Ontario Culture Days is supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation,
the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario in recognition
of Celebrate the Artist Weekend.
What is Culture Days?
• Culture Days is a national collaborative
volunteer movement to raise the
awareness, accessibility, participation
and engagement of Canadians in the
arts and cultural life of their
communities.
• The sixth annual Culture Days weekend
will take place September 25, 26 and
27, 2015, and will feature thousands of
free, hands-on, interactive activities.
The History
• Inspired by Journées de la culture – an annual weekend long
celebration of arts and culture in Quebec produced by Culture pour
tous for 18 years
• Journées de la culture is an internationally-recognized Canadian
model for promoting public participation and engagement in the
arts and culture sector.
• Canadian Arts Summit commissioned a feasibility study to assess
the viability of launching a similar annual celebration across
Canada.
• Culture Days was launched in 2010
How can people get
involved?
Anyone in Canada can register an
activity at www.culturedays.ca
There are only four requirements:
• Activities must be free
• Activities must take place on
the Culture Days weekend
• Activities must be interactive
or participatory in some way
(very broadly defined)
• Activities must be registered
on the Culture Days website
Glassblowing, photo by City of Kingston
Who Participates in Culture Days?
• Open to the full spectrum of
creators (amateur to
professional)
• Broad definition of Culture
includes heritage,
multicultural, culinary
arts, etc.
• The quality of engagement
is key
• Activities can be as big or as
small as you want!
Tini Pel demonstrates Bobbin Lace Making in
in Stratford. Photo by Mindy Gough
Ontario Culture Days 2014 Snapshot
• More than half a million Ontarians engaged in arts and
culture
• 1671 cultural activities programmed
• 1050 different activity organizers participated
• Activities in 172 cities and towns
• Activities in 106 out of 107 provincial ridings
• Ontario represents 55% of national registration
• 123 Million media impressions generated
• 36 Million marketing impressions leveraged
Yearly Growth of Ontario Culture Days
Since it’s inaugural year Culture Days activities have grown by 84%. Last year’s
attendance was estimated at approximately half a million Ontarians.
Registration by Arts Category
Film and Video
Architecture
2%
2%
Culinary Arts
New/Digital Media
2%
2%
Design
2%
Theatre
2%
Comedy
1%
First Nations
<1%
Craft
2%
Literature and Spoken
Word
6%
Visual Art
35%
Multi/Interdisciplinary
7%
Dance
9%
Music
10%
Heritage
18%
*Note: since 64% of activities
are registered “on behalf of”
someone else, there may be
some misrepresentation of the
art category by the person doing
the registration.
Research Highlights – Public Attendees
Of those who attended Culture Days
Activities in Ontario in 2014:
• 96% Were satisfied with the
activities they attended
• 89% Said Culture Days is an
important event in their community
• 75% Experienced greater pride in
their community as a result of
participating
• 90% Said that the arts and cultural
events in their community make it a
much more enjoyable place to live
Diaspora Genius, David Bookbinder at
Toronto Public Library, photo by Vivian Huang
Research Highlights – Public Attendees
•
73% Expressed increased understanding of the
positive contribution of artists and arts organizations
to their community
•
72% Plan to attend more arts and cultural activities
in their communities as a result of participating in
Culture Days
•
65% Discovered a local artist or arts organization at
Culture Days that they had not previously heard of
•
53% Expressed an increased desire to donate to
and/or volunteer with arts organizations
•
96% Said they are likely to attend Culture Days
activities next year!
Notably, responses to these statements are up an
average of 4% from 2013, suggesting that Culture Days is
having an incremental positive impact on public
engagement and participation in arts and culture.
Members of Drebu Tibetan Arts perform at Parkdale
Library in Toronto. Photo by Yvonne Bambrick
Culture Days Campaign Landmarks
April – May
Information Sessions across Ontario
May – July
Registration Campaign continues
Early September:
Marketing and media campaigns ramp up
September 18
Activity Registration Deadline
September 25, 26, & 27
Culture Days weekend
October
Post-event surveys and content collection
Soap making demo by The Carberry Soap Co.
in Pickering, Culture Days 2013
Photo by Vivian Huang
Tips for Activity Registration
• To register your activity, use your email address or Facebook login to
create an online account at www.culturedays.ca.
• Register sooner rather than later to attract an audience and benefit from
promotions! We recommend registering by July 31st to qualify for our
summer registration incentive.
• You can select multiple days if your activity is happening more than
once on the Culture Days weekend.
• If your activity is in different locations over the weekend, create
separate activity postings for each location. This helps attract people
who search for activities by postal code.
Tips for Activity Registration
• If you are organizing many activities in one hub location, create
separate activity postings for each activity. When people search by
location, they will be attracted to the wealth of activities in your hub.
• Use a common hub name that ties your activities together in each
activity title, such as “Reference Library Hub: Origami Workshop.”
• If you are registering the same activity as last year, in your account you
can choose to duplicate your previous activity posting and simply edit
the post to change small details.
Tools and Resources
Activity and community organizers have access to a wide range of customizable
tools and resources to make planning and hosting their activities easier,
including:
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2015 Participation Guide
Community Organizer Toolkit
PR Toolkit
Sponsorship Toolkit
Customizable advertising templates for
a variety of media posters, postcards,
video bumpers,
web badges and banners, etc.
• Tip sheets on a range of topics
• Personal Scheduler
• And more
2014 Campaign media partners
National Media Partners
Provincial Media Partners
Social Media
Connect with us through our social media channels – we’ll help get the
word out about your activities!
