Get ready to join us at the Halton Hills Public Library as we celebrate Culture Days with a schedule of programs exploring diversity, technology, and history. Running from September 22 to October 15, 2023, Culture Days is a national and local celebration of arts and culture, providing everyone with barrier-free opportunities to enjoy arts and cultural experiences.

Events begin Friday, September 29 at 7:30 pm with a film screening of Inconvenient Indian. This film dives deep into the brilliant mind of Thomas King, Indigenous intellectual, master storyteller, and author of the bestselling book The Inconvenient Indian, to shatter the misconception that history is anything more than stories we tell about the past. With winks to his cab driver Coyote along the way, King takes us on a critical journey through the colonial narratives of North America, exposing falsehoods of white supremacy and puncturing myths of Indigenous erasure to lay bare what has been extracted from the land, culture, and peoples of Turtle Island. In this time of momentous change and essential re- examination, Inconvenient Indian is a powerful visual poem anchored in the land and amplified by the voices of those who continue the tradition of Indigenous resistance. Free tickets for Inconvenient Indian are available through the John Elliott Theatre Box Office (JET).

Culture Days coincides with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Saturday, September 30, 2023, honouring the lost children and survivors of residential schools and their families, and endeavouring to acknowledge and better understand the history and harms done. On this day, we invite the public to take part in the Moccasin Identifier project, celebrating Indigenous heritage and culture, while creating a visual reminder to recognize and honour the past. Using a Moccasin Identifier Education Kit, participants will use stencils based on drawings of historical moccasins of the Anishanaabe, Huron-Wendat, Seneca and Cree to create paintings of the moccasin designs, grounding their learning through an art-based activity. This drop-in program for all ages takes place from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm outside in the Georgetown Library and Cultural Centre Plaza at the Georgetown Branch.

Everyone is invited to drop into the Georgetown Branch of the library throughout Culture Days to design and print a personalized puzzle piece on the 3D printer as part of our Create Together: 3D Printer Community Art Project. Connect your puzzle piece to our puzzle board and help build our first 3D printed piece of community art!

Join us in branch for an engaging family Storywalk®! From September 22 to 24, we will be featuring Meet Willie O’Ree by Elizabeth MacLeod. Walk from sign to sign and learn about the story of Willie O’Ree, who became the first Black player in the NHL. The Storywalk® will be available at the Georgetown Branch from September 22 to 24, and then move to the Acton Branch from October 7 to 15.

Explore historical Georgetown on an evening ramble with local historian Mark Rowe. Discover the secrets of woolly mammoths and coffin makers in Downtown Georgetown. The tour will begin promptly at 6 p.m. in the plaza outside the Georgetown Branch of HHPL on Wednesday, October 4. No registration is required.

To learn more about the programs happening at the library, visit our website page. For more programs and information about Culture Days in our community, please visit the Halton Hills Culture Days event page.