Three weeks of celebration will be taking place for arts and culture in the community.
BC Culture Days is returning on Friday, Sept. 22, with activities taking place across Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
The three week event is held across the country to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation, and engagement of individuals in the arts and cultural life of their communities. Organizations and artists across the province provide free, or pay what you can, hands-on, and interactive arts and culture programming for everyone.
“Numerous municipal and arts organizations have dedicated extensive effort to create Culture Days hubs tailored to their audiences and communities,” said Nazanin Shoja, BC Culture Days program director.
“We’re delighted to witness a rise in registered new hubs and events throughout Metro Vancouver, and we’re especially delighted that Lillooet is joining in for the first time, bringing an exhilarating range of activities,” said Shoja.
Artists of all ages are being asked to celebrate Culture Days by painting a masterpiece on a tiny – three inch by three inch – canvas that can be picked up at the Maple Ridge Public Library starting on Thursday, Sept. 21. Finished works should be dropped off before Thursday, Oct. 5, and will be displayed in the Maple Ridge Public Library’s Tiny Art Show from Friday, Oct. 6, to Sunday, Oct. 15. Canvases will be available while supplies last. The library is located at 22470 Dewdney Trunk Road. For more information contact Liza Morris at 604-467-7417 or email: liza.morris@fvrl.bc.ca.
Explore Métis culture through floral painting at the Albion Community Centre from 10-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
During the workshop participants will create their own floral painted design using a Métis dotting technique to represent beads – a skill that takes both time and patience.
To register go to mapleridge.ca/1484.
For more information contact Jocelyn McIntosh at jmcintosh42@gmail.com.
The Alouette River Management Society will be hosting the 30th annual Rivers Day event, in conjunction with BC Rivers Day and World Rivers Day events held on the fourth Sunday in September every year.
There will be interactive environmental displays, live music, face painting, carnival games and live northern spotted owls on site.
The event runs from 10:30-2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, at Allco Park, 24959 Alouette Rd, Maple Ridge.
For more information contact Sophie Sparrow at 604-467-6401 or email: sophie@alouetteriver.org.
Pitt Meadows Museum will be hosting a drop-in craft from 1-4 p.m. each Sunday of Culture Days, with the exception of Oct. 8, as they are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Sunday, Sept. 24 the craft is called Tree Ring Prints and Animatron Bugs, on Oct. 1 participants will make a ship in a bottle, and on Oct. 15, the craft will be animal biomes.
Pitt Meadows Museum and Archives is located at 12294 Harris Road.
For more information contact Leslie Norman at pittmeadowsmuseum@telus.net.
Graham Myers and Russ Brummer will be guiding participants through an improv theatre workshop that will focus on topics like stage skills, short-form games, character work, long-form techniques, and more. Improv is a theatrical art form where performers do not use a script, all the while supporting their fellow performers, and connecting with the audience.
The instructors are from Improv Theatre, a group of improvisational performers and teachers based in the Lower Mainland. The workshop is for those 19 years and older and is free or by donation and will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. on Monday Sept. 25, at the Albion Community Centre, 24165 104 Ave. in Maple Ridge.
For more information contact Mikaela at improvtheatre.haha@gmail.com.
Those at Haney House will be able to celebrate the harvest and the apple growing history of Maple Ridge. There will be apple samples from the apple orchard at Haney House, apple cider, crafts, and games.
The Apple Harvest Festival runs from 11-2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, at Haney House, 22520 116 Ave., Maple Ridge.
For more information call Abby at 604-463-5311 or email: mrmuseum@gmail.com.
A special story time session will be held at the Albion Community Centre, 24165 104 Ave., in Maple Ridge.
Enjoy interactive stories, songs, rhymes, and more, from 10:30-11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 6.
For more information contact Liza Morris, 604-467-7417 or email: liza.morris@fvrl.bc.ca.
Join staff at the ACT Arts Centre to create art with a printmaking technique using silicone printing plates, where layers of paint and plants are applied to a jellied surface to create mesmerizing images. The arts centre advises the technique is fast, easy, and a lot of fun.
The workshop is inspired by their latest gallery exhibition, Lessons from a Living World, which brings together five artists – Cherry Archer, Clyde Richard Brittain, Phyllis Atkins, Shawna Davis, and Zuzana Vasko – whose work all share the common thread of the visual details of nature mixed with the entangled connections between living beings. The exhibition will be open to the public from 10-4 p.m., the same day as the workshop, which takes place from 10-2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the lobby at 11944 Haney Place, Maple Ridge.
For more information contact Philippa Glossop, 604-476-2787 or email: philippag@mract.org.
Finally, from 11-3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, join local artists from the Arts Studio Tour and Whonnock Weavers and Spinners as they demonstrate their skills and discuss their work in the foyer of the Maple Ridge Public Library, 22470 Dewdney Trunk Road.
Again, contact Liza Morris, community librarian supervisor, for more information, 604-467-7417.
Culture Days is celebrated across Metro Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky corridor from Sept. 22 to Oct. 15, with activities in Vancouver, the North Shore, Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby, Delta, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, White Rock, and Lillooet.
All events are free, or Pay-What-You-May when indicated, and are mostly suitable for all ages, with some indicating they are adults only.
The goal of Culture Days is to raise awareness, accessibility, participation, and engagement of individuals in the arts and cultural life of their communities across the country.
Registration for Culture Days remains open until the beginning of Culture Days on Sept. 22—regional artists and organizations are encouraged to sign up and participate by registering their low-barrier arts and culture events.
More than 400 events will be taking place, so far, across 50 communities across the province.
For the latest news, added events, and registration information, go to: culturedays.ca or follow @BCCultureDays on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter).