Come celebrate and experience Culture Days in the City of St. Catharines. Each year for Culture Days you can attend free live and virtual performances, workshops and events that showcase the unique art and culture in our community, providing fun for all ages.
About Culture Days
Culture Days is celebrated across Canada and represents the largest public participation campaign supported by the arts and cultural community in Canada.
Culture Days 2023 is scheduled to take place Sept. 22 to Oct. 15.
Culture Days 2022
Culture Days 2022 was held in St. Catharines from Sept. 23 to Oct. 16. Each year, Culture Days recognizes communities across Canada for their dedication and efforts with the Top Participating Communities list. For the first time, the list encompasses and denotes both in-person and online events, and St. Catharines is featured on both! View the full list of Top Participating Communities here.
For a list of Culture Days activities that were City-supported in 2022, please click on the boxes below.
Please visit culturedays.ca for additional recordings of free workshops, activities and performances you can engage with at home.
| Weekend 1 - Sept. 23 to 25 |
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Friday, Sept. 23
Come and join artists, Councillors and City staff to raise the Culture Days flag and help us kick off 3 full weeks of free arts and culture events in St. Catharines.
This year’s theme provides a platform for local artists to consider how their art making practice assists in the process of self-discovery, connecting to oneself on a deeper level while engaging with other diverse ways of seeing and being. The chosen artists have expressed their thoughts through a variety of artistic mediums, such as textiles, photographs and paint. The ten featured artists include Wen Anderson Breedveld, Trish Crawford, Marjorie Dorant, Geoff Farnsworth, Mike Gagnon, Ariadni Harper, Rajshree Jena, Jooyoung Jeon, Chris Liszak and Azadeh Monzavi. Visit stcatharines.ca/exhibits for more information.
This concert features classical guitar music inspired by nature, ranging through five centuries and six continents. From a frog in 16th century England, through Canadian landscapes, Indigenous villages of Venezuela, and the Mara ecosystem in Kenya, these compositions vary in style, but the composers' fascination with nature remains unaffected through time and space. Stay for a Q and A following the concert, where the artist will demonstrate how musical patterns change depending on cultural and historical context.
Crayon Mania will explore this wonderful media with different applications. Participants will draw and colour an autumn tree on paper and design with fabric crayons on a canvas bag. The artist will demonstrate techniques such as grating, melting, and scratching. Crayons are not just for colouring! Pre-register for this event.
The Drama Garden is an original promenade-style theatre experience throughout Jaycee Gardens Park. Culture Days attendees will stop at stations along the paved pathways and engage with a series of short live performances or be led through a participatory activity. |
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Weekend 2 - Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 |
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Saturday, Oct. 1
The City of St. Catharines' Older Adult Centre Art Show and Sale will take place at the Dunlop Drive Older Adult Centre. Browse a selection of art works, prints, and cards available for sale and see the brand new community-initiated art work recently installed on the exterior of the Older Adult Centre. This series of eight paintings tells a story of key landmarks in St. Catharines and the Niagara Region. Artists will be on site to chat about their work.
Saturday, Oct. 1
Sending a postcard is a unique way to reach out to friends, family and even strangers. Create your own postcard in the style of artist, Sonia Delaunay. We will be exploring how she used colour and how it can be a tool to create positive, life affirming art.
Join local artists Jana and Michelle for a hands-on mixed media painting workshop. We will experiment with collage, texture, and painting techniques using traditional tools and found objects. Participants will leave with their masterpiece and several new painting techniques to try at home.
Mixed Media Masterpiece
Join local artists Jana and Michelle for a hands-on mixed media painting activity. We will experiment with collage, texture and painting techniques using found objects. Together we will nurture curiosity and critical thinking in the collaborative art making process. Participants will leave with their masterpiece and the confidence to make more creations at home together.
Help us Rewrite a Foster Scene! Shh...don't tell Norm. We invite you to join us for a theatre game called Mad Libs! Foster Festival artists will ask audiences to call out a noun, adjective, pronoun, etc., which they will then insert into a Foster scene to "fill in the blanks." Once all the words are collected, the actors will then perform the scene as newly written by you!
This workshop is based on an ancient art form and practice in India, which is used to enhance positivity. Participants will be able to understand the technique by using simple geometry lines and colourful art in a mindful state. No prior experience required! |
| Weekend 3 - Oct. 7 to 9 |
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Friday, Oct. 7
This large scale chalk board activity encourages participants to engage their whole body in a fun and freeing art making experience. Both hands move together at the same time to create unique art pieces using coloured chalk. Use the full length of your arms and engage your whole body to create intuitively. Try it first using coloured oil pastels on paper then move to the larger scale for the full body experience. Take a photo with /of your art before it's erased!
Join local artists Michelle and Jana on a printmaking exploration. Explore both traditional printmaking equipment and techniques as well as how you can use everyday items you may have at home to make beautiful art. Participants will explore both linoleum carving to make a re-useable stamp and mono-printing using gelli plates. At the end of this workshop we will have created multiple printed masterpieces that are ready to frame or incorporate into other projects! All materials provided. Participants are encouraged to wear clothing conducive to creative messes / bring your own apron. Pre-register for this event.
Join local artists Michelle and Jana as we experiment and print it! The artists will facilitate multiple activity stations where you can collaborate and explore a variety of printmaking tools and techniques. At the end of this workshop you will have created multiple printed masterpieces that are ready to frame or add into your other art projects! All materials provided. Participants are encouraged to wear clothing conducive to creative messes / bring your own apron. Saturday, Oct. 8
“Canadian Meets Mexican Piano Music” is a concert and lecture. Featuring master piano pieces of iconic composers from Canada and Mexico, the pianist will note contrasts and similarities in the music styles from both countries across music history. Programs will be available for participants, and a Q and A, hosted by pianist Luis Molina, will follow the concert.
Sunday, Oct. 9
Open Mic is open to all ages! Come join in the fun and perform a song or two or three. Bring your instrument of choice or use our complimentary Taylor Guitar and we will do the rest. Solo, duo or bands welcome. Stand-up comedians and poets are also welcome. Join in the fun! |
| Weekend 4 - Oct. 14 to 16 |
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Saturday, Oct. 15
Would you like to ground yourself in a positive mode? Are you interested in building rewarding relationships with others? Are you keen on leading a meaningful and happy life? Join this workshop to explore simple, new, and fun mixed media techniques to develop your gratitude art journal that will help you be mindful, enjoy more, and inspire others! Pre-register for this event.
"Kaleidoscope Chamber Music" features various chamber music group configurations. These different configurations will illustrate the nature of the instruments and details about the music performed with them, such as the composer, style, and time period the music was written. Music performance and interaction with the audience are part of the event.
Led by artist Janice Low, the Winter Landscape painting activity is a visual arts, hands on, family friendly painting experience. Participants will have the opportunity to create a winter scene on a small canvas board with lots of visual references. Support will be provided with picture composition, mixing and using acrylic paints. This activity can be adapted to the age and ability of participants to provide an enjoyable experience. Each 45-minute session will have limited number of participants. |
How to apply to host a Culture Days activity
If you are an artist, business or organization interested in running an activity or event for Culture Days, you can apply for our Culture Days Activity Program funding through St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program (SCCIP). Applications are closed for 2022 but will open for Culture Days 2023 early in the new year.