The Flin Flon Station Museum is the newest shining star in the community, and it’s just one of the many testaments to the strength of the cultural scene in Flin Flon.
Recently dubbed a Star Attraction by Travel Manitoba and the Manitoba Ministry of Growth, Enterprise and Trade, and with the highway sign and tourism materials on their way, museum personnel are hoping the status will put their spot for historical preservation on the map.
Achieving the status has been in the works for about five years, and it goes to show what a little persistence can bring about. That persistence permeates many of the area’s cultural organizations.
As the Northern Juried Arts Show in Thompson was cancelled this year, Flin Flon is stepping up to host a similar event. While there weren’t enough entries in the Thompson event to warrant the show this year, Flin Flon has no shortage of artists hoping to showcase their work, and artists from out of town will be welcome, as well. All it takes is some initiative, and the show can go on.
This year the Flin Flon Tourist Bureau and Campground will transform into a music festival site as the community hosts the inaugural Blueberry Jam Music Gathering. Started almost from scratch and put together in record time, the gathering expects to draw musicians from across both Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
And of course, there’s the community’s cultural flagship, Culture Days. The event has been given top honours time and time again, and its coordinators are always trying to make the next year’s event better than the last.
Hyper-locally, there’s Trout Festival and Bust the Winter Blues, the Flinty Fishing Derby and National Aboriginal Day celebrations, opportunity for intramural sports and any number of other events and exhibitions.
We’re not starved for cultural experience in Flin Flon. In fact, while the economic outlook of Flin Flon fluctuates in response to the state of our natural resources and tends to lean more to the gloomy side of things, our culture scene is going strong and growing steadily.
What’s more is that it’s going strong and growing steadily and ultimately seeing support and success largely at the hands of volunteers – people who care enough about bringing culture experiences and opportunities to others in the community that they spend their precious time working hard to make these opportunities a reality.
Kudos to the Station Museum for being named a Star Attraction, and kudos to the rest of the folks in this community that keep the quality of our cultural activities strong.
