A Celebration of Art and Music in Downtown Lethbridge

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Downtown Lethbridge was bursting with a wide array of festivities that exposed southern Albertan's to our local art and music. The Alberta Arts Days celebration (Sept. 17-19) included live music in Galt Gardens Park and other downtown venues. Local dancers, musicians, actors and artisans also joined the celebration with performances and displays of arts and crafts in the park. Although the weather was unseasonably cold and rainy, it didn't deter large numbers of people from attending and enjoying the celebration.

ArtWalk continues to grow with over 50 venues taking part in this popular event. Besides the art on display, ArtWalkers were treated to a number of demonstrations that included block printing, woodburning, glass bead art, textile design, painting and many more. The demonstrations provided onlookers with a glimpse into how artists create. ArtWalkers were encouraged to collect stamps from participating ArtWalk venues to be eligible for a chance to win an original painting by local artist, Ian Randell.

The long-awaited opening of the reconfigured and expanded Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) coincided with Art Days. The new look SAAG includes a new classroom and library, generous windows that look onto Galt Gardens, a multi-media/video viewing gallery, state-of-the-art lighting, sound and projection equipment. The newly created gathering space is filled with light that is created by the impressive glass-clad facade entrance way. The new SAAG is definitely something that our entire community can take great pride in.

The Alberta Arts Days festivities provided great exposure for our local artists, musicians, performers and artisans. The event definitely illustrated that the arts are alive and well in southern Alberta.

Thanks to all of the organizers and participants who made this celebration such a huge success.