Submitted by Deborah Renz, President, BC Touring Council
Bill Usher was recently given a special award at the annual Pacific Contact conference Gala Dinner for the BC Touring Council (BCTC) in Kelowna.
BC Touring Council’s Raising Curtains Award recognizes those who work behind the scenes and seeks to recognize an exceptional individual who has shown longtime commitment to the live performing arts sector. Chosen by a provincial selection committee with input from the BC Touring Council (BCTC) Board of Directors, it is not necessarily given each year.
Our Raising Curtains recipient this year is an artist and arts manager. He has done extensive leadership work with BCTC and other provincial organizations, which is this award’s “behind the scenes” theme.
Bill has done cultural work in the community of Golden since 2002 and has put Golden on the cultural map of western Canada in an extraordinary way. He has been a Presenter and Executive & Artistic Director with Kicking Horse Culture in Golden since 2004. But, his career as a cultural worker spans more than 50 years in various entrepreneurial roles. Bill has worked in music, theatre, radio and television throughout his career and is revered as a trailblazer.
We are lucky to have had him in our province and network for the last twenty-plus years. I don’t think he has missed one Pacific Contact since joining KHC, and he has been very dedicated to our organization and to those we serve … the performers, audiences, and communities throughout BC. Many of us in the room tonight have been positively impacted by the guidance of this dedicated colleague and mentor. Fortunately, he continues to coach nonprofits in communities around our province.
Bill Usher is the winner of the BC Touring Council Raising Curtains Award for 2024. Bill is retiring from his management roles at Kicking Horse Culture and will be back on tour with his band, The Space Heaters, this Summer and Fall. But for now, he can come here and receive his award… to what better-standing ovation!”
THE BC TOURING COUNCIL (BCTC) exists for sustainable touring and presenting of the performing arts in British Columbia
