What We're Trying To Do

In the early 2000s, the Ness Creek Music Festival and Ness Core representatives sat down to talk about how to make more use of the infrastructure that had been built on site, rather than just using it all once a year. The end result of these 'Big Talks' was a new strategy called 'horizontal growth'. This strategy would eventually result in the creation of numerous other festivals and non-profit organizations that make use of the site for events, ecological and educational programming, cultural and artistic symposiums, workshops and collaborations. Once these groups began operating, they quickly realized that they wanted to be able to do more, something that proved to be very difficult with only a few months of beautiful weather each year. The need for a four-season centre to house these groups and their efforts became apparent and the Jack Millikin Centre was born!

The Jack Millikin Centre will be a vibrant, four-season home to a variety of cultural and ecological events with a focus on community, celebration and education in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan.

Once constructed , this will be a 4000 square foot four-season centre for arts, culture and ecological education nestled in the Saskatchewan boreal forest. It will be a dance hall, a classroom, a workshop venue, an art studio, a performance space, and a banquet hall that can be utilized year-round.

The Ness Creek Site is a beautiful spot in the boreal forest, providing a wonderful escape from the pressures of modern city life. This place is emotional, spiritual and significant, and meant to be shared with everyone.

List of JMC Accomplishments to date:

Entered into 99-year lease with land owner
Developed a community of support among stakeholders
Supported, and contributed to, road improvements into the Ness Creek Site
Refined the design and completed engineered drawings
Received the building permit
Completed land-clearing
Moved the playground to its new location
Installed foundation screw-piles
Constructed the sub-flloor structure
Completed and back-filled the floor skirting
Erected the rough-hewn timber wall structure
Constructed the roof-structure
Installed the tin roof
Brought power (800 Amp) into the building
Installed basic electrical wiring
Installed windows and doors (triple glazed)
Constructed basic washroom facilities
Installed the horse-hair dance-floor
Completed outside wall sheathing and stucco cladding
Completed insulation/vapor-barrier
Clad interior walls and ceiling of the 'Performance' space - 73% percent of the building