Test your musical geography when St. Catharines kicks off Culture Days

How’s your ear at picking out the countries of origin when a classical guitarist strums music from around the world?

Residents can test their skills when St. Catharines Culture Days begins this Friday (September 23), kicking off at City Hall and the downtown Centennial Library.

Artists, Councillors and City staff will raise the Culture Days flag at City Hall (50 Church St) to kick off three full weeks of free arts and culture events in St. Catharines at 10 am September 23.

From there, it shifts indoor at City Hall from 4 pm to 6 pm for the “Who Are You?” 2022 City of St. Catharines Juried Exhibit Opening on the third floor.

This year’s theme provides a platform for local artists to consider how their art making practice assists in the process of self-discovery, connecting to oneself on a deeper level while engaging with other diverse ways of seeing and being.

“The chosen artists have expressed their thoughts through a variety of artistic mediums, such as textiles, photographs and paint. The ten featured artists include Wen Anderson Breedveld, Trish Crawford, Marjorie Dorant, Geoff Farnsworth, Mike Gagnon, Ariadni Harper, Rajshree Jena, Jooyoung Jeon, Chris Liszak and Azadeh Monzavi,” said the organizers.

On Saturday, September 24, comes the musical geography test at the downtown Centennial Public Library (54 Chruch St) when classical guitarist Jelica Mijanovic performs her Nature Inspired Interactive Guitar Concerts at 11 am, 12:15 pm, 2 pm, and 3:30 pm.

These concerts features classical guitar music inspired by nature, ranging through five centuries and six continents. From a frog in 16th century England, through Canadian landscapes, Indigenous villages of Venezuela, and the Mara ecosystem in Kenya, these compositions vary in style, but the composers’ fascination with nature remains unaffected through time and space.

Stay for a Q-and-A following the concert, where Mijanovic will demonstrate how musical patterns change depending on cultural and historical context.

Families can head over to the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre, Dr. Huq Family Library (425 Carlton Street) to see Crayon Mania! featuring Artist Dena Colling Gelentso with shows at 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, and 4 pm.

“Crayon Mania will explore this wonderful media with different applications. Participants will draw and colour an autumn tree on paper and design with fabric crayons on a canvas bag. The artist will demonstrate techniques such as grating, melting, and scratching. Crayons are not just for colouring!”

The first weekend will end on September 25 with “The Drama Garden” presented by the Carousel Players from 1 pm to 4 pm at Jaycee Gardens Park (543 Ontario Street).

“The Drama Garden is an original promenade-style theatre experience throughout Jaycee Gardens Park. Culture Days attendees will stop at stations along the paved pathways and engage with a series of short live performances or be led through a participatory activity.”

The full run of the Culture Days line-ups over the next three weeks can be found HERE.

Acclaimed classical guitarist Jelica Mijanovic invites families to test their musical knowledge by identifying which countries certain musical styles originate.