Culture Days is a three-week festival that celebrates arts and culture across Canada. This year, Culture Days took place in Barrie from September 19 to October 12, 2025. Events and activities invited the public to get hands-on and behind-the-scenes through free and diverse artistic and cultural experiences to highlight the importance of arts and culture in our communities.
Culture Days has been celebrated in Barrie since the program's inception, bringing hands-on, interactive experiences to all ages. We encourage community partners, artists, businesses, and organizations to participate by hosting their own events and activities, accessing micro-grants from the City, and participating in City-led programming. New for 2025, Doors Open Barrie was part of our Culture Days programming.
The City of Barrie supported local artists, non-profit organizations, and creative businesses in creating Culture Days programming. The three-week celebration engaged over 100 local artists, 30 local organizations and businesses, and animated more than 33 different sites around Barrie.
Some highlights from the festival included:
- Keepin’ it Blue, a cyanotypes workshop hosted by Dr. Jill Price at the Barrie Marina that saw participants use waste collected from the beach, a special solution, and the power of the sun to create beautiful blue artwork prints to take home.
- An at-capacity Poetry Open Mic event at Brūd Bar, hosted by local poet Nicole Dalcourt and featuring local writers and poets.
- Bringing Culture Days programming to Doors Open Barrie sites, including pipe organ tours at Collier United Church, Group of 7 Mural Painting with local mural artist Scott Crew at the Barrie Public Library, and a zine making workshop hosted by the Roomies at Spare Room.
- The Muscape Room, a unique event blending live musical performances with an escape room experience and history of Black musical influence, hosted by the Community Creative at Nook Yoga Studio.
- Drawing the People of Barrie, where local artist Linda Laforge created digital portraits of attendees to both the MacLaren Art Centre and Parkview Seniors Centre, which she later combined into two collages of people engaging in creative activities.
Culture Days in Barrie exemplifies community collaