Oakville Culture Days activities ranked No. 1 in Canada

insidehalton.com
Dec. 7, 2023

Residents visit the World of Threads art exhibit during the 2023 Culture Days celebrations in Oakville.

Oakville has been recognized for its arts, culture, and creativity.

The town’s annual Culture Days celebration, which ran from Sept. 22 to Oct. 15, has been ranked No. 1 by the national Culture Days organization.

The registered charity, which invites the public to experience arts and cultures in our communities for free, put together the Culture Days 2023 Top Participating Communities listing and placed Oakville at the very top.

For the second year in a row, the town was the top mid-size city, followed by Halton Hills, Ont., Richmond, B.C., Milton, Ont., Vaughan, Ont., and St. Catharines, Ont.

Oakville featured nearly 100 local events as part of the Halton Festival Hub with Iroquois Ridge Community Centre/North Hub, Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts/Central Southeast Hub, Oakville Museum/Southeast Hub, Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre/Southwest Hub, and The Crossing: Community Heritage Day among the designated event spaces offering a variety of activities. Participants explored creativity, artistic expression and more throughout the three-week celebration.

The World of Threads Festival, currently taking place at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Culture Centre, and A Place I Call Home Halton program were also recently recognized as recipients of Ontario Culture Days Festival’s 2023 Spotlight Recognition Program. The World of Threads received the People’s Choice spotlight recognition, while A Place I Call Home Halton, organized by artist Faisal Anwar with the Town of Oakville, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, Museums of Burlington, and Halton Region, was recognized as the Best Collaborative Program.

These recognition awards acknowledge organizers who, through their leadership, have crafted festival programming aimed at breaking down barriers and nurturing a more equitable arts and culture sector in Ontario.

Visit the Ontario Culture Days website for a full list of recipients.

“Oakville has a rich and thriving arts and culture scene that is spotlighted year after year through Culture Days,” said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton.

“Council and I want to congratulate all the town staff and community and culture groups for organizing inclusive and interactive events and activities that brought the community together. Well done on earning the Culture Days No. 1 ranking in Canada for Oakville.”

The town’s director of recreation and culture, Julie Mitchell, said Culture Days provides the community with the opportunity to come together and celebrate what makes Oakville vibrant and special.

“I’m so proud of our staff who worked in partnership with our cultural community groups and local artists to put on yet another fantastic celebration showcasing Oakville’s arts, culture, and creativity,” she said.

For more information about the town’s annual Culture Days, visit oakville.ca.