Brockville Culture Days 2017: This is Who We Are & Meet the Neighbours

 Written by Russ Disotell, Brockville Culture Days Organizer
Culture Days, the Canada wide celebration of arts and culture in the community, takes place on September 29, 30 and October 1st. Here in Brockville our focus has been the Saturday of the weekend as Downtown Brockville sponsors a street closure along King Street to provide us with a venue for our celebration. However there is some exciting news about this year’s event.
 What’s Happening on Friday September 29^th:
First there will be a Friday component. At the moment it is small, but as I like to say “the situation is fluid” and there may be more to add as we move along. Friday at 1:00 pm there will be a FREE walking tour of downtown Brockville. This is my “Nickel Tour” walk, which begins at the Brockville Courthouse and three short blocks later concludes at the newly reopened Brockville Railway Tunnel.
Short, sweet and full of history, anecdotes and fascinating people and events. This is an interactive tour, questions are welcome and expected. The approximate duration is an hour, give or take, but is dependent on the volume of discussion. Once, with an enthusiastic audience it took nearly three hours!
What’s Happening on Saturday September 30^th:
The Saturday King Street celebration will see all manner of artists, musicians, dancers and the like filling the street. I like to refer to this as the “This is Who We Are” portion of the weekend. If you want to learn a little more of what is important to our community and some of the passions we share drop by Saturday, it will be on display.
It’s safe to say that at this point it will be our largest celebration yet, as we already have more participants than last year, when Brockville Culture Days was the fifth largest in Canada among communities below 50,000 population. Many new groups and individuals are joining us in this FREE event for participants and attendees, to share their passion and art with you.
The bulk of the participants will be found on the King St. W. Hub, but there are a good number spread throughout the downtown. Make a plan to visit Fulford Place Museum, Hang-Ups, the Brockville Museum, the Pam McKinnon Studio, the Brockville Armouries, and the Brockville Farmers’ Market. A phrase used in the event planning dictionary, that is frequently used is that, “the situation is fluid”. It’s an apt expression for us as participants continue to be added as this is written, so be sure to go to www.brockvillearts.com and check before you head to downtown Brockville.
Culture Day Events in the Area:
Several events are taking place all weekend, some on Sunday October 1st only. Two of the Friday events are taking place in Frankville.
The AOG Gallery in Frankville is having an open house all weekend. The photo above is of Tilting Garden, one of many art installations on the grounds. In addition there will be a photo exhibition by renowned photographer Lynn Ball.
The other Frankville location open on Friday is Dark Genesis Fine Art featuring the steel based life form sculptures of Chris Banfalvi. Chris will also be participating in the Saturday King Street celebration.
But as they say, “Wait there’s more!” Delta’s St. Paul Anglican Church, all of 200 years young will be participating on Sunday. Lyndhurst is feverishly working on a whole slew of events in the form of a self-guided Art Trail. Go to www.LyndhurstArtTrail.com or Lyndhurst Art & Culture Tour on Facebook for more information and a map of the route. Finally Mallorytown Coach House will be taking part on Sunday between 10 am and 4 pm. Visit and learn more about Ontario’s first Glassworks.
 
So mark your calendar for the weekend of September 29th to October 1st. All events are FREE. Get out and meet friends, neighbours and local residents who are eager to share their passions with you. You can find a list that will be continuously updated at www.brockvillearts.com, and they will also be posted on the Brockville Culture Days Facebook page.