Culture Days has been around for the past decade, but 2019 will be the first time it has made its way to Bancroft.
Co-coordinators Tara McMurtry and Robin Tait are working together with many organizations in North Hastings. They say somewhere between 40 and 50 will be participating in the three-day-long event.
“We have all kinds of events that have all come together for this one weekend,” McMurtry explains. With events like a craft beer tasting at the Bancroft Brewing Company to a Create a Scarecrow challenge at North Hastings Community Trust, there will be something for everyone to take part in.
McMurtry and Tait agree that they are most excited for the Consensus Bus. The idea behind is that people pile into a school bus and they only go somewhere if everyone agrees to it. Tait says they could end up just sitting the parking lot or go to someone’s house to do their laundry. As long as everyone agrees. “It’s a participatory performance piece,” she explains. The bus will take off (or not) to its first destination at 11 AM with the meeting point at The Muse Gallery and Cafe on 23 Bridge Street.
“The bus excites me because it’s an unknown – we don’t know where it’s going to go,” McMurtry says.
There will also be a serious of events at the Eagles Nest. The first will be on a guided naturalist walk on Saturday from 9 until 10 AM. The official opening of Culture Days will also happen at Eagles Nest at 10 AM on Saturday featuring Shawshkong Ikwe drummers.
“What is so great about this for me is that it’s getting us to know each other to work together for the first time,” McMurtry says. “It’s only going to be fun.”
Culture Days will be happening from September 27th to the 29th. The entire schedule is available on their Facebook page.