A familiar face has been named the new executive director at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre. 

Sarah Simison started her new role at the Cultural Centre on June 6 after spending the past 12 years with the Saskatchewan Festival of Words. 

Simison started as the operations coordinator for the Festival of Words back in 2010, before becoming the executive director in 2015. 

“Sarah brings a wealth of experience from her years working for the Festival of Words and her vision for the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre makes us very excited for the future of our organization,” said Cultural Centre Board Chair Jarrod Jeanson. 

Simison will still be involved with the Festival of Words as their managing artistic director, while Amanda Farnel has been promoted to operations manager. 

She said making the decision to step back from the Festival of Words for her new role was difficult. 

“I love the festival and I've been so dedicated to it for so many years and it's a very healthy, happy organization,” Simison said.  

“But, starting somewhere different and being able to try something new is really exciting as well. Being in the building for 12 years, I've always had different dreams about what I would like to see here.” 

When the Cultural Centre found itself without an executive director in May, Simison was called in to fill the position on an interim basis and this month she officially took over the title. 

As for the future of the Cultural Centre, Simison says she’s hoping to see the building evolve to include art classes, workshops and potential writers and artists in residence. 

“This is a very big building with a lot of space and I would love to see it filled with more artists, more programs, so more of a community art centre in terms of getting more people through the door,” she said. 

The Cultural Centre has a number of exciting events coming up. The Saskatchewan Festival of Words will be running from July 14 to 17. During Sidewalk Days, they will be hosting an open house where the public will be given tours of the building and the Mae Wilson Theatre. 

“It blows my mind how many people I meet in the community that are like, whoa, I had no idea this theatre was so beautiful. I've never been here before, so you can come in and look around. It's just the most beautiful theatre,” Simison said. 

You can see the whole list of events at www.moosejawculture.ca.