Another amazing Culture Days in Scugog is in the books!
Families, friends, and people of all ages came out to enjoy Culture Days across Scugog from September 24th to October 16th. We shared, collaborated, inspired, and encouraged our community to participate in arts and culture. And they sure showed up!
Chief Kelly LaRocca opened the festivities with a Land Acknowledgment at the Queen St Hub in Downtown Port Perry on Saturday, September 24th, while people filled the main street eager to get hands-on with local arts and culture. Many Scugog Arts members came out to host their own program and share their craft with the community and visitors. We saw Lori Korkola teaching youth how to paint a tree and Jacquie Sullivan moving attendees through the printmaking process. More artists hosted programs at Hubs around Scugog that broadened awareness of different art types and created more accessibility to the arts.
Throughout the main day of in-person activities (September 24th), live music filled the air of Downtown Port Perry. On the main stage attendees took in an authentic Indigenous drum group, along with music from local singer-songwriters.
Our friends at Theatre on the Ridge once again provided audiences with an amazing performance. Emerging writer and performer, Uju Umenyi, and Theatre on the Ridge collaborated to create a new play based on the life of Port Perry’s first black resident in 1866. This project was made possible with producing partner Ontario Culture Days, as part of their Creatives in Residence program, and the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Now program. Keep scrolling to learn more about this exciting collaboration.
Scugog Arts estimates over 3000 people attended Culture Days programs this year, of which there were 50 to enjoy!
Did you miss Culture Days in Scugog? Can’t wait until next year?
Virtual Culture Days doesn’t have to end! Explore more arts and culture, here: https://scugogarts.ca/culture-days/
Watch a recap on Instagram, here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjQ-x5zJdji/
Also, read Engage in Radical Kindness, a piece written by Scugog Arts member Lucy EM Black, in reflection on Chief Kelly LaRocca’s presentation on Indigenous issues, here: https://scugogarts.ca/news/engage-in-radical-kindness/
And check out the image gallery below!
Premiere Public Reading of a New Play by Uju Umenyi
Together, Ms. Umenyi and Theatre on the Ridge have collaborated to create a new play based on the life of Port Perry’s first black resident in 1866. This project has been made possible with producing partner Ontario Culture Days, as part of their Creatives in Residence program, and the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Now program.
Samuel Stout arrived in Scugog in the later part of the 19th century and worked as a barber, married a white woman, became an important member of the community, and died a centenarian and the oldest man in Scugog.
Ms. Umenyi’s play looks at Samuel’s early days in the community and received its premiere public reading at Ontario Culture Days 2022. After extensive workshopping over the past spring and summer, this performance was the next stage in the play’s development, enroute to a full production tentatively scheduled for public performances in 2023, the 10th anniversary year of Theatre on the Ridge.
A post-show conversation with the playwright and artists immediately followed the performance, where the audience also provided enthusiastic feedback on the performance.
“Beautiful, funny, human, a caring compassionate mirror to this community. Wow!” – Audience member
Thanks for the help!