Culture Days
“Culture is essential in the development in the individuals and society,” she said. “More and more mayors and councilors understand it is important and want to get involved,” she said.
So what exactly happens during Culture Days? Hundreds of free activities across the province, Sicuro said.
Events must be free, and must have an element of interaction with the public.
“It can’t just be a concert,” Sicuro explained. A concert, however, can follow a workshop where members of the public can interact with the artist and learn about their creative process.
Sicuro added that while the events are free and organized by volunteers, there is an expectation that any professional artists hired are paid appropriately by the organizers of the events.
While most municipalities intending to participate in this year’s culture blitz, Sicuro said the deadline isn’t until Sept.14, so any interested towns or cultural institutions interested in participating can still sign up.
When asked for some advice on getting started, Sicuro suggested starting small and simple.
“Start simple with something interactive, a workshop or a conference,” she commented.
“Go see what other towns are doing,” Sicuro added, to get ideas.
The Culture Days website has all the events planned to date listed by region, or through an interactive map.
In the Estrie region, there are currently 68 different events planned.
Among them are a traditional dance in Waterville, a workshop with artist Denis Palmer at Uplands, a pottery exhibition in Orford, and a historic and cultural tour for families in Compton, to name a few.
Sicuro said that in recent years, getting schools involved has given the project a huge boost.
Three years ago, the musician Koriass was approached and asked to write a song about culture.
The song was then given to interested elementary schools to perform.
The idea has grown in popularity each year since. Last 20,000 students from across Quebec participated, and Sicuro said this year, there could be even more, with 1,000 schools enlisted to sing a song written by Alex Nevsky called Le monde est à nous.
Each year Culture Days have a different theme to give participants fresh ideas to draw from. Last year the theme was heritage.
This year, the theme is the power of words. While elementary schools will be singing, Sicuro