Areas of Expertise
Canadian Arts and Culture
- 20+ years of successful festival and live event production, planning, and presentation
- 20+ years of visionary music booking and promotion
- Speaker, Presenter, and Emcee at conferences and festivals including Folk Alliance International, Hillside Festival, Folk Music Ontario, Harbourfront Centre, Shelter Vallery Folk Festival, and more
- Artistic Director of the Peterborough Folk Festival, 2007 – 2013
- Executive Director, Peterborough Folk Festival, 2006-2012
- Juror for the Juno Awards, FACTOR, East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, PEI Music Awards, Artsweek Peterborough, etc.
- Appointed to Advisory Committees such as the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport’s Live Music Working Group, the Toronto Live Music Initiative Committee, and the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Advisory Committee to the City of Peterborough
- Skilled at re-shaping events and venues to maximize impact
Communication
- Clear, concise writer and accurate editor
- Personable, socially outgoing and humorous speaker, presenter, or host
- Skilled critic, able to temper opinions
- Experienced in media relations, interviews, public speaking, and hosting
- Experienced in website and social media management, strong WordPress experience
Appearances
- Oakville Sun – Y U NO Women, JUNOS? (Interview embedded) – April 1, 2017
- Eric Roberts is the Fucking Man Podcast – Episode 4 – The King’s Guard (2000) and Witchblade S02E10 – March 7, 2017
Quoted in Media
- The Glove & Mail – Advocacy group keeps score of gender balance at Canadian music festivals – January 9, 2018
- Yahoo! Canada News – Canadian music festival criticized for lack of support for women, diverse artists – April 21, 2017
- Oakville Sun – Y U NO Women, JUNOS? (Interview embedded) – April 1, 2017
- NOW Magazine – Toronto music venue closures spark community concern – March 14, 2017
- The Globe and Mail – Older women embrace aging, fight against idea of ‘eternal youth’ – February 15, 2017
- CBC News – New initiative aims to fight sexual harassment at Toronto bars — through drink coasters – January 9, 2017
- Toronto Star – Millennials using Botox to stay young looking, plastic surgeons say – November 22, 2016
- The National Post – Lauren Pelley: The feminist cause was betrayed by white American women on Tuesday – November 10, 2016
- The Globe and Mail – Music festivals have a serious problem: They don’t book enough female acts – June 26, 2016
- Toronto Star – Beyoncé’s Lemonade drama — and why we always shame the ‘other woman’ – May 3, 2016
Published in Media
- Newcomer Bulletin – Canoe journey through waterways and lifeways – Winter 2012, P. 28
- Electric City Magazine – NXNE presents a sausagefest – June 13, 2016
- FYIMusicNews – International Women’s Day post – Candace Shaw’s Tips for Improvement – March 10, 2017
Work Experience
The Distillery Historic District starting February 2014 thedistillerydistrict.com Outdoor Events Coordinator
Coordinating all outdoor events in the historic district, including managing staff, stakeholder relationships, permits, administration and budgets, and resource management
- Researching, proposing, and managing new events
- Booking and promoting a weekly outdoor live music series – the Music City Summer Series
- Curating and managing the Distillery Sunday Market
- Managing and facilitating TV, Film, and photo shoots
- Marketing and Public Relations, including overseeing website and social media staff, redesigning the website, and creating and implementing social media marketing plans
- Toronto Christmas Market, SING! Vocal Arts Festival, TO 2015 Pan Am Torch Relay, CIBC PANAMANIA Live! (Pan Am cultural celebrations), TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Music City Summer Series, NHL World Cup of Hockey, Toronto Light Festival, and more
Toronto Christmas Market 2013 torontochristmasmarket.com Event and Site Manager
Working with the team, both with the Distillery District and JK Live Events, to coordinate and manage the Toronto Christmas Market, a 21-day event modelled after European Christmas markets, featuring live music, vendors, activities, and visits with Santa.
- Site management – responding to the needs of an event with 500,000 attendees annually
Harbourfront Centre 2013 harbourfrontcentre.com Artistic Associate
Working with the team in the Community and Educational Programming Department to deliver Harbourfront Centre’s festivals and events, including:
- Tirgan Festival – Lead Programmer working with a large team of volunteers and Harbourfront Centre staff to produce the largest Iranian festival in the world, with an estimated attendance of 130,000 over three days and 80+ performers
- TELUS TAIWANfest – Lead Programmer working with a team of staff and volunteers from the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association and Harbourfront Centre staff to produce the annual festival with an estimated attendance of 70,000
- The Redpath Waterfront Festival and Grand Opening of Ontario Square – Lead Programmer working with Harbourfront Centre staff to produce a two-day festival with an estimated attendance of 60,000
- The 8th Annual CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase – Working with a team of staff and volunteers and Harbourfront Centre staff to produce a ten-day festival of films from across the Caribbean diaspora.
