BC Culture Days 2021

BC Culture Days 2021 presents a dynamic lineup of interactive arts and culture events from September 24 to October 24, 2021. Culture Days raises the awareness, accessibility, participation, and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. It is a collaborative movement dedicated to providing free, hands-on, and interactive arts and culture activities across Canada.

Featuring a wide range of activities in alignment with public health recommendations, BC Culture Days offers socially-distanced outdoor and pre-registered indoor events, pre-recorded video content, livestream presentations, self-guided activities, and more.

BC Culture Days 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.

To further enhance the 2021 arts and culture celebration and help boost community engagement, 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.

This year’s BC Culture Days activities will kick off with a brand new video series, RE:GENERATE, showcasing the creative resilience of five remote or rural 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, featuring event coverage and interviews from one of five communities – Prince Rupert, Bella Coola, Sooke, Salmon Arm, and Kimberley.

There will also be a pre-recorded welcome ceremony from Chief Kwakwee Baker, member of the Squamish First Nation, as well as a pre-recorded provincial proclamation from BC Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, Hon. Melanie Mark.

BC Culture Days 2021 in Metro Vancouver

Here is the lineup of events for the Metro Vancouver region:

Vancouver

• Together/Apart 
  • Digital
  • September 24-October 9
• Our First Conversation: Digital Art Show
  • September 24-October 24
• Jam Out! With Her Tribal Roots 
  • Trout Lake (John Hendry Park)
  • September 27, 5:30-8:30pm
• Where Do We Go From Here? Conversations about the Future of Performance
  • Digital
  • September 25 & 29, October 9, 13, 16 & 20, 7:00-8:00pm
• Windows 
  • Digital
  • September 27-October 3
• ART & VR Exhibition: An Immersive Journey in Virtual Reality
  • Centre for Digital Media
  • October 1, 2:00-6:00pm; October 2, 10am-6pm; October 3, 10:00am-6:00pm
• Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival
  • Roundhouse Community Centre
  • October 15-17
• Climate Solutions Film Festival
  • Digital
  • October 22, 4:00-5:00pm | Digital
• Weaving the Future
  • Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art 
  • October 24, 11:00am-5:00pm

North Shore

• WVAM! Drop-in Family Art Project
  • West Vancouver Art Museum
  • September 25, 12:00-4:00pm
• Silver Harbour Art Crawl and Pop Up Shop
  • Silver Harbour Centre
  • September 25, 11:00am-3:00pm
• Adult Ballet Classes
  • The Dance Conservatory
  • September 30 & October 7, 6:00-7:00pm
• Pottery Show and Sale
  • Gleneagles Community Centre
  • October 23, 10:00am-2:00pm  

Richmond

• Art Journaling for Beginners
  • September 24-October 24
  • Digital + September 25, 1:00-3:00pm
• Richmond Cultural Centre Drawing Jam!
  • Richmond Art Gallery & Digital
  • September 26, 1:00-2:30pm
• Seniors Acting Out: Platinum Players
  • Minoru Centre for Active Living
  • September 26, 2:00-3:00pm
• Raise Your Voice, Raise Your Spirit!
  • Minoru Cultural Center
  • September 26, 2:00-2:35pm, 2:40-3:15pm
• StoryWalk(R) with Rachel Rozanski and Richmond Public Library
  • Minoru Park
  • September 25, 11:00am-12:30pm; October 2, 11:00am-12:30pm 

Tri-Cities

• Art 4 Life Virtual Artist Talk & Reception
  • Digital
  • September 23, 7:15pm
• Upcycled Pop-Up Portraits with Dawn Livera
  • Digital
  • September 26, 1:30-2:30pm
• Digital Environmental Vibrations
  • October 2, 1:00-5:30pm
  • Port Coquitlam Community Centre
• Get Hooked by Rug Hooking
  • The Michael Wright Art Gallery
  • October 16, 2:00-4:00pm  

Surrey 

• Stories From the Past with Surrey Heritage
  • Phone
  • September 24-October 24 (Every Friday)
• Phone Under the Sea
  • Digital
  • October 1-8
• Introduction to Land Art Workshop
  • Digital
  • October 2, 9:00am-12:00pm
• The Flame: Hope Springs Eternal
  • Digital
  • October 15-22 

Maple Ridge

• Maple Ridge Museum: Open Hours
  • Maple Ridge Museum
  • September 24-October 24
• The Bee’s Knees: A 1920’s Fashion Exhibit
  • The ACT Arts Centre
  • September 24-October 24
• Mapping Home
  • The ACT Arts Centre 
  • October 16, 10:00-11:00am

Mission

• Nutcracker Re:Imagined
  • Digital
  • September 24-October 24
• Our Home Town Mural: Mission, BC
  • Digital
  • October 8, 11:00-11:30am
• Then & Now: Mission, BC
  • Digital
  • October 15, 11:00-11:30am

Aldergrove

• Aldergrove Community Heritage Day
  • Aldergrove Community Museum & Archives 
  • September 25, 10:00am-3:00pm

Abbotsford

• A Study of Birds
  • Kariton Art Gallery 
  • September 25, 1:00-4:00pm

For more information on how to take part in BC Culture Days – including live streaming options as well as an enhanced registration system that has made it even easier for participants to plan and share their events in 2021 – or to sign up for the BC Culture Days newsletter, visit the website.

For updates on BC Culture Days and the BC Culture Days cultural ambassadors, follow BC Culture Days on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Use Hashtags: #BCCultureDays #REGENERATE2021 #RECONNECT2021 #REIMAGINE2021.