel-de-Champlain early learning centre 
• Le Cormoran public Library 
• Sociocultural program 
• Health and wellness advice 
• Space rental: meeting rooms, theatre, classrooms (details in the amenities tab) 
• Famille et petite enfance francophone Sud (family support) 
• Médisanté medical clinic 

Amenities and available space rentals: 

• Louis Vermeersch Theatre 
• Multifunctional space (meeting room, classroom) 
• Organization room (meeting room, meetings) 
• Salon Irène Grant-Guérette (visual art exhibition room, meeting room, meetings) 
• Foyer Anne Church (open space for meetings) 
• Classroom in the evening 
• Cafeteria 
• Professional kitchen 
• Gymnasium 
• Palestra or mini gymnasium 

The Saint John area was nurtured by its first inhabitants, the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet—long before its European discovery. 

On a voyage in 1604, Samuel-de-Champlain named the St. John River in honour of St. Jean the Baptiste. Following the American Revolution, 14,000 American British supporters arrived, and in 1783 settled at the mouth of the St. John River. In 1785 this “Loyalist city” was incorporated by Royal Charter, making it Canada’s first incorporated city.

Also referred to as "The Port City”, Saint John became a leading industrial centre in the nineteenth century, mostly due to a robust shipbuilding trade. The city quickly grew, with the largest influx of immigrants occurring during the Irish famine of the 1840s, adding "Canada’s most Irish City” to its list of names.

Since then, the City's harbour has continued to welcome people from across the globe and each group has left an imprint on Saint John through culture, architecture, and people.

October to December residency application is now OPEN

Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 10th 2024. 

Artist Opportunity

The City of Saint John invites artists and artist-led groups, to submit Expressions of Interest to be selected for the 2024 October-December Artist in Residence Program.

Community engagement remains at the heart of this program, which is open to artists practicing in all mediums including but not limited to:

• visual (painting, sculpture)
• literary (poetry, collective works)
• performance (dance, music, opera, theatre, musical theatre)
• new media (film, television, radio, audio, video, animation, digital)
• multidisciplinary and the intersectionality therein

Artists should note this is not a live-in residency. Permits may be issued for temporary use of public spaces for artistic creation and presentation

Program Goals

• Connect residents to Arts and Culture
• Creatively animate public space(s) indoor or outdoor.
• Provide opportunities for artists to engage with the public to showcase their creative practices.
• Advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts.
• Broaden the community’s experience of the arts.
• Contribute to placemaking and community pride

Roles and Responsibilities

The City of Saint John will:

• recognize the artist is the City’s October-December Artists in Residence
• provide access to municipal facilities and venues (as available);
• coordinate permits for public space(s) (as appropriate);
• promote project information with a webpage on saintjohn.ca (other sites created and managed by the artist may also be utilized in the delivery of the project);
• provide administrative assistance, web services, event coordination, graphic design, and project promotion;
• award a $5,000 (CAD) budget to selected artist which includes artist fees and funding to cover other costs directly related to the project; and
• provide an opportunity for presentation and celebration at the end of the residency.

The City will also provide marketing and promotional collateral at its own expense.

The Selected Artist will:

• commit to engaging community members in creative experiences including but not limited to two public residency engagements;
• deliver the selected project within the program’s timeline and budget;
• promote the project via social media;
• provide regular progress updates to staff;
• be available to speak with the media; and
• attend a debriefing session at the end of the residency period.

Scope of Work

As part of the program, the artist will be expected to undertake a selection of the following residency engagements, to be agreed upon between the City and the Artist:

• artist talk
• workshop class or self-guided, public activity
• virtual or physical exhibition/display of completed work

The successful project for this community-based arts initiative should engage residents and visitors to Saint John and promote an appreciation of Arts and Culture.

Expressions of Interest should outline the project concept and indicate how the artist will engage with the community.

While the artist’s process is as important as the resulting artistic products, projects should produce an outcome such as, but not limited to, a temporary installation, performance, recording, creative collaboration, exhibition, or community experience that can be shared and celebrated with the public.

Eligibility requirements

This opportunity is open to all artists residing within the City of Saint John. Artists should have proven experience engaging the public and working collaboratively with community members or other artists. They must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada and be 18 years of age or older to qualify for this opportunity.

Previous City of Saint John Artists-in-Residence and City of Saint John employees are not eligible to apply.

Fundraising activities are not eligible.

A strong web/social media presence/following is considered an asset.

Eligibility requirements

Following the evaluation of proposals, the funding support unit will look at prioritizing applications from the following Indigenous and equity-seeking communities:

• Mi’gmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Peskotomuhkatiyik Nations
• Inuit
• Métis
• IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, People of Color)
• People with visible and invisible disabilities
• Refugees / Immigrants / Newcomers
• 2SLGBTQIA+

The City of Saint John recognizes that people identify themselves in many ways. Terms used to self-identify are continually evolving. People can change their identities or the ways they want to identify over time.

The project budget (managed by the artist) is $5,000 and includes, but is not limited to, all costs associated with the creation and implementation of the residency project including:

• Artist fees (including research, development, and administration)
• Materials (including any supplies, studio expenses, services, or equipment)
• Disbursements will be made throughout the project as per a negotiated schedule of deliverables. Additional funds secured by the artist through project-related grants, awards and prizes may be used to supplement the project budget.

Upon acceptance, the artist will enter an Artist Agreement with the City of Saint John.

The recommended artist or artist-led groups will be chosen through a juried selection process. Artists will be evaluated on their qualifications and experience, body of work, merit of proposal, and capacity to engage with the community.

The City’s Arts Grants Committee will review proposals based on program goals and selection criteria outlined below. Staff may be engaged to vet permits, land use, etc.

Expression of Interest

Artists will be scored based on their previous body of work and experience; capacity to engage the community; ability to deliver work of high artistic quality on time and on budget; as well a project proposal that is realistic and achievable and has a vision for community involvement.

Submission Deadline: Thursday October 10th, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.

• Expression of Interest (1-page, maximum file size 2 MB – pdf, doc or docx) Include a project proposal that describes desired outcomes and a vision for community involvement.
• Artist Resume (up to 3-pages, maximum file size 2 MB – pdf, doc or docx)
• Support Materials – Include up to 3 samples of your artistic work to support your proposal. (e.g., photos of artworks, short writing samples, links to video or sound files. Maximum file size 5 MB – pdf, doc, docx, jpg, jpeg or png – text field available for links.)
• Applicants should include letters of support and/or agreement for collaborating community groups, organizations, or private landowners if proposed artwork will be placed on private property.

Evaluation Criterion

Qualifications and experience (20%)

• The artist’s professional experience, interests and talents complement the program (5%)
• The artist has demonstrated experience and inventiveness in working collaboratively with community members (5%)
• The artist has the knowledge and skills required to facilitate, coordinate, promote, and administer the project on time and on budget (10%)

Quality of project proposal (40%)

• The project proposal outlines a project that will creatively animate public space(s) (10%)
• The project proposal has a vision for community involvement in their practices (10%)
• The project proposal will produce an outcome such as, but not limited to, a temporary installation, performance, recording, collection, creative collaboration, exhibition, or community experience that can be shared and celebrated with the public (10%)
• The preliminary project proposal is realistic and achievable (10%)

Realization of proposal (40%)

• The proposed project will creatively animate public space(s) (10%)
• The artist’s plans for cultural programming and community engagement are strong (10%)
• The proposed project demonstrates a connection to the city and/or relevance to the citizens of Saint John with potential for positive impact in the community (20%)

Please note that late proposals will not be accepted.

General Provisions

Artist Agreement: The successful artist(s) will enter into an Artist Agreement with the City of Saint John. Upon notification of being awarded the project, the successful artist will have a 7-day period to finalize and sign the agreement.

Conflict of Interest: Applicants must disclose any potential conflicts of interest in their submission, including any which may involve City employees, Council members, or members of the Saint John Community Arts Board.

Reserved Rights: The City of Saint John and the Saint John Community Arts Board are not obliged to accept any of the submissions and reserve the right to not recommend any proposal or finalist and to terminate or re-advertise any project.