It’s time once again to give in to the spirit of the arts as the Oak Bay Arts and Culture Week is set to kick off on Aug. 13 until Aug. 19.
This will be the third year of the collaboration between the Oak Bay Parks, Recreation and Culture, Tourism Oak Bay and District of Oak Bay, with the idea being to celebrate the community as a premier arts and culture destination.
“It’s a great week to celebrate what’s happening with art in the local community,” said Glenna Garramone, Arts and Culture Programmer for Oak Bay Parks, Recreation and Culture.
Overall, culture week exists as an umbrella event that encompasses numerous different organizations and groups of people sharing arts and culture in the Oak Bay community.
“It’s a way for us to get the word out to the community about what’s going on and how much arts and culture is happening in Oak Bay, and the idea is to build a legacy of public art here,” Garramone said.
Starting Aug. 13 is the Bowker Creek Brush-Up during the day and Raven Baroque performs in Willows Beach Park from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The Children’s Craft and Puppets Area by Tim Gosley & co will be happening on Thursday Aug. 17, at the same time as the Summer Concert in the Park (with the Damian Graham Jazz Trio), from 6:30 p.m to 8 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 18 everyone is invited to Outdoor Movie Night at Windsor Park featuring E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which will be shown on a massive movie screen outside in the park.
“We wanted it to be something that could be for all ages, something both children and their parents would find entertaining,” Garramone said, adding the event is free and open to everyone.
Every year, 13 sculptures go up around the community, and the community votes for potential purchase by the municipality in the ArtsAlive program. Saturday, Aug. 19, ArtsAlive public art tours and talks will depart from Oak Bay municipal hall from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
New this year is exhibit Resilience Of The People: A Visual History of the Traditional Territory of the Lekwungen/Songhees People, in addition to the regular hours of Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will also be open on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to coincide with the ArtsAlive art talks and tours.
“While people are enjoying the ArtsAlive tour, they could also swing by to check this out,” Garramone said. “It’s important to acknowledge the history of Oak Bay and that it extends far beyond this place even having that name.”
All events are free. For more info on upcoming events for Arts Culture Week, visit tiny.cc/ArtsCultureWeek.
octavian.lacatusu@oakbaynews.com