By: Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands and Gananoque will serve as a festival hub for the 2023 Ontario Culture Days.
Hubs are local partners that act as community leads for the festival. From regional galleries to the local culture department, these expert organizations are a friendly face during the festival.
This year, the festival hub program has grown to 13 communities, deepening Ontario Culture Days’ connection to more regions across the province. Each hub partner will develop their own cutting-edge arts programming and engage more local participants than ever before.
The hub partner for TLTI and Gananoque is the Gananoque Arts Network. The hubs are located in cities and towns across the province to help visitors explore local events and learn more about the area.
This festival runs from Sept. 22 to Oct. 15, serving as an Ontario-wide festival.
The Ontario Culture Days Festival is an annual celebration of arts, culture and heritage taking place each fall across the province. Organizers host programs throughout Ontario and invite the public to participate for free.
Ontario Culture Days has expanded the festival hub program in Ontario, bringing the total number of hubs for 2023 to 13.
Ontario Culture Days also announced eight creatives and residences. This is the fourth year of the creatives in residence program and the second year of the regional festival hub organizational partner program.
Creatives in residence artists are selected to participate in a five-month long residency program, where they collaborate with local communities to showcase the vibrancy of the Ontario arts and culture community. Their results culminate in community-based activities and exhibits presented during the 2023 Fall Festival. This year, the creatives in residence series is inspired by themes of material culture.
“Every year we work hard to connect with more local communities and look to present diverse stories with new perspectives to Ontarians,” said Ruth Burns, the executive director for Ontario Culture Days. “With our expanded festival hubs and our exceptional creatives in residence artists we are gearing up for an unbelievable fall festival.”