Since Alberta Culture Days started in 2009, the City of St. Albert has been a devoted participant. For 2024, St. Albert Cultivates the Arts committee has packaged 25 diverse activities spread over eight days across Sept. 20 to 21, Sept. 23 to 24, 26 and 28.
Several popular returning disciplines fall under literary, dance, visual arts, film and culinary categories. However, there are a handful of new creative activities ranging from sewing, mending and hair braiding to Rwandan cultural dance, glass painting and chalk art in St. Albert Place Lobby.
“Our focus this year is bringing in projects from a wide variety of different cultural activities St. Albert residents participate in,” said Doug Campbell, president of St. Albert Cultivates the Arts committee.
He cites Goota Desmarais’ Inuit cultural reading, Gemikalyn Isla’s glass painting class and Carol Donald’s mosaic tile workshop as diverse artistic and cultural practices.
One of the arts committee’s most fervent supporters is the African and African Descendents Club which alone has organized four workshops. It hosts a hands-on culinary class baking meat pies, a hair braiding workshop, a Rwandan cultural dance workshop and a sewing class stitching together a buba (blouse) and iro (wrap-around skirt). All materials are provided at no charge to participants.
St. Albert Visual Arts Council, which includes the floral arts, painters, potters, paper arts and quilt guilds, are hosting a drop-in day on Sept. 21 at St. Albert Place.
“Each of the guilds will do hands-on demonstrations. People can come in and try out as many activities as they want. It’s very popular and only runs that weekend. That’s when we get hundreds of kids and parents coming through,” Campbell said.
Also on Sept. 21, Thomas Fenton returns to pass on the ancient Japanese-Chinese art of origami.
“It was very popular last year. He has paper and walks you through it, and you can join at any time," Fenton said.
Fenton will also introduce his 3D printer on Sept. 28, and will make a plastic 3-D object from paper origami or any other suggested objects.
The St. Albert Photography Club treks out to Lois Hole Park to capture images of wildlife on Sept. 21. On the same day Mexican filmmaker Abel Urbina leads a filmmaking workshop at the Quilting Studio.
“He’s going to give a talk on making films, particularly on how to make films of family events," Urbina said.
Arienette Zak, St. Albert’s current poet laureate, hosts a poetry open mic on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at A Boutique Gallery and Bar by Gracie Jane.
“This is an opportunity for people to drop by and share their poetry and hear what others have to say," Zak said.
Katie Bickell, the library’s resident writer partners with writer Ben Lof to lead a workshop that focuses on what goes into the craft of writing while Sarah Valencia shows people how to make clay flowers.
Campbell sees the farmers’ market as a magnet for people dropping in to St. Albert Place to check out cultural activities.
“We’re an added attraction to the market. And this year on Saturdays we are going to lay out chalk art on the floor of St. Albert Place lobby. We’re bringing in plywood with slate painted like a blackboard," Campbell said.
All the events are free. To offset costs for presenters and materials, the province of Alberta contributed a $4,000 grant and the City of St. Albert provided a $10,000 grant.
“This event is an opportunity to learn about different cultures, different arts and crafts. It’s a fun event that helps families broaden their scope as the city’s demographics are changing,” Campbell added.
