Culture Days is a collaborative coast-to-coast-to-coast volunteer movement to raise the awareness,accessibility, participation and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities — thousands of activity organizers self-mobilize at the grassroots level to present and coordinate free public activities that take place throughout the country over the last weekend of September each year.
The third annual Culture Days weekend will take place September 28, 29 and 30, 2012, and will feature thousands of free, hands-on, interactive activities that invite the public to participate “behind-the-scenes,” to discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, designers and other creative people in their communities.
As part of the Robson Reading Series, the Learning Centre is pleased to host Raminder Sidhu for an author reading and book discussion on her latest book of fiction. A courageous and timely novel, Tears of Mehndi explores the rich, complex and often heartbreaking lives of a tight-knit community in Vancouver’s Little India. Through the perspectives of several women whose lives intertwine over a generation, Raminder Sidhu deftly exposes the shrouded violence within the Indo-Canadian community, a difficult and often dissembled subject. Sidhu’s characters are women caught between two cultures, struggling to understand the traditions they are obliged to follow while still embracing and often welcoming the fundamentally different values of the West.
Through the perspectives of several women whose lives intertwine over a generation, Raminder Sidhu deftly exposes the shrouded violence within Canada’s South Asian community, a difficult and often dissembled subject. “Tears of Mehndi” captures the family struggles of South Asians in British Columbia, and tells the stories of women caught between tradition and western culture. Sidhu was born and raised in Mackenzie, BC. Raminder Sidhu was born and raised in Mackenzie, BC, and now resides in Surrey, BC. She holds a B.Ed. from the University of British Columbia and a BBA from the University of the Fraser Valley. Tears of Mehndi is her debut novel. To attend this event, please register here.
Here are the complete listings of Culture Days events in British Columbia.
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Culture Days is just around the corner.
How will you celebrate during your Culture Days weekend?
Well, to start, we sure hope you plan to go to an official registered activity!
Tip: You can search for activities near you by entering your postal code, or use the clickable map to zoom in to see what’s happening your area. You can also search by keywords, date and time, or categories.
Here are 3 reasons and ways to get out there and make your Culture Days weekend an unforgettable one:
1. Reconnect with an old friend or long lost love.
Know how to play an instrument, but haven’t tried in years? Never been to the local museum before? Always wanted to write a story or a script? Been meaning to take a pottery or dance class? Saw a show last month and wanna give the director your critique? Seize the day!
Get out during the Culture Days weekend and pay a visit to the local library, museum, gallery, park, theatre, cultural centre – whether there’s an official registered activity going on or not! Indulge yourself in an artistic or cultural experience. Join the local choir, register for an acting class, treat yourself to tickets to an upcoming show, or pick up that book of poetry or architecture that you’ve been eyeing.
Celebrate arts and culture by celebrating the artist or creator in you.
2. Connect with real people in real life.
Spend Culture Days with friends you haven’t seen in a while. Round up a few people and let each person pick one activity for the group to go to together. Don’t forget to snap some photos and share them on Flickr or Facebook.
Going to a Culture Days activity can also be a great way to meet new interesting people. All official activities are interactive, so you can be sure that there will be lots of conversations happening.
Come to think of it, Culture Days is an awfully good time for couples to reconnect too. Shake up that Friday night or weekend routine – try something new. Surprise your partner with something he or she would never have thought of doing, or never thought you would do!
3. Capture the action with your videos, photographs and words.
Capture the action. Culture Days is the largest public campaign to celebrate and promote cultural participation. Not only is it the largest, but we think it’s the first of its kind ever launched in Canada, and quite possibly the world. Document this massive grassroots movement. Let everyone know how your city or town rocked this Canada-wide celebration.
Post photos and videos, tweet, or write a story about what’s happening in your community during the Culture Days weekend. We’re on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter.