- Assisting on other events including Lunarfest, Beat Nation, and Tango y Vino
- Creating plans for the 2014-2015 season of festivals and events
Peterborough Folk Festival 2006-2013 www.ptbofolkfest.ca Executive Director
- Coordinating and running a volunteer-run three-day folk festival which draws over 8,000 attendees annually
- Responsible for day-to-day operations and funding as well as artistic vision and long-term growth
- Increased funding by 40% in two years
- Re-branded the festival, restructured organization
- Also Artistic Director, 2006-2013
Secret Frequency 2006-2014 secretfrequency.ca Owner/Operator
Writing articles about arts and culture issues with a focus on music
- Creating websites for great artists
- Worked with singer/songwriter Dan Hill to establish an online brand and community supporting the release of the album ‘Intimate’ (distributed by Universal), the paperback ‘I Am My Father’s Son’ (Harper Collins), and ongoing touring
- Travelling to festivals, conferences, and events as an emcee, writer, and cultural commentator
The Canadian Canoe Museum 2010 – 2012 canoemuseum.ca Coordinator – Volunteers, Events, and Social Media
Recruiting, training, scheduling and managing a volunteer corps of 100+
- Managing and maintaining the museum’s blog and Social Media
- Coordinating and scheduling bookings of museum facilities for special events
- Planning and coordinating special events on behalf of the museum, such as VIP receptions, exhibit openings, and memorials
- Administration, grant-writing, managing budgets
National Canoe Day 2010 – 2012 nationalcanoeday.net Coordinator, National Canoe Day
Creating event plans, guides, and documents supporting the growth of National Canoe Day in Canada
- Coordinating efforts in conjunction with volunteers and Mountain Equipment Coop Staff to ensure a strong CCM/NCD presence at MEC Paddlefest events in Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver
- Coordinating and running the local National Canoe Day event annually around June 26
- Redesigning the website in anticipation of National Canoe Day’s fifth anniversary in 2012
Candace Shaw Digital Video 1999 – 2010 Owner/Operator
- Ongoing work on digital video; shooting and editing projects such as training videos, live concerts, mini documentaries, promotional videos, etc.
- Owner/Operator; bookkeeping, time management, customer service, billing, promotion
- Voice over, hosting, writing, subtitling
- Visit my Video page for a detailed list of projects and samples of my work
Arbor Theatre Company 2008 www.arbortheatre.com Marketing Consultant
- Marketing the 2008 season to elementary schools across Ontario
Peterborough Arts Umbrella 2005-2007 www.pauart.com Office Manager
Administration of the office, publication editor, accounts receivable
- Maintaining a professional face for for a multi-disciplinary community arts centre playing a key role in the region
- Training artists and consulting on projects, gallery management, sales and customer service, scheduling, communications
The Montreal House 2004-2005 www.themoho.ca Booker/Promoter
Creation of the five-nights-weekly MoHo Music Revue, showcasing the best in new independent music, revitalizing the music community in Peterborough and re-branding the Montreal House as a youth bar
- Increased bar revenues by 30%
- Promotions, artistic vision, public relations, website design
Trent University Audio-Visual Department 2002-2004 www.trentu.ca Technician/Editor
Production of multi-media presentations
- Training and facilitating media technology for students and teachers, including lighting for theatrical productions and set-up for conferences, presentations
- Digital Video shooting and editing for training videos
Lang Pioneer Village 2000-2002 www.langpioneervillage.ca Historical Interpreter
Speaking to large school groups and small private groups, explaining the history of the buildings, conservation, and giving context
- Demonstrating day-to-day activities of regular people in the 19th century
- Knowledge of 19th century crafts such as hearth baking and cooking, embroidery, butter-churning, spinning, candle-making
- Retail sales and customer service
B3 Productions 1999-2002 Production Manager, Writer, Actor, Co-Director, Host
Writing, editing, and re-writing a feature script
- Resource management and scheduling
- Managing a team of 10-20 actors and crew
- Miscellaneous tasks taken on as an integral part of a three-member team working on a micro-budget feature film
- Host and creator of web series ‘B3 World’
Humber College 1996-1997 www.humber.ca English Tutor
Proof-reading, editing, correcting, teaching
- Teaching students of all ages, and from all walks of life
- Teaching English as a Second Language students
Bryston Limited 1995-1996 www.bryston.com Electronics Assembler
Assembly of circuit boards
- Soldering
- Occasional office work, answering phones, data entry
4th Line Theatre 1994 www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca Actor
- Cast as Kathleen Collins in the 1994 re-mount of the wildly successful Cavan Blazers
- Working with fire, animals, babies and children in outdoor theatre