INNISFAIL – Those in the visual, performing, applied and literary arts will once again be celebrated and showcased under a provincial proclamation declaring January as the Month of the Artist.
The month will be an annual celebration of artists and the value they bring to the province, both socially and economically, announced Ricardo Miranda, minister of culture and tourism on Nov. 15.
The Innisfail Library/Learning Centre already has plans to host a Family Literacy Festival that month, said library manager Sara Kepper.
It comes on the heels of another arts-related event -- Alberta Culture Days -- that was celebrated on Sept. 29 at the centre.
Tara Downs, youth and adult programmer at the library said the library presented 11 different activities for families to enjoy from toddlers to grandparents, and included such activities as painting and drawing, music and games, as well as learning opportunities.
“The storytelling aspect that we’ve interwoven into a few of the (activities) really helps to create community,” she said. “That’s what it’s about, is community and community involvement.”
The event in Innisfail was presented in partnership with the Central Alberta Refugee Effort (C.A.R.E) in Red Deer.
As part of the event, they shared several activities around arts and culture, including henna body art, diversity games, a graffiti wall, music, story people, sticky stories, Mandarin story reading and craft, a library art scavenger hunt and a name game.
“(C.A.R.E) has come here to contribute three cultural activities,” said Downs. They’re doing henna body art, a Mandarin story reading and craft, and a diversity game where they’re identifying different aspects of different cultures,” she added. “There’s a learning component too.”
The Richter family from Innisfail was one of many out enjoying the day.
“We really enjoy it,” said Kim Richter, noting they were at the event last year. “The kids really enjoy learning about other cultures and doing art. Having that creative outlet for them is fantastic,” she added.
“The spin the wheel (activity) was a lot of fun this year because they were able to learn about different cultures, foods, the flags, the different countries, where (people) live and how they live,” Richter concluded.
