BC Culture Days is offering free pay-what-you-may activities across the province. This year the official 2023 BC Culture Days launch will showcase the province’s north Cariboo region with Quesnel as this year’s host city.
The day will begin with opening prayers and welcomes from local Indigenous Elders and dignitaries, followed by musical performances from regional bands and performers.
Led by the Quesnel and District Community Arts Council, the Quesnel Culture Days Provincial Kick- Off Event will happen at Spirit Square (246 St Laurent Ave, Quesnel, BC) on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. for a full day of stage entertainment, artist presentations, food, art activities, and more.
There will be over 350 events across 50 communities planned between Sept. 22 to Oct. 15 and this year the focus is on B.C. based emerging artists who are dedicated to making art that is accessible, approachable, and inclusive to all.
Ten BC Culture Days ambassadors have been selected to host public activities during Culture Days.
Guided by the theme of AIR (access, inclusion, and resilience), each ambassador will present low-barrier and accessibility-focused events in their local areas.
In Quensel, Métis artist Natasha Lepine, who was born in Wells, will be sharing her love for nature and creativity by guiding participants on a short and accessible 500m nature walk at Fuel Management Trails, followed by a workshop: Observing with Intent: Channeling Nature into Art.
The walk will take place on Sunday Oct. 1 from 1 to 3 p.m.
During the nature walk, Lepine will gladly share ways that she observes nature for the purpose of her artwork. After the walk is complete, attendees will return to the parking lot for the Fuel Management Trails, where booths will be set up with art supplies to be used by everyone, channeling what they've learnt and observed into pieces of art.
Then in Prince George, Cherie Chai, who is the founder of Speak Write Academy, will be highlighting the ancient Asian art form of shadow puppetry, her Shadow Puppet Language Workshop, at the Prince George Library.
The workshop will take place Saturday Sept. 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants will learn how to make their own shadow puppets using simple, eco-friendly and vegan materials, learn how to storyboard and make puppet characters come alive with musical accompaniment behind a shadow puppet screen.
Participants will also be given the opportunity to learn different languages such as Dakelh, French, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Hindi and Farsi, and to use the different languages in storyboarding and shadow puppet performances.
