This is a busy weekend throughout St. Catharines, what with the final big weekend of the Niagara Wine Festival underway. The annual Grande Parade always fills the downtown streets with partygoers, many of whom repair to favourite watering holes such as the Mansion House or the Merchant Ale House after the parade, or if they prefer their imbibing al fresco and in the company of many other like-minded souls, at Montebello Park.
For many of us, however, we prefer a somewhat more subdued celebration in the heart of the city, and for those of us who fall into that category there are the annual Culture Days in St. Catharines on all weekend long as well.
Friday and Saturday were both busy days for activities and events relating to Culture Days, but you have by no means missed the boat if you have been elsewhere the last couple of days. Sunday promises to be just as busy and full of interesting events to take in downtown. And the best part is, it is all family-friendly and relating to arts and culture in Niagara.
The weekend long Community Collaborative Mural-Making event is on from 12 noon to 4 pm again tomorrow, presented by the St. Catharines Downtown Association along with artist Jana Simms-Bergsma. This interactive activity takes place at the corner of St. Paul and Court Streets near the NAC shop/studio, and is suitable for all age groups. Families can spend up to 30 minutes creating and contributing to the collaborative mural, all guided by a professional artist.
Meantime inside the NAC shop/studio at 433A St. Paul Street you can experience an introduction to screen printing with artist Colleen McTigue. The 30 minute make & take event runs from 12 noon to 5 pm and participants are encouraged to create their own stencil, or "pull" a unique print from a stencil provided by the artist. Again it is a family-friendly event.
Over at the Rodman Hall Arts Centre at 109 St. Paul Crescent the art exhibition Task at Hand by artist Carolyn Wren will be open to visitors from 12 to 5 pm. There will also be guided tours of the historic home at 2 pm and a tour of exhibitions at 3 pm.
Also at Rodman Hall, artist David Figueroa will capture visitors in a photo to use while they explore creating their very own self-portrait by using an embossing drawing process. The make & take event runs from 12:30 to 4:30 pm. There is another make & take event running at the same time featuring artist Rhiannon Barry entitled Keep Calm and Adjust Your Mermaid Crown. Male & female visitors are encouraged to create their own crown using marine-themed materials.
Artist Metka Manfreda will be offering a make & take event called Printmaking a Monotype Hybrid, in which visitors of all ages can create a hybrid creature by exploring monotype printmaking. This is created by applying colour to plexiglass and then transferring using a special technique, thereby allowing interesting images to appear on paper. This also runs from 12:30 to 4:30 pm.
During the same time period at Rodman Hall another make & take event will involve artist Janice Low called Creative Cards for Caring. This event encourages participants to have fun, learn an art technique and engage in designing and painting greeting cards that can then be given to friends and family members to show they care.
As you would expect, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre would be a hive of activity during Culture Days, and once again tomorrow the PAC is home to a full slate of events beginning at 12 noon in the Algoma Lobby with Happy Birthday PAC! Yes, it is the 4th birthday of the new Performing Arts Centre with cake and a community photo event taking place at 250 St. Paul Street.
Also in the lobby from 12 to 3 pm the Niagara Symphony Orchestra presents their popular Instrument Petting Zoo, where visitors can try a variety of instruments with instruction from professional symphony musicians and student volunteers.
In Partridge Hall an interactive dance workshop will be held at 1, 2 and again at 3 pm, presented by Contact Improv Niagara, with artists Dahlia Steinberg, Lisa-Ann-Emmons and Holly Treddenick. The introductory dance workshop will allow audience members to experience movement and partnering technique, known as Contact Improvisation. This is a 5+ age event with an adult companion, incidentally.
In the Recital Hall interactive theatre will be held every 30 minutes from 11am to 2 pm, presented by The Foster Festival. Play with a Pro! allows those ages 14+ to join professional actors from Niagara onstage to read scenes from one of Norm Foster's 60 plays.
