The Weyburn Arts Community took part in the Wheatfest over the weekend as people sang, acted and had their works displayed.

"Art is important to the culture of a community, what kind of art and how the community supports art, says a lot about the community," said Heather van der Breggen, Weyburn Artist and former chair and member of the Arts Council.

There has been a notable increase observed by van der Breggen, in people taking part in opportunities to express and display their creativity.

"I moved to Weyburn from Calgary in 2001. The (Art) Gallery is a nationally accredited gallery and gets traveling shows but there wasn't a lot of time for local artists, and so I was involved in the Arts Council for six years and really that was my focus. It was to organize it and have policy manuals and what not, but to also really honor our local people and get them a place to display and get out there and get doing stuff like that."

She said that it used to be, that there wasn't really a place for Weyburn artists to display or sell their work but now there are some local businesses where this has been made possible.

"For people coming through town there just wasn't that, and I really felt there was a need for that and for live music and live music to be paid for," she said.

Van der Breggen recognizes a need for all people to release their creativity.

"It's not just for people who "do art" or interested in art. its all of us! You know the joy we had as a kid to dance, and sing and paint, and play with clay? Somehow we squash that by the time we are adults and we still need that joy in our lives," she explained.

"We don't have to all be an artist and sell work. There are so many people that think they are not creative but if you are a problem solver you are creative," she added.

Van der Breggen continued to explain that being creative is an important part of daily life.

"We talk about fitness and we need to be walking and eating right, well we also need to be allowing our creative self to come to the surface and it's not necessarily to be a musician or a painter or a sculptor or whatever, just allow ourselves to play."

Go to Weyburn Arts Council site for more information on how to get involved in being creative.