Culture Days Takes a Bow on A Record Year

TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the curtain closes on another year, Canada has outdone itself again, creating a colourful tide of creative expression that resulted in the most attended Culture Days ever, with a record 3.4 million people estimated to have participated in over 2,800 events across Canada.

From September 24th to October 24th, the 12th annual Culture Days reignited to connect communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast through a national celebration of arts, culture, and creativity. Providing a sure sign that audiences are ready to return to support local arts and culture, an estimated 3.4 million participants came together in-person and online to enjoy, create, and explore through special performances, workshops, digital demos, late-night art adventures, exhibitions, history lessons, at-home crafting and more. Culture Days owes much of its success to the hundreds of event organizers who showed an unshakeable commitment to creative expression, knowledge-sharing, and community by organizing over 2,800 free, participatory events in over 250 communities, in more than 40 languages.

A record-breaking year has revealed a collection of 2021's Top Participating Communities. These rural towns, mid-sized cities, and urban centres achieved national recognition as arts and culture champions?communities chock full of creators, artists, storytellers and organizations eager to share the value of arts and culture with their communities at a time when it's needed most.

In a post-event survey, 83% of respondents state that art and culture plays an important role in post-pandemic recovery, with 85% believing that events like Culture Days help build strong communities and foster meaningful community engagement (Maru/Matchbox, 2021). Indeed, all year round, Culture Days exists to foster, promote, and affirm an artistic and cultural life for all.

The stories borne of this year's events continue to create positive ripple effects across the country. Delve into the journeys of creatives through the Culture365 Blog - RE:IMAGINE Series and Video Profiles Series.

Keep the creativity going!
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About Culture Days
Culture Days has become the largest cultural event in Canada, attracting millions of attendees to thousands of free activities and performances hosted by artists, cultural organizations and municipalities in hundreds of communities across Canada every year. Culture Days programs invite the public to get hands-on and behind-the-scenes to highlight the importance of arts and culture by connecting communities and creators.

The Culture Days national office works with provincial partners and a wide network of event organizers, from grassroots community volunteers to major institutions. As a leading national voice for an active and engaged cultural life, Culture Days provides a range of tools and skill development resources that lead to greater cultural engagement. Culture Days is a registered charity, visit culturedays.ca for more information and to donate.

Financial support for Culture Days is provided by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts. Culture Days is also made possible through the support of Pattison (National Out-of-home Media Partner), Cineplex Media (National Media Partner), CBC (National Broadcast Partner), and BT/A (National Creative Partner).

For media inquiries, please contact:
Mercedes Blackwood | 416.557.3361 | [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8dabddfa-15fb-4b58-bc4b-c6d78b1d7a87