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Category Archives: Events

Community Coffee House: A National Volunteer Week Celebration!

Celebrating, sharing, song, spoken word and social connectedness

What better way to celebrate the amazing people in our community than to have a concert with them AND for them!

On April 17th St. George’s in the Pines hosted Banff Volunteer Centre’s 3rd Community Coffee House event, and over 80 people from Banff, Canmore and beyond came out to celebrate the contributions of people in our communities. Sharing stories of their contributions to community 12 talented performers to the stage at historic St. George’s in the Pines on a Tuesday night, giving their time and talents to celebrate those who give their time and talents too!

The ambiance of St. George’s truly enhances the evening, in addition to that it is the incredible creative spirit that everyone comes willing to share. It is inspirational to hear the stories shared by the performers of the impact being involved in their community has made on them and of the impact they have had on their community. The Coffee House truly is a well rounded event, featuring such a  wide variety of music, spoken word, poetry and even local non-profits who came out to share the exciting projects they are working on here in Banff and Canmore.

Check out this collection of photographs from the April Coffee House by local Canmore photographers!

Over 80 people came out to enjoy the tunes, talks and tasty treats!

The audience was incredible too -  from the young to the young-at-heart,  from Banff and from Canmore, from across the oceans and from the Alberta north – it’s great to know that the community of Banff is truly represented at the Coffee House, visitors and locals alike! Though the event is free to attend, but a suggested donation to the historic designation fund for St. George’s in the Pines is always encouraged. There is coffee and tea on hand, thanks to donations from our local Starbucks, and deserts and pastries from Nesters Market AND also from locals who contributed their own delicious baking!

A SHOUT OUT to the 25 great local talents and volunteers who came to share with us!

Our Crew
Garry Gonis: Thank you for being our Sound & Stage Manager – we can’t do it without you! Love how you get everyone singing along!
Matt Flawn: Your lighting is truly a huge part of the night – thank you for continuing to share your time and talents!
Fiona Lee: Your enthusiasm and energy is a fantastic addition to the Coffee House – really looking forward to working with you on the next one!

Thank you to everyone else who helped on the night of the event with the door, set-up/tear/down and food service!

Our Performers

Lori Reid: We are so fortunate to have an outstanding talent like yourself come share your songs at the Coffee House – looking forward to your new album!
Jo Domaille: Your voice is outstanding- thank you so much for all your contributions to the Banff community! You’ve been with us since the beginning and we’re sad to see you go…we hope you come back when you’re famous:)
Mark Unaru (& Mike Broadley): Thanks for sharing your light with us guys – we’re glad to be your big debut!
Frederic Gagne: Thanks for bringing the blues and rocking out for us – we can’t wait to see you perform again!
Peter Cristou: Thanks for your continued support and bringing your daughter out on her birthday to perform!

Thanks to Doug Hamel & Cindy Gibson for sharing their engaging and beautiful poetry – you two are fantastic!

Thanks to these local non-profits for giving entertaining talks about the work they do & sharing  ideas and inspiring us to put our goodness to work!

A BIG THANK YOU to the Photographers - thanks for capturing the event and for sharing your talents too!
Rafal Andronowska Photography
Photography by Ginevre
Financial Support from: Volunteer Alberta

Related Links:

Volunteer Canada
National Volunteer Week

For Organizations: Building ONE Workforce Workshop

Rethink how you work with people.

The ONE(day) workshop you can’t miss!

Are you ready to lead your non-profit to the next level and shift the way you work with people?

If you answered yes, then you will want to be at this workshop!

I am thrilled to announce Building ONE Workforce – an exclusive learning opportunity by Vantage Point for the Banff non-profit/voluntary community. With generous support from the Banff Community Foundation, the Banff Volunteer Centre [BVC] is hosting this invaluable workshop for an incredibly affordable price!

For specific information about this event please email director@volunteerbanff.ab.ca

Register for Building ONE Workforce in Banff, Alberta  on Eventbrite

Building ONE Workforce is an outstanding opportunity not only for our organizations, but also for the community as a whole. This workshop presents the opportunity to more effectively lead our own organizations as well as to rethink HOW we work with people (both staff and volunteer).

This workshop will look at how your organizations can engage and learn to work with specifically skilled people and lead your organization to the next level. Check out these video success stories about other groups who work in a People-First culture.

Remember: the potential for community impact is greater when more minds are involved in a collective knowledge base shift!

Building ONE Workforce is highly recommended for leaders of non-profit organizations, including Board Members and actively engaged volunteers. To have the greatest impact on your organization I recommend 3 people from your organization participate in the workshop.

Tickets are limited – only 10 organization tickets are available – register now to secure your spot!

Register for Building ONE Workforce in Banff, Alberta  on Eventbrite

Please feel welcome to call or email if you have any questions – it is important to me that as many organizations attend this event, if there is anyway I can help you to be there, please let me know!

Coffee House – volunteer event!

Celebrating National Volunteer Week and the importance of volunteers in the world of Arts + Culture the Banff Volunteer Centre hosted a Coffee House at historical St. George’s in the Pines church.  The event was a tremendous success – with over 12 performers volunteering their talents to entertain an amazing audience of people from our community!

Some of the talented musicians involved were Ray Brooks, Jean Collins and Natasha Ellwood, a jazzy performance from Peter Cristou with guests, and Banff high school student Samatha Bell, just to name a few.

Colin Funk delivered a hilarious and engaging collection of his poems from a stint in Dawson City, complete with the hat that got him through his northern stay. Doug Hamel performed a few poems, and Banff Volunteer Centre Executive Director and host for the evening delivered a moving monologue that got people thinking about volunteering with a new perspective.

The event got started with local music guru Garry Gonis, who revved up the crowd and got everyone singing along and wrapped up with a moving performance from Lori Reid, who spoke of how thrilled she was to finally have the opportunity to sing and play her guitar in St George’s In the Pines.

One surprise guest, 3 1/2 year old Ethan, approached the stage, guitar in hand ready to perform his rendition of ‘Old MacDonald’ – it was fantastic!! Ethan is the adorable son of volunteer Mark, who did the sound for the night and made a lot of connections with local musicians – thanks Mark for all your hard work!

Here’s a collection of photographs, taken by Rafal Andronowski, a Canmore Photographer who volunteered his skills for the evening – thank you Raf for capturing the evening.

Stayed tuned for more photos, stories and videos from this great event!

Thanks again to all the volunteers and audience members involved in making the Coffee House a success!

Happy National Volunteer Week!

Rocky Mountain Volunteer Fair

Check out the current and upcoming volunteer opportunities in Banff and the Bow Valley at the first ever Rocky Mountain Volunteer Fair.

Event details are in the poster below – there will be an eco-friendly discussion panel at the event at 3pm featuring 4 local experts more information on that will follow.

If you are an organization and interested in having a table at the event to recruit volunteers and share you organizations message check for more info here and/or register your organization here.