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City’s cultural services director takes a bow

April 14th, 2010 · 13 Comments

This just got posted on the city’s internal wire, news that Sue Harvey, who was the city’s cultural services director for years and recently ran the city’s live sites during the Olympics, is not going to go back to that director post. She doesn’t seem to be quite retiring, as she talks about doing other projects for the city. Readers of this blog will recall that there were some rumblings of dissatisfaction with Harvey’s reign over cultural services and, when the Vision team was first elected, there was much talk that she would be removed. But there seems to have been a more cordial working out of whatever is happening.

Sue Harvey, Executive Producer of LiveCity Vancouver is stepping down from her regular position as Managing Director of Cultural Services. LiveCity Vancouver was an unprecedented success, attracting more than 650,000 visitors to the two City celebration sites during the 2010 Winter Games. LiveCity Vancouver also demonstrated that with good planning and excellent programming, Vancouverites can have fun! Sue joined the City in 1992 to undertake an 18-month project and stayed for 18 years serving as a Cultural Planner, Social Planner, Project Manager for Hastings Park and the PNE, Managing Director of Cultural Services and finally Executive Producer of LiveCity Vancouver. Under Sue’s leadership as Managing Director of Cultural Services, the City adopted a new Culture Plan, initiated peer review juries, increased the cultural grants budget by $3 million, reinvested in the Civic Theatres, and secured a wide range of cultural amenities through development incentives including the new VSO Music School, Offsite, the Vancouver Art Gallery sculpture garden at the Shangri-la, the Vancouver International Film Centre and the Contemporary Art Gallery. Sue will continue to work with the City on projects and special events after a well-earned vacation.

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  • Glissando Remmy

    BREAKING NEWS! JUST IN!

    The Thought Of The Day

    “All right people. Fine. Have it your way. J’Accuse! Oh, sorry, strike that. J’adore! Oops. J’Accepte!”

    Dear Vancouver Vision Comrades gathered on Frances Blog, I know, we’ve started our relationship on your left foot. Ok, on both left feet then. Let today, be the day when we bury the hatchet (I promise I’ll do it as soon I’ll retrieve it from the City Manager’s office). In the past months, many of you have suggested I should put my name forward for the Mayor’s job. Thank you. You were too kind.

    We live in difficult times. The World is in BBQ. Many have told us to give up, they said to go home and grow a chicken, or two. I say, we should be able to grow more. Five, eight, or even ten. Who’s with me? People around the World are watching us; the outcome will make or break their dreams of one day being able to own an eggs laying hen in their backyard. To them I say, your dreams are a cluck away!

    In the light of NPA`s announcement regarding their stellar candidate Tung Chan, come election time, I want you to have just the same. So, in conclusion, long story short, I accept to be nominated as candidate for the Mayor’s job…there, I accept. Thank you. Yes, yes, you can sit down now. I accept!

    You may think the timing is not good, with Gregor being away in New York, and him being deeply immersed in the Industrial part of that city. I say, the timing couldn’t be better! Think about it. It’s in your Vision blood to come from the rear, and stab, am I right, or am I right? Right, right?
    We’ll keep it as our little secret, for now. You don’t have to blurt it out when he returns. Leave him with his chicken, for a while. Whatever makes his administration happy!

    I know, there are going to be voices in the crowd that won’t see this as a step forward, some may even suspect another Trojan Horse, but I tell you this: I come from a very green background (“Save the Jungle while kicking the Natives in the Balls” campaign, was my baby), I can play the mandolin, I am hairy beyond a reasonable doubt, fairly promiscuous but I stay within my circle of friends, my favourite colour is green as in “foliage green”, I never said no to a ripe banana when I saw one, and I only imitate the best!

    On the other hand if you want to get stuck with the Real Thing…and loose, well, you are entitled to your opinion.

    And hey, you’ll never know, come next April, Gregor might retire early from his job anyway, to concentrate on the Premiership. I heard Chelsea is the main contender, with Man United and Arsenal, front runners. You heard it here first! So see ya`all soon!

    BTW, any news from Raymond , Aaron or Geoff? Does anybody know what they might be thinking? I know it must be very hard for Raymond to go to work, day in day out, and look up from his current seat on Council…toward Mayor`s (what was supposed to be rightfully his) seat and see that …. tz, tz,tz. Damn them Hollyhockers! As for Aaron, his flip-flops continue to be as hazardous and unpredictable as the faithfulness of a pregnant doe. Meggs for Mayor? Naaah! I foresee too much physical therapy in his future! So, it seems I’m good, and I`ll always welcome more competition. I love a muddy challenge. Hope I’ll be hearing from you. Till then, Be Good Tanyas.

    We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy.

    PS.
    The official nomination acceptance speech, will take place today, Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 5.30 PM in the Salt Building, on the former Olympic Village site. Bring a friend, not high expectations. Crystal, will serve you Dom Perignon! Thank you.

  • katey

    What did she do, crack a few jokes about smelly hippies, Hollyhock & New Ageism?

  • George

    She probably did her job too well., maybe she asked for site inspections at the venue.

  • Not Running For Mayor

    Congrats on running GR, since I’m still not running, I’m more then happy to support your quest. As a bonus the city can let go of it’s inhouse poet with the savings going to retrain neglected chickens, some of which can go on to lay golden eggs.
    Do I mail my cheque directly to your home or via RMS?

  • MB

    @ Glissy for mayor: “I come from a very green background (“Save the Jungle while kicking the Natives in the Balls” campaign, was my baby), I can play the mandolin, I am hairy beyond a reasonable doubt, fairly promiscuous but I stay within my circle of friends, my favourite colour is green as in “foliage green”, I never said no to a ripe banana when I saw one, and I only imitate the best!”

    Thank you Gliss! But the world already has Fidel. Best to wait for him to pass, then you can be carried down Cambie on a flower strewn thrown.

  • Frances Bula

    How thrilling! NRFM is back after a long holiday!!

  • Glissando Remmy

    The Thought of The Day

    “There’s a sucker born every minute. ” P. T. Barnum (allegedly)

    MB,
    Fidel? Flower strewn thrown!? Tz, tz, tz…Have I told you that joke with how Mr. Up was introduced to Mr. Yours? Maybe next time, and then I’ll draw you a map too, with traffic signs on and directions. Pointing towards the Monkey!

    …Jungle background; play the mandolin; hairy; promiscuous inside his…group; foliage green; loves bananas; great imitator.
    It seems to me that you’ll be sticking with the Real Thing, for a very looong time. Good luck with that.

    We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy.

  • Urbanismo

    I never cease to enjoy and appreciate your reparté Glissando . . . keep it up . . . some of us really need to be kept grounded . . .

    As for a “cultural services director” . . . isn’t that a contradiction I terms?

    If culture has to be “directed”? . . “serviced”?

    Sounds like something in a toilet bowl . . .

  • storm

    There will be very few tears shed at the Hall over this one.

  • Rebecca

    You mean NO tears..not a liked woman at all.

  • Urbanismo

    @ booge . . . oh boy you got that right! ” Vancouver is already well known.”

    The city has been top destination for decades: no need for cultural dictators then, no need for splash-artist promo gurus now!

    Picture this: a bunch of Scarborough Rugby players imbibing our pre-game: Maria, thickly accented from Valencia (so she said) dispensing the . . . errrr . . . necessary emolument!

    And what do you thinq our conversation turned around, why beautiful, beautiful Vancouver, of course: the theme, oh boy, gliding under the Lions Gate in an elegant white Empress.

    That was 1951!

    No need to invent make-work or shed crocodile tears: no homeless, work was plentiful and well paying.

    We hadn’t shoved all our wealth off to those fetid sweatshops. We had money to spend usefully.

    No need then, either, to press our bushy tailed hallistas into money laundering enabling.

    Those poor sods working their butt off at SCARP never imagined they’d have to bow and scrape to a pack of smooth little men in expensive suits wantonly destroying perfectly serviceable Little Mountain housing stock. Or indeed enabling them into lying about “lagoons” or flashy lit-up luminous towers!

    Time to wake up. No need to waste any more treasure on bullshit!

  • Urbanismo

    PS . . . tell the greedy pigs to go back where they came from: go back to poppa Sir (oops hicup) Li-kakah . . . go do your laundry in someone else’s place of worship!

  • urbanismo

    Oh and BTW where was the decorated Dr Doggie Run and Professor Paradise when all this lying was going on?