Huron County is looking for public feedback for a new Huron County Museum and Cultural Programs Strategic Plan.
Beth Rumble, County Librarian and Director of Cultural Services, says the plan will be looking to determine the future direction of the museum, historic gaol and archives, as well as the numerous cultural events and initiatives at the county level.
"We are aiming for a 5-year plan to direct what the community wants from those heritage cultural resources. It's really important to have a lot of community feedback, so there's the community survey we have available right now, as well as focus groups that we are connecting across the county to hear what folks think about what's working well, what opportunities exist and where we can make improvements," said Rumble.
A number of public sessions will happen this month, but Rumble says that's not the only way to offer feedback. There is an online survey, too.
"So they can take about 15 minutes to answer some questions and provide comments and feedback through that. We are also holding a virtual focus group through Zoom. So that'll be about an hour long discussion to talk about some of the opportunities and areas where we can make improvements. That is on Tuesday, March 26 from 7-8 p.m. You can go to the museum website huroncountymuseum.ca and there's a spot where you can register for that," Rumble noted.
Rumble adds that the cultural programs aspect of the plan covers a number of things.
"Planning the Huron Multicultural Festival, the staff person that's involved with the cultural programming is also the hair of the Alice Munro Festival of the Short Story. Those are some of the marquee events that we coordinate but we also coordinate a cultural summit every year that brings together the sector to do some training, learning and networking. Also, events that occurred over the year like culture days, art workshops, anything like that," Rumble shared.
The survey can be found online at www.connectedcountyofhuron.ca. Paper copies of the survey are also available at the Museum or any branch of the Huron County Library.
Public engagement sessions will be held on the following dates:
• Thursday, March 14, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Goderich, Huron County Economic Development office, located at 57 Napier Street, Goderich
• Monday, March 18, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Alice Munro Library, Wingham
• Wednesday, March 20, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Seaforth Library Branch
• Thursday, March 21, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Exeter Library Branch
• Tuesday, March 26, 7-8 p.m.: Virtual session.
• Wednesday, March 27, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Clinton Library Branch
The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete and to say thanks for taking the time to provide feedback, all participants will be entered into a draw for a $100 gift card to Fincher’s in Goderich and $100 gift card Eat Local Huron. The deadline to complete the survey is Sunday, March 31.
For full details, including full rules for participating in the giveaway:
