Alberta Culture Days 2015

It is Alberta Culture Days in Wood Buffalo and throughout Alberta.  This is an annual event that is designed to showcase the plethora of arts and cultural offerings available in your community.  All of the options are available by clicking here. There is dance, music and theatre.  There is a youth folk fest, photography challenge, demonstrations and workshops.  There is a little bit of almost everything.

I feel rather guilty because I can't attend a single event.  My arts calendar is already full.  As soon as I get home from work tonight, I'll be hosting an UNLEASH THE ARTIST WITHIN workshop.  We're expecting all the seats to be filled as I walk the participants through my portrait painting process and play with lines and colour.

Tomorrow, I'll be in the studio creating all day, then going out to the Finning United Way fundraiser in the evening to do a live painting of the founder of the company, Earl B. Finning, which will get auctioned off in support of the community campaign.

Time is my nemesis as we get further into the fall.  Clients are patiently waiting for family members, dogs, friends and heroes to emerge from the studio.

There are multiple events being offered during Alberta Culture Days that catch my attention.  Mary Thomas from the Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo expressed her excitement about "The World Meets in Wood Buffalo" when I saw her yesterday, a dance showcase being hosted in the Shell Place Ballroom on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.  This is a remarkable demonstration of the flavours of dance that have come here from all over the world, including dance that has been part of this region for centuries.

I see The Amazing Art Race is back, an event we got off the ground during interPLAY many years ago.  It is being hosted at the Peter Pond Mall on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  Boreal Artist Institute is leading the charge on this one and offering some amazing prizes.  Come out and paint, share your skills, and, most importantly, have fun.

Don't miss the one-act play night at the Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts this evening.  Two outstanding plays are being presented, both of which are world-class:  Pattie Dwyer's award-winning Mountain Top and The Most Massive Woman Wins, directed by Michelle Thorne.  Discover an amazing venue and some amazing talent; you'll be blown away by both.

Put down your remote, close your laptop, and shut off your iPad for a few hours and experience the diversity and richness of creation and expression that are happening around you as part of Alberta Culture Days.  You'll feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude that you did.