Lacombe’s Holly Parker says she enjoys sharing her love of arts and culture.
The 13-year-old violinist played classical music at the Cronquist House as part of Alberta Culture Days event Saturday afternoon.
“Some places don’t do stuff like (Culture Days) and I really like how Red Deer does,” she said.
“People don’t always get to hear someone play this kind of music. When all these people come together it’s kind of cool to share it with them.”
READ MORE: ‘Tea with the Brontes’ is part of Red Deer’s Alberta Culture Days offerings
Alberta Culture Days is an annual three-day festival celebrating arts and culture throughout the province.
Jan Underwood, a public awareness co-ordinator and community educator at the Central Alberta Refugee Effort, which was one of the groups that organized the event at Cronquist House, said Alberta Culture Days is important.
“It gets people out to celebrate the arts in one particular weekend. It’s amazing to see the variety and diversity of things that are happening. It’s really encouraging and inspirational,” said Underwood.
On Friday there were events with speakers, including an Indigenous storyteller and another discussing the history of the Francophone community in Alberta. There was also an evening at the Hub on Ross Street, which was attended by about 100 people.
“We had visual artists with their work on display and they were able to explain to the people the idea behind some of their work. They talked about hope and dreams for the future,” said Underwood.
There are thousands of events happening across the province during Alberta during Culture Days, said Underwood.
“People who are in the literary, visual and performing arts are getting out there and sharing those talents with the public. It exposes people to cultural activities that they maybe wouldn’t have gone to before.”
Events continued Saturday, featuring musical instruments, such as the lute and tanbur, poetry and a book reading.
Many of the events featured a multi-cultural flavour, Underwood said.
“I think it’s important that we’re welcoming newcomers here to Red Deer. Often they have talents that they aren’t sure if there is a venue for them to share.
“It helps the newcomers connect with the community in a very positive way,” she said.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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