Ontario:
@ONCultureDays
@Onfdlc
National:
@CultureDays
@FeteDeLaCulture
Support from Ontario Culture Days
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Answer questions and concerns
Present information sessions in your community (spring)
Direct you to resources
Support peer to peer learning through social media, blogs, tips and
tools, and the Ontario Culture Days Task Force where community
organizers share experiences, get new ideas, problem solve, learn from
each other, etc.
• Purchase advertising and develop media sponsorships to raise the
profile of Culture Days across the province
• Conduct a provincial PR campaign
Libraries are Great Partners!
“Public libraries and Culture Days are a natural match because both are
about inclusion and making sure that culture is available to everyone in the
community,” said Stratford Public Library CEO (retired) Sam Coghlan.
• Culture Days is a natural fit for libraries because:
– Like libraries, the objective of Culture Days is to remove barriers to
the enjoyment of culture thus all activities are free, accessible and
embrace diversity.
– Libraries are often the pre-existing cultural hub of a community
– Offers the potential to initiate year-round partnerships with
community organizations and local artists
Roles that Libraries can play
There are many ways that Libraries can become involved.
Some ideas include:
• Be a Community Organizer
• Provide venues to local artists and cultural groups
• Organize your own Culture Days activity
• Host a Culture Days information session in your community
• Host a Human Library
Culture Days in Ontario Libraries
Thunderbird Native Theatre (TNT) presents “Eagle Thunder: Song of Hope”
an interactive First Nations experience at Kennedy/Eglinton Library. Photo
by Thunderbird Native Theatre
• Libraries hosted at least 7%
of Culture Days activities
(125), reaching an estimated
35,000 people!
• The success of Ontario
Culture Days collaborations
with libraries has inspired
other provinces to build
similar partnerships.
Culture Days @ the Library
by the numbers
This program provides free venues to artists and
arts and cultural groups wanting to present Culture
Days activities.
3 – Partnering organizations: Culture Days,
Neighbourhood Arts Network and the Toronto
Public Library
5 –Years of the program
51 – Library Branches participated in 2014
54 – Activities held in 2014
217 – Activities held since 2011
2000 – Estimated public attendance in 2014
8000 – Estimated public attendance since 2011
25 and 26 (of September) – Dates of Culture Days
@ the Library in 2015
Things That Worked at Toronto Public Library…
… and can work in smaller systems too
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Start by piloting in a couple of branches
Partner with local arts groups to get the
word out
Make sure that what you plan is
manageable for your staff
If you are going larger-scale,
use TPL application form
developed by Culture Days
Pair a Culture Days event
with other local happenings
(e.g. fall fairs)
Create a book display corresponding to the
theme of the activity
For Friday programs, class visits
are a great way to get good crowds
Jim Adams, Red Bear, photo Toronto Public Library
“Culture Days at the Library was a rare
and wonderful gift. Forty students
from a Grade 3 class attended and
time flew by. We had a great time and
the teacher invited me to do more at
the school.”
– Honey Novick, Independent Artist
Ideas for Smaller Branches
Arts and Crafts Hub
• In 2011, Toronto Public Library Dufferin/St. Clair branch
opened their room to bookbinding and origami
• Kids and adults moved seamlessly between the two activities
Origami and bookbinding activities at TPL branch at Dufferin/St. Clair. Photos: Toronto Public Library
Ideas for Smaller Branches
Who’s Your Daddy’s Daddy?
• Organized by Elgin County
Archives and Elgin County
Library
• Hands-on introduction to family
history research
• Used both the resources of the
library and archives, and online
tools
Photo: Elgin County Archives and Elgin County
Library
Innovative Activities
Roma Dance Celebration
“We hosted ‘Roma Dance Celebration’
with Iana Komarnytska and Paromita
Kar for Culture Days 2014. The event
was phenomenally successful with some
130 people in attendance! The fun and
dynamism of the event was clear when
20 kids hopped on stage to join the
dancers.”
– Rose Marie Spearpoint, Branch Head,
Palmerston Branch
Iana Komarnytska/Roma Dance Celebration, Palmerston Branch.
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This celebration of Roma Dance had members of the community sharing their knowledge and passion
along with some spectacular performances.
A highlight video is available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/YgKua7_9LyA
Innovative Activities
Steel Pan with Suzette
For two years in a row, Suzette
Vidale has offered Steel Pan
activities. She has targeted
audiences for special workshops:
• Blind/Visual Impaired
• Children ages 0-5 in
combination with Family
Story-time
• Adults
Steel-pan with Suzette at Parliament Street Library,
photo by Kevin Jones
Innovative Activities
Postcard Stories at London Public Library
• 2013 Culture Days activity at all
London Library branches
• A few weeks before Culture Days,
they invited people to share a special
story, memory or observation on a
blank postcard
• Culture Days weekend – view
displays of the postcards
Photos: The Londoner; London Public Library
Other popular ideas
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3D printing workshops
Makers Fairs
Memoir-writing workshops
Genealogy and family tree
workshops
Multilingual Storytelling
Human Libraries
Collaborative public artworks
Poetry Walls
Quilting Bees or Tea & Crafts
Six-word story competition
Book debates (Canada Reads
style)
Pickering Public Library asked for contributions to a “Before I die” mural,
inspired by Candy Chang, 2014.
Thank you!
Contact Ontario Culture Days
Aubrey Reeves
Executive Director
Ontario Culture Days
416-964-7555
aubreyreeves@culturedays.ca
Catherine McLeod
Outreach and Network Manager
Ontario Culture Days
416-964-7555
catherine.mcleod@culturedays.ca
www.on.culturedays.ca
I love Woodcarving, photo by Tim Forbes