Cochrane Alberta Culture Days is gearing up for one of its biggest years yet with three days of activities showcasing arts and culture in the area.
Colleen McCrea is the president of the Arts and Culture Foundation of Cochrane (ACFC), and said that Cochrane first started to participate in Culture Days in 2009 and at that time it was only a one-day event.
Now it has expanded to three days, and according to the Alberta Culture Days website, as of 2013, there were over 1,450 events in communities across the province.
“I think it is very important to be able to support it,” McCrea said of arts and culture in Cochrane. “To be able to come on down and experience it all is really great.”
The kick off will begin Friday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. in Centennial Square. There will be a declaration by Mayor Ivan Brooker, as well as line dancing and cake for attendees.
McCrea said they would be shutting down 2nd Street West for both the Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 27-28) of Alberta Culture Days.
Saturday’s events will start at 10 a.m. with the annual Outhouse Races on Main Street and will be followed by the Nakoda-Cochrane Pickin’ Party running from 1 - 4 p.m. in Centennial Square.
Artists and artisans will be displaying their works along 2nd Street and there will also be music from the Cochrane Pipe Band. At the end of the street there will be a number of classic cars, a large tent for artists and a stage with various musicians, singers and dancers.
Saffron Collective Studios will be doing its Empty Bowl Project once again starting Saturday and continuing Sunday.
“It’s a great thing that they are doing and an amazing project,” said McCrea of the project, which the ACFC has teamed up with.
Each bowl is made by the studio and can be purchased for $20. Once purchased, a ticket will be issued that will allow the bowl to be filled by one of the participating restaurants in Cochrane.
The money raised is donated to the Cochrane Activettes for its Christmas hampers.
Sunday, Sept. 28 has been dedicated to the youth of Cochrane and will be a celebration of the music, art and dance that youth in town are a part of.
McCrea said that they chose to focus on youth because they believe there is such a large amount of young talent here that should be recognized.
“I think it is really great for us to be able to look at what we have coming up behind us all. We don’t want to stop being this wonderful artistic town because we aren’t nourishing it,” McCrea explained.
McCrea said they would have a ‘sponsor a youth’ program, where artists who have tents up during Saturday will pay a $25 donation to leave their tent up during Sunday so that youth would have a place to display their work.
There will also be a sidewalk chalk-drawing contest along 2nd Street West where 10 groups made up of two to six people will draw on a sidewalk square and visitors will vote in a few different categories.
Youth must be between the ages of 13-18 to enter.
For more information on the events visit facebook.com/CACDF2014 or email [email protected].
