Culture Days art program 'reimagines' Sault landmarks, surroundings

As a part of Culture Days 2021, The Sault Ste. Marie Public Library is hosting a four-week online art program starting on Sept. 28 for children of all ages, free of charge. 

Culture Days is a Canada-wide festival that celebrates arts and culture with programming in a variety of fields including visual arts, dance, theatre, music, history, culinary arts, crafts and storytelling. 

“We have a lot of kids already registered for it since registration has already begun, but they can continue registering all throughout the program,” said Ann Gordanier, children’s library clerk at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library. 

Kids that register will be emailed a PDF lesson of art techniques and a template that they can use to complete each composition. They will have one week to submit a photo of their artwork. After the program, the compositions will be combined to create a collaborative art collage that will be displayed in the Sault Ste Marie Public Library's Children's Department. 

“The theme of Culture Days this year is ‘RE:IMAGINEd’ so our techniques will be reimagining what we have here in the city,” Gordanier said. "For example, our second lesson is on the Ermatinger Old Stone House, and we’re encouraging the artists to try a new technique and create it in the style of Andy Warhol. So they will be given four panels of the Ermatinger and they can use crayons, paint, markers, and younger children can even use yogurt or food colouring.”

“My goal is to encourage children to try new artistic techniques. Art is a way to express yourself and a way to tap into your creative spirit. One of the things I love about watching children do art is that they become lost in the process,” Gordanier said. 

Each week there will be a different art project for the children to complete. Week one will be the northern lights, week two will be the Ermatinger reimagined, week three will be “waves” where children can express how they see water, and week four will be based on outside art. 

“For the last lesson they can just use found items to create an art tableau – leaves, sticks, flowers, anything they can find. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see what the kids come up with,” she said. “Hopefully it will foster their love of art and they’ll tap into their creative spirit.”

This is the second time the library will be hosting an online art program for kids. 

“We tried the online art lessons in the spring and it was a very big success. So this is our second go at it and we’re hoping for an even bigger turn out,” Gordanier said. “We had a lot of positive feedback last time from parents and children alike. A lot of parents even tried the lessons.”

Participants can also choose to join for just one of the weeks or all four. 

“This is 100 per cent a no pressure program and it’s completely free,” she said. “I just want them to start creating and try some new techniques and just explore art.”

If your child is interested in being a part of this online art program, you can register online by visiting the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library’s children’s programming website.

Energy Literacy Webinar Series

Sept. 22

The City of Sault Ste. Marie, in partnership with Garden River First Nation, is set to deliver a four-part energy literacy webinar series called. The first webinar will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 22 from 10 to 11 a.m. and is part of Garden River’s Indigenous Community Energy Plan and the city’s Community Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan for 2020 - 2030. If you’re interested in joining the webinar, you can register online. 

Friday Fright: Haunted Hikes at Hiawatha

Sept. 24 - Oct. 29

Be prepared to get spooked with these haunted evening hikes at Hiawatha every Friday until the end of October. Guides will tell stories of ghost towns, shipwrecks, graveyards and more during the 3 hour, 5 kilometre hike. A minimum of two people per group is required, with cost being $30 per person. A waiver and participant registration must be completed before the hike.

Big Blue Food Drive

Sept. 25

St. Vincent Place will be holding their 11th annual Big Blue Food Drive this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. To help out the shelter, simply place your nonperishable donations at your curb by 10 a.m. on Saturday and volunteers will collect them. For inquiries about volunteering, message St. Vincent Place on Facebook, send an email, or call 705-253-2770. 

Fall Rendezvous

Sept. 24-25

Watch as history is brought to life with Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site’s Fall Rendezvous. The free event will run from Sept. 22-25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. There will be historical weapons, multi-cultural performances and talks. Optional pay-what-you-can donations will be accepted.

Have an event coming up? Add it to our Community Calendar here.

Did we miss something? E-mail us at news@sootoday.com