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Langley Centennial Museum hosts myriad of ‘culture’ events

Celebrations are planned at local libraries and the museum this weekend to mark Culture Days.
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Culture Days is a collaborative, Canada-wide volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities.

It started in 2010, and has now spread to most Canadian communities, including Langley. This year’s celebrations run Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

Locally, there’s a Celebrate Dance event at the City library on Friday, Sept. 29, at 3:30 p.m., as well as meet-and-greet with author and artist Maxwell Newhouse on Friday, at 12:30 p.m. at the Aldergrove library.

Celebrations continue Saturday, Sept. 30 including festivities at Brookswood Library, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The same day, Muriel Arnason Library is hosting a colouring, coffee, and cookies event at 1 p.m., while the Fort Langley Library is holding a Culture Day celebration from 1 to 3 p.m.

Culture and museum go hand in hand

There are also Culture Days events planned at the Langley Centennial Museum.

For instance, the Township is putting together a Canada 150 photo mosaic mural. This project has been in the works for a while.

A photo booth will be set up in the museum courtyard on both Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.

As well, there’s opportunities to create, participate, share, and have a lot of other fun at the musem on both those days.

The museum, located at 9135 King Street in Fort Langley, will mark the occasion with a series of free events and the public is encouraged to drop in and enjoy, said arts and culture programmer Hannah Bennett

An all-ages event kicks off Culture Days on Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon, when curatorial assistant Shea Wind shares artifacts from the past during Langley Centennial Museum Collection: Hands On Highlights. Visitors can gather in the museum’s foyer to guess what the artifacts are and see how they worked.

Guests can try a viewfinder from their great-great grandparents’ era, see antique coin banks, and discover pioneer chores our ancestors did to get clean and stay warm, she suggested.

Also on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Creative Cube Mobile Art Studio will set up on the museum’s north lawn. Guests of all ages can join instructors inside the 32-foot custom mobile art studio to learn how to make their own “silly socks” using colourful tie-dye techniques.

An even messier science activity will be available outside the Cube, where visitors can make their own glow-in-the-dark slime.

Also on tap is the Fabric, Beads & Buttons event. It’s an all-ages session that runs in the museum courtyard on Saturday, from noon to 2 p.m.

Using upcycled old T-shirts and other garments, museum instructors will explain how to make colourful, wearable, beaded jewelry. With the help of a button maker, magazine clipping collages, drawings, and sketches can also become eye-catching, wearable art, Bennett explained.

Adults are encouraged to join artists Dian Grant and Lois Hunter for an exhibition tour, Fibre Arts A-Z by the Langley Weavers’ & Spinners’ Guild. This guided tour through the colourful exhibit will be presented in the museum gallery – again on Saturday, from noon to 1 p.m.

“Participants can learn about the processes, materials, and techniques that went into many of the pieces and explore the informal ‘yarn bombing’ installation that was created for the exterior of the museum,” she said.

Artists from the Weavers’ & Spinners’ Guild will also lead an all-ages 100-km coat demonstration in the museum gallery, Saturday, from 1 to 3 p.m. Visitors can watch and ask questions as the artists work on their 100-km Coat, made entirely of resources and talent available within the region.

Culture Days events continue at Langley Centennial Museum on Sunday, too.

An all-ages paper marbling and printmaking session will be offered in the courtyard from 10 a.m. to noon.

“Paper marbling is a fun, easy, and experimental process that creates colourful swirls of paint on paper and other surfaces. Guests can try their hands at using tools and water-soluble inks to print a variety of leaves, feathers, and other natural textures to make beautiful, layered collaged prints,” Bennett elaborated.

An Interactive Presentation: The Mobile Museum will follow from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, where people of all ages can join B.C. history presenter Tony Hardie in the museum program room as he shares his knowledge, engaging personal history, and extensive collection of authentic BC pioneer, First Nations, gold rush, and fur trade artifacts.

“Visitors can ask questions, see, and touch rare artifacts and expertly crafted replicas while learning more about the history of this province and its people,” Bennett said.



Roxanne Hooper

About the Author: Roxanne Hooper

I began in the news industry at age 15, but honestly, I knew I wanted to be a community journalist even before that.
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