On Thursday, November 7, 2013, the Ontario Museums Association presented the 2013 Awards of Excellence at the Markham Museum with the Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport in attendance.
Each year the OMA presents Awards of Excellence to recognize outstanding contributions to the Ontario museum community. Recognizing excellence in programs, the Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum was awarded an Honourable Mention for its "Beyond the Bomb: Music of the Cold War" program, a partnership with Ottawa's Music & Beyond Festival.
"On July 11, 2012, one of Canada's major cultural festivals, Music & Beyond, teamed up with one of the country's most unique and fascinating historical attractions, the Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum, to present an evening that captivated the public's imagination and went far beyond the reach of the two organizations combined. An evening called Beyond the Bomb: Music of the Cold War presented over 75 short concerts in 15 locations throughout the four levels of the Diefenbunker. It was unquestionably one of the big hits of the summer festival season and is arguably the most intriguing and creative event in a classical music festival in Ottawa. The goal was to bring to life a wide range of musical repertoire created during the Cold War by presenting it in a venue that immediately displayed the historical context of this music. As an added bonus, Beyond the Bomb: Music of the Cold War was a tremendous party that yielded an overwhelmingly positive response from all who attended. Many people called it one of the most fascinating and enjoyable events they had ever experienced. People flocked to the Diefenbunker to be part of this evening. Because both the Diefenbunker and Music & Beyond are unique in the world, this special event was an intriguing discovery for out-of-town visitors, with an out-of-town attendance at 17.2%. Festival attendees regularly selected Beyond the Bomb: Music of the Cold War as one of the highlights of their festival experience.
As a community museum in a rural area west of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker also made its mark by bringing high caliber performances to an area that receives few such events. Local visitors were thrilled that the museum had taken this bold step, and the museum received very positive feedback from community members, including former employees of the facility and the founders of the museum, who were very excited to see the new directions that the museum was taking in programming. The local community acknowledged the tremendous national and international profile this event would generate and contributed over $10,000 in food and drink to make it a truly festive party evening. Music scholars from around the world heard about the event and were extremely helpful in suggesting repertoire and insight into the implications of the Cold War on culture. This event did a great deal to raise the City of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker Museum, and Music & Beyond onto an exciting new level in the arts, music, heritage and cultural scene."
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