Two local organizations have teamed up to help bring awareness and possibly have something done about the provincial cuts to arts and culture with a simple, popular game.
The Nova Scotia Arts Coalition (NSAC) and the Ecology Action Centre (EAC) have introduced Bingo for Better.
Executive director of NSAC, Chris O’Neill says in an interview with Acadia News, they really thought about all the things are under threat, put them on a card and encourage you to visit them.
“Go to a provincial beach, go to farmers markets, visit a rural museum again,” says O’Neill. “It’s culture from a larger perspective.”
There are also activities on the cards for things like reading a book by a local author, taking the bus and joining a choir.
She says it’s about highlighting these things and making people realize what’s at stake.
“Yes, it’s arts. But it’s beyond that.”
Weeks worth of rallies after spring budget
It was February when the province made $300 million worth of cuts to arts and culture in the spring budget, while facing a $1.2 billion deficit.
It triggered weeks’ worth of protests all over the province as Nova Scotians fought to keep programs alive but despite getting some funds back, many cuts remained.
Now, O’Neill says they started thinking about how to show the government what we are losing in a way that is fun as they remain keenly aware of another budget.
“We’re very afraid of it,” says O’Neill. “We want to make sure they see that, again, it’s not just people in downtown Halifax. It’s people across the province who are fighting this.”
She says the government is not acting in our best interest, and Nova Scotians need to “be in this together” to realize it.
At the end of summer, communities all over Nova Scotia will host Bingo for Better Block Parties.
You can pick up a printed card or download one and print at home.