The RBC Innovation Studio and the Recital Hall will both play host to interactive improv presented by Improv Niagara. In the studio it runs from 11:30 to 1:30 and in the Recital Hall from 2 to 4 pm. Suggested for ages 12+, participants will learn about improv by joining in fun scenes and games with some of Improv Niagara's best performers and educators.
If poetry is your thing, from 2 to 4 pm in the RBC Innovation Studio Mini-Poetry Zines will be presented by the St. Catharines Poetry Slam collective. Participants can learn how to make their very own mini poetry zine from one sheet of paper. Hey, you might even find out just what a zine is!
In the Robertson Theatre from 11 am to 4 pm there are five activity events planned involving The Human Bee-In interactive puppet theatre. From 11 am to 2 pm artist Karen Waterman directs the Make a Pollinator Puppet Workshop; The Busy Bees Band Workshop will feature artist Aaron Robillard; Waterwood Theatre presents a shadow puppet demonstration from 2:15 to 2:45 pm; The 'Bee There for Me' show participatory puppet theatre will be presented by Waterwood Theatre from 3 to 3:30 pm; and that will be followed by an artist meet & greet post-show artist question period with all of the participating puppet artists from 3:30 to 4 pm.
Poetry returns to the RBC Innovation Studio from 2 to 4 pm with the interactive Poetry in Motion event presented by Twitches & Itches Theatre. Poetry in Motion is a participatory piece in which the audience contributes titles or sentences the ensemble will use to create and present a spontaneous physical "poem". This event is also accessible for ASL visitors who wish to contribute with sign language.
In the Joy Williams Lobby from 11 am to 4 pm, the Carl Beam: Us & Everything art exhibition will be featured, including works by contemporary indigenous artist Carl Beam. The St. Catharines Poetry Slam returns from 2 to 4 pm in the same location for Make a Micro-Poem, where members of the collective will offer a crash course in micro poems and haikus.
Also in the Joy Williams Lobby interactive story-telling will take place from 11 am to 12 pm with Indigenous Storytelling being featured.
The upper Film House mezzanine will host Poetry at the PAC from 12 to 4 pm, featuring artists Kevin Hobbs, James Millhaven and Kim Van Stygeren, where you can have a discussion with a poet and return later for a poem based on that very conversation!
There will also be a series of short films curated by ImagineNATIVE in The Film House, running continuously from 11 am to 3 pm. The six short films are curated by the largest presenter of Indigenous films.
In the Cogeco Lobby at The Film House entrance, there will be an interactive display of Historical Architecture presented by the Niagara Society of Architects from 11 am to 3 pm.
Once you leave the PAC there is still plenty more to explore around St. Catharines. For example, in the Oddfellows Temple downtown at 36 James Street on the third floor, Essential Collective Theatre will present Essential Designers Behind the Curtain. Sessions will be held at 12:00, 12:45, 1:30, 2:30, 3:15 and 4pm, and visitors will learn more about costume and set design courtesy ECT.
The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre at 1932 Welland Canals Parkway will host a number of museum exhibits throughout the day from 9 am to 5pm, illustrating the history of St. Catharines and its people.
The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts downtown will host the art exhibition Home, From Above by artist Kira Pretty in the VISA Gallery at 15 Artists' Common from 12 noon to 6 pm.
And finally, Start Me Up Niagara will host a couple of make & take events at their Work Action Centre at 203 Church Street: Make a Fall Centrepiece with artist Linda Phillip at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15 and 3:15 pm, and Introduction to Linocut Printing with artist Steve Plews at 12:30, 1:45 and 3 pm. This event is for ages 15+ due to safety concerns, and you need to pre-register for both Start Me Up Niagara location events by going to www.stcatharines.ca/culturedays.
So there you go - lots to see and do beyond the Wine Festival in St. Catharines on a Sunday. For more details go to www.stcatharines.ca/culturedays.
Enjoy your weekend!
September 28th, 2019.
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