THE HEADWATERS ARTS FESTIVAL will continue into 2012 as a showcase for the rich and diverse arts and entertainment presence in our area. Among the artists is sculptor Marlene Hilton Moore whose creation, Listen to Hear, adorns the pond and waterfall outside the Alton Mill Arts Centre. Photo/DAN PELTON After a successful 2011, organizers of the annual Headwaters Arts Festival see the momentum continuing to build in 2012.

“2011 was one of the most successful Headwaters Arts Festivals,” said festival president Wayne Baguley. “We launched a new Art Ball fundraiser dinner, in which we honoured David and Shelley Peterson. It was a sold-out event.”

The Headwaters Arts opening Gala show and sale at the Caledon SGI Centre both enjoyed a substanial increase in sales from the previous year.

As well, Authors Night and Monday Night at the Movies were also sold out events.

“I believe the 2012 HA Festival will be bigger than ever,” predicted Mr. Baguley. “We will hold our second annual Art Ball. The opening Gala Headwaters Arts Festival Night will feature a 40 Artists juried show, as well as a number of surprises.”

The 2012 season will also feature the popular Chefs' Challenge, as well as Kids’Fest events and the Shining Stars competition for dance and music.

“We will be presenting three Headwaters Arts Youth Scholarships,” said Mr. Baguley. They are the Paul Burdette Visual Arts Award, the Dan Hill Music Award and, for the first time, the Shelley Peterson Literary Award.

The Headwaters Arts Festival features many different events and open studios throughout the hills of Headwaters. Information, up-to-the-minute details and promotions will be added to the festival website at www.HeadwatersArtsFestival.com as they become confirmed.

Headwaters Arts can also be contacted at 519-943-1149 for information.

Also on the 2012 calendar will be a luncheon featuring Dr. Lance Secretan as the guest speaker.

Dr. Secretan, considered one of the nation's top 10 speakers, was chosen by Successful Meetings magazine as one of the “top 21 speakers entering the 21st century.”

Leadership Excellence has ranked him among the top 100 most influential thinkers on leadership in the world. In 2010, he was ranked among the top five leadership speakers in America.

Festival organizers say he will take the audience on “an invigorating, radical and inspiring journey, in which he challenges the very idea of a discipline called "leadership" and proposes, instead, that they first learn how to become in spired.

According to Dr. Secretan, the initial inspiration is “The Spark,” which leads to inspiring others, (The Flame) and creates a legacy (The Torch).

Dr. Secretan will share wisdom gleaned from 35 years of research, teaching and working with leaders on a global scale.

Among clients he has mentored and consulted are 30 of Fortune's Most Admired Companies and 12 of Fortune's Best Companies to Work for in America.

Perhaps, most important, is that Dr. Secretan is donating his time to give this 90- minute luncheon lecture to raise money for Headwaters Arts.

The luncheon takes place May 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Best Western Inn & Suites in Orangeville. Tickets are $45 and on sale at BookLore or at www.headwatersartsfestival.com.