Ontario Culture Days ready to celebrate local arts and heritage

The Sault has been named one of the province’s ten hub cities for this year’s Ontario Culture Days.

From Sept. 23 to Oct. 16, the annual festival will provide residents with the opportunity to celebrate local arts, heritage, and community spirit through a number of fun and educational events around town.

Cultural events taking place in the Sault will range in variety, from a feather wrapping workshop at the Art Gallery, to a behind-the-scenes presentation of aviation history at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre.

Ontario Culture Days programs and operations coordinator Nawal Salim is excited to share their diverse events lineup with residents and tourists alike.

“We want to showcase the vibrancy of our province, and we want people to get back out there and connect with each other through arts and culture,” she says. “One of our priorities is also tourism and getting people to explore Ontario besides the GTA.”

Featuring close to 30 events in the Sault, Ontario Culture Days aims to stimulate the public’s appreciation of arts and culture through interactive and meaningful programming – locally and provincially.

This year, the festival will also align with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.

Among the Sault’s Indigenous-focused workshops includes 'Project Nishin Niizh' by Sarah Gartshore and Adam Francis Proulx. The pair will be working with Indigenous youth and elders on creative works at the museum on Oct. 1.

“Highlighting Indigenous communities plays a significant role in Ontario Culture Days,” Salim says. “It’s a beautiful opportunity for people to learn and appreciate Indigenous arts and culture which is inherently rooted in who we are as Ontarians and Canadians.”

Admission to each event is free, while donations are also appreciated.

For a full schedule of upcoming events in the Sault, visit the Ontario Culture Days website here.