BC Culture Days announces a dynamic selection of interactive arts and cultural events taking place across the Thompson Okanagan region and online at culturedays.ca/bc from September 24 to October 24, 2021.

The month-long celebration invites culture enthusiasts to reconnect with their communities by learning a new skill or discovering creative talents. Participants are asked to come together to ‘RE:IMAGINE’ a brighter future post-pandemic, enhanced through creative connection.

Storyteller Kenthen Thomas, photos courtesy of the Salmon Arm Arts Centre

“There is incredible strength that comes from the collective pursuit of creativity, beauty, and wonder. It forges friendships, unites minds, and supports communities,” says Nazanin Shoja, BC Culture Days Director. “At BC Culture Days, our primary goal is to make cultural exploration and artistic expression accessible to all who seek it. We are incredibly grateful to the hundreds of artists and cultural leaders across B.C. who have joined with us in our goal by creating, hosting, and facilitating workshops, tutorials, and presentations. Together, we are working towards building a brighter future for all.”

This year’s BC Culture Days activities will kick off with a brand new video series, RE:GENERATE, showcasing the creative resilience of Salmon Arm and four other B.C. communities as they adapt to COVID-19 restrictions and re-emerge with inspiring ideas for the future. Each week of the month-long event, several new videos will be released online.

Featured BC Culture Days events taking place in the Thompson Okanagan region include:

Kelowna

  • Ballet Kelowna presents Launch | Sept. 24, 6-7pm & 8:30-9:30pm; Sept. 25, 2-3pm | Mary Irwin Theatre
  • Downtown Kelowna Scavenger Hunt | Sept. 24-Oct. 24 | Downtown Kelowna
  • Cultural Cuisine Web-Series | Sept. 24-Oct. 24 | Digital
  • Cultural District Roving Audience Experience | Sept. 25, 7-10pm | Downtown Kelowna Cultural District
  • Syilx Language House – Language Lesson | Oct. 1, 4:30-5:30pm | Mary Irwin Theatre

Lake Country

Curators tour Made By Hand with Wanda Lock | Sept. 24-Oct. 24  (online)

Salmon Arm

Vernon

The World is Our Stage: Caravan Theatre Exhibit Opening | Sept. 28, 6:30-8:30pm | Greater Vernon Museum & Archives

Visit culturedays.ca/bc for a full list of events. More events continue to be added until Sept. 24, 2021.

Emerging artists chosen as cultural ambassadors

To further enhance the arts and culture celebration, BC Culture Days has selected nine outstanding emerging artists to participate in this year’s cultural ambassador program. Representing a wide array of artistic disciplines – dance, theatre, visual arts, storytelling, poetry, film, and music – each ambassador will host an interactive event free to the public, as part of the ambassador event series, RE:CONNECT.

Representing the Thompson Okanagan region is Kenthen Thomas from Salmon Arm. A teacher and storyteller, Kenthen journeys into the ancestors’ knowledge from the Secwepemc territory through the live sharing of stories in-person. See event listing above.