Lexi Saldaña
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Daily Herald
Culture Days runs in Prince Albert until Oct. 4
As Friday afternoon’s weather continued to warm up, it created a perfect atmosphere for the kickoff to the 17th annual ‘Culture Days’ event. The City of Prince Albert in collaboration with the E.A Rawlinson Centre for the Arts hosted ‘Street Eats and River Beats’ along the riverbank beside the Prince Albert Historical Museum.
“Culture Day started in 2010, and it was an opportunity for everybody who works within the performing arts, to celebrate culture, and it is an important part of our history,” said Cory Philley, the general manager at the E.A Rawlinson Centre for the Arts. “It is an integral part of our communities and it makes our well-being so much better.”
Corey Philley, general manager at the E.A Rawlinson Centre for the Arts photographed at the 17th annual Culture Days event kickoff Friday afternoon.
Culture Days is an annual, multi-week festivity, held to celebrate the abundance of cultures, art, and heritage within the Prince Albert community.
“What culture brings to a vibrant community is the ability to understand that we are more similar than we are different,” said Philley.
Alongside delicious Filipino food provided by the V and C Resto cart, was an electric live performance by well-loved musician duo, Mike and Darcy—composed of Mike Langlois and Darcy Sander—inside the gazebo.
Beloved local musicians, Darcy Sander and Mike Langlois, also known as ‘Mike and Darcy’ performing at the Culture Days kickoff Friday afternoon at the riverbank gazebo.
“It’s great to help, we do that as much as we can,” said Darcy Sander. “This was really neat to see, to be able to play here. It’s just really nice to help out and work with the E.A Rawlinson all the time. We’re quite blessed to be able to be associated with them.”
Sander added that, “[it’s] always a challenge to find places for musicians, everybody’s working on it, and other venues are trying hard to get it, to get live music in here, so that’s really important.”
Neighbouring the duo was an arts-and-crafts booth arranged by the Mann Art Gallery, and run by Gallery Assistant, Mary Faith Sapitan.
“We wanted to be part of the culture and everything, and you know just to give out the good vibes as well,” she said. “Also, we’re at the riverbank, which is a good location for opening a kickoff.”
The booth featured a self-portrait painting activity, bingo, colouring pages, and a raffle for curator goodies.
“It’s been so fun. It’s so fun to talk to people and know how their day was. I just talked to two ladies, they were so lovely,” described Sapitan.
The Street Eats and River Beats festivities continued to gather more community members, setting the scene for what’s to come for the following Culture Days events.
“It’s really great to get out to the community and talk to people about the facility, but also talk to them about how you can just come in, get involved, volunteer, come to a show, and you know, the free events and things that are happening around the city,” said Philley. “I really like that about it.”
The Prince Albert Culture Days are set to run until Oct. 4, with various free activities and events for families and community members to enjoy, including the Remix Exhibition Opening Reception at the Mann Art Gallery on Sept. 19, African Grooves Dance Party hosted by the YWCA Prince Albert on Sept. 24, and more.
For more information on the upcoming Culture Days event, visit the City of Prince Albert website.
