Bike Arch Installation at Revelstoke Edition of BC Culture Days, 2018. Photo by Rob Buchanan.
With BC Culture Days just around the corner, there are tons of exciting events and activities to take part in across the Lower Mainland.
This year, the province-wide arts and culture celebration is highlighting the wonderful links between artistic expression and multiple aspects of well-being, including community involvement, physical health, and social happiness. The 10 ambassadors selected this year include 5 emerging artists from the Lower Mainland: Tiffany Blaise (Vancouver), Alyssa Harms-Wiebe (Vancouver), Julian Legere (New Westminster), Olivier Salvas (Vancouver), and Emily Shin (Richmond).
Here are 5 events happening during BC Culture Days to get you feeling more creative and happier:
After a kick-off for the province in Mission at the Heritage Park Centre on September 22, 2019, from 1pm to 3pm, BC Culture Days will occur from September 27 to 29, 2019. The list of events and activities is dizzying, showcasing the rich arts and culture landscape of this province.
Dancing at Port Moody edition of BC Culture Days, 2015. Photo by Bob Homer
1) During Learn Haida Art with Artist Shoshannah Greene (September 29, 2019, 10am to 11:30am, Skwachàys Lodge, 31 West Pender Street, free), participants will learn and make art with Greene, whose creative work, now produced through digital means, explores the holistic and nurturing connection between the spiritual and natural worlds.
2) Alyssa Harms-Wiebe, one of this year’s ambassadors, has created A Poetic Landscape (September 28 at noon to September 29 at 6pm, Learners’ Walk, Library Garden, 1985 Learners’ Walk, UBC, free), a park installation that will encourage visitors to read her poetry on landscape, to reflect on the natural world, and then compose their own textual creations (poems or otherwise) that they can add to a poe-tree display. As an arts educator, writer, and eco-artist, Harms-Wiebe aims to initiative a community conversation on and with nature.
3) An Improvisational Movement Workshop (September 28, 2019, 11:30am to 12:30pm, Studio 700, CBC Vancouver Plaza, 700 Hamilton Street, free) will be led by Isak Enquist, a professional dancer who has been exploring how improvisational movement can foster connections between people. The workshop will celebrate and explore the bodily movements of everyone who attends, inclusive of all abilities and backgrounds/histories.
4) Vancouver Puppet Theatre (September 29, 2019, 11:30am to 12:30pm, CBC Plaza, 700 Hamilton Street, free) is an event that is bound to entertain and charm the kids and the kid in you. The show, entitled “Baba Yaga and the Black Flower,” takes its inspiration from Eastern European folklore.
5) Who doesn’t love a Public Disco Party in a Laneway (September 29, 2019, 2pm to 10pm, Alley Oop, 688 West Hastings Street)? Get your dancing queen on as you also browse the vendor market and enjoy the patio bar.
These 5 events are just a small fraction of the plethora of creative and artistic events happening throughout BC Culture Days. There’s definitely something for everyone! Further information can be found on-line.
Drumming at Kamloops Edition of BC Culture Days, 2015. Photo by Lori Jantz
