So far there are seven events lined up in Williams Lake for this year’s Culture Days Sept. 26 to 28.
Culture Days are celebrated across Canada and feature free participatory and interactive arts and cultural activities presented by individual artists, groups, organizations, municipalities, and festival organizations.
Several noted local authors will be hosting a writing workshop at the arts centre titled The Writing Life: Words of Experience from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre next to city hall.
Meet with and hear from four successful authors about the writing process, editing, and publishing. Authors Donna Milner, Chris Czajkowski, Christian Petersen, and Sage Birchwater will share their experiences and writing tips.
Then from 1 to 2:30 p.m. the public is invited to drop in at the centre to visit with these authors and others who may join them. Birchwater, Czajkowski, Petersen, and Milner have each published at least two books and live in the Cariboo-Chilcotin. They will present informal readings from their work, answering questions, chat about writing, and sign their books for visitors.
The Williams Lake Spinners and Weavers will open their studio in the arts centre Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon for people to come and try out the spinning wheels, observe how weaving looms are used, spin the carding brushes and learn more about the ancient craft of spinning and weaving.
The GadZukes Ukulele group will hold a beginner’s ukulele workshop at the arts centre on Sunday, Sept. 28 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Bring your own ukulele or come and use one of the 24 ukuleles supplied by the instructors and learn to play. The workshop is open to anyone ages 10 and up. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. To register and secure your ukulele for the event call Pam at 250-398-7789.
The Studio Theatre invites the public to come out and observe and learn what happens behind the scenes of a play in rehearsal on Sunday, Sept. 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. Curt Sprickerhoff will open up the Sunday rehearsal of the next play The 39 Steps for families and individuals to see what it takes to create a great play in our community.
This month the main gallery of the Station House hosts the art show Coastal Perspectives featuring some unique paintings and works in clay by Bella Coola Valley artists, Theresa Bagshaw, Kathleen Booth, and Ernest Hall.
The upper gallery features a group show, The Art of Reconciliation, sponsored by the Orange Shirt Committee, which explores the topic of reconciliation.
The gallery hours for Culture Days are Friday, Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The fifth annual Culture Days will be celebrated in hundreds of cities and towns across Canada. More than 350 activities are scheduled across B.C., with programming representing all disciplines and cultural interests, including visual arts, music, dance, theatre, architecture, heritage, film and video, literature, culinary arts, and new media.
“Culture Days is an opportunity to showcase the enormous talent and creativity that exists across our province.
“From street art to high art, pop culture to traditional culture, Culture Days is an opportunity for people to engage and interact with art and artists in a different way,” says Rob Gloor, executive director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture and chair of the BC Culture Days task force.
“I encourage everyone to express their love of culture by taking in some of the fantastic free activities on offer.”
Check out http://bc.culturedays.ca/en/media/key-release-regional-highlights/cariboo-chilcotin for more information.