Get ready to celebrate and immerse yourself in our local culture through Oakville Culture Days 2023!
Beginning Sept. 22 and running until Oct. 15, 2023, there will be nearly 100 local events in Oakville as part of the province-wide Culture Days program.
"Culture Days is returning with the opportunity to explore creativity, share artistic expression and celebrate what makes Oakville a vibrant and special community," leads the program lineup announcement from town staff.
The town of Oakville and local artists, creators, and community members are, "excited to offer free programs and activities across Oakville."
Oakville is part of the Halton Festival Hub in logging events across Ontario, with five sub-areas each featuring events and activities over the program's nearly three and a half weeks. These are the designated event hubs for 2023 offering a variety of activities throughout the festival:
- Iroquois Ridge Community Centre/North Hub
- Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts/Central Southeast Hub
- Oakville Museum/Southeast Hub
- Queen Elizabeth Community and Cultural Centre/Southwest Hub
- The Crossing: Community Heritage Day
"Our Culture staff and community groups are looking forward to showcasing our arts and culture scene!" says Julie Mitchell, Director of Recreation and Culture.
"We hope you’ll join us and see everything Culture Days has to offer! There are nearly 100 new and different experiences for attendees of all ages and our hope is that these events will spark new passions and interests."
Oakville's Event Highlights for 2023:
- Watch singer/songwriter and inspirational speaker Lacey Hill perform at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30 from 8 to 10 p.m. You can visit the Oakville Centre website for complimentary tickets.
- Celebrate Indigenous heritage and culture while creating a visual reminder to recognize and honour the past by participating in a Moccasin Identifier activity at Knox Presbyterian Church Sixteen, 1150 Dundas Street, on September 23 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and at Centennial Square, 120 Navy Street, on September 30 from 7 to p.m.
- Watch From Flute to Tuba: An Interactive Exploration of Music Instruments on October 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. and Music Connect with Yuan Yin Group from 7 to 8 p.m. Both community group performances take place at the Oakville Centre.
- Visit a new mural created by illustrator and designer Ning Yang at River Oaks Community Centre, 2400 Sixth Line. Ning is a participant of the CreateSpace Public Art Residency in partnership with the Town of Oakville this year.
- Take in the World of Threads Festival, which returns to Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (QEPCCC), 2302 Bridge Road, on October 10. The festival is an international showcase of contemporary fibre and textile art.
- Participate in Art Swap: Portraits for Community Love with Artist Yen Linh Thai on October 14 at QEPCCC from 1 to 4 p.m.
- Visit Connextions, an exhibition showcasing temporary public artworks on prominent windows at recreation facilities in each ward to build community spirit and celebrate community.
What does home mean to you?
New to Culture Days in Oakville this year will be #APlaceICallHomeHalton, a "participatory community art project led by hybrid media artist Faisal Anwar."
Residents are being invited to think about what home means to them. You can participate by sharing an image and tagging @aplaceicallhomeproject on Instagram, using the hashtag #APlaceICallHomeHalton or sending visuals to the @townofoakville Instagram account through in a direct message.
Images will be reposted as part of a growing archive that will form, as Anwar describes, "a collective memory of what home means to Halton residents." The visual content will also be added to a large-scale installation of photographs in motion, projected in various locations in Oakville and Halton during Culture Days.
Oakville remains a flagship hub for Culture in Canada
Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture that invites the public to get hands-on and behind-the-scenes to experience the importance of arts and cultures in our communities for free.
Last year, Oakville ranked No.1 in the Culture Days 2022 Top Participating Communities Listing and was also ranked among the top 5 Digital Champions. For the past 11 years, Oakville’s Culture Days celebrations have ranked in the top 10 cities and towns in Ontario.
The first Ontario Culture Days festival was in 2010, and for the first 10 years, the festival was held over one exciting weekend. In 2022, there were more than 3,000 events across Canada over three weeks in 300 communities. More than 3.8 million people (almost 10% of the Canadian population) participated.
For a complete list of free programs and events, visit the town's Culture Days page or search "Oakville" on the Culture Days website. To take part in additional Culture Day events offered across Canada, please visit the national Culture Days website.