Get ready to celebrate all things creative.
Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 marks Alberta Culture Days, an annual celebration of arts and culture in the province.
Jasper has been participating in the event since it began in 2008, with Habitat for the Arts organizing activities and events that showcase the value arts and culture add to our community and our province. This year, with the help of some dedicated volunteers and a provincial grant of $4,500, Habitat has pulled together a whole weekend鈥檚 worth of events.
To coincide with culture days, the new Library and Cultural Centre will also be celebrating its grand opening Sept. 30. 聽For the past few months, the building鈥檚 inhabitants which includes Habitat for the Arts, the Jasper Artists Guild (JAG), the library, l鈥橝ssociation Canadienne-Fran莽aise de l鈥橝lberta (ACFA) and the municipality, have teamed up to put together a slew of activities to welcome Jasperites to the new centre.
All events except for the bowls with soul event will take place at the Jasper Library and Cultural Centre.
Library & Cultural Centre grand opening
Friday, Sept. 30 鈥� 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
Jasper Library & Cultural Centre
The long awaited date is finally here. The Jasper Library and Cultural Centre will celebrate its grand-opening Sept. 30.
To mark the date, the centre鈥檚 inhabitants have teamed up to create a memorable affair.
The festivities get underway at 5 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Following the grand opening, the party will get started with a lobby performance by The Stone Mountaineers at 5:45 p.m. Following the live music, magician Ryan Michael will keep the night going, wowing both adults and kids with his optical illusions and trickery. The magic begins at 7:15 p.m.
And if that鈥檚 not enough, there will also be dance lessons, musical acts, meet and greets with local authors and spurts of improv theatre throughout the night.
The dance lessons start at 8:15 p.m.
All activities will come to a close at 9 p.m.
There will also be a cash bar and appetizers.
Nanny services by My Jasper Nanny will also be available in the library from 5 p.m.-8 p.m.
Family Day
Saturday, Oct. 1 鈥� 1 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Jasper Library and Cultural Centre
Here鈥檚 an event just for the little tikes.
The ACFA, JAG, Habitat for the Arts and the library will be hosting an array of family fun activities including crafts, storytelling and face painting鈥攋ust to name a few.
Mayor鈥檚 Night For Raven About The Arts
Saturday Oct. 1 鈥� 7 p.m.- 9 p.m.
Habitat for the Arts
The spotlight will be on Jasper鈥檚 art community Oct. 1, during Habitat for the Arts鈥� sixth annual awards ceremony.
For the second year in a row, Mayor Richard Ireland has offered his title to support the awards.
The evening includes art, music, refreshments and interviews with award recipients.
This year鈥檚 winners are Tom Price and Michelle Beauregard (music), Stephen Nelson (writing), Ann Hoffele and Satoko Naito (art), Matt Turnbull and Julie-Anne Weaver (theatre) and Cathy Jenkins (patron of the arts)
This event is by donation and everyone is encouraged to come celebrate Jasper鈥檚 vibrant art community.
For the love of Ireland
Sunday, Oct. 2 鈥� 1 p.m.- 3 p.m.
Habitat for the Arts
As an uprooted Irish woman now living in Jasper, Oonagh Neilan loves any chance she gets to share her culture.
So for this year鈥檚 culture days, Habitat for the Arts has asked Neilan to deliver a presentation about what her life was like in Ireland.
Neilan will talk about history, music, food, the Irish language鈥攁nd so much more.
There will also be some traditional Irish bread up for grabs.
Earlier in September, Neilan had done the same presentation for a packed audience and it was so good they asked her to come back.
Neilan鈥檚 presentation is a part of Habitat for the Arts鈥� initiative to establish monthly multicultural nights. In the future, Habitat is hoping to highlight other countries such as Syria, Scotland and Korea.
Bowls with Soul
Sunday, Oct. 2 鈥� 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Jasper Activity Centre
Bowls with Souls is the cornerstone of Jasper鈥檚 Culture Days celebrations, bringing the community together for an evening of art and soup tasting.
As with previous years, the first 100 dinner-goers will have the opportunity to purchase a handcrafted one-of-a-kind bowl by former Jasperite Julie Anne McMath, for $20.
For those lucky enough to snag one, it will serve as a soup holder, as well as a keepsake to take home at the end of the evening.
The bowls are a hot commodity and have been known to sell out within 30 minutes of the doors opening, so it鈥檚 best to get to the Jasper Activity Centre a little early. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
If you don鈥檛 want a handcrafted bowl, you can also bring your own and still enjoy the event with various types of soup up for grabs; organizers just ask that you make a donation.
According to event organizers, there are about 10 local chefs whipping up different types of soup for the evening vying for the Golden Ladle, a trophy awarded to the chef with the best soup, as voted by the crowd.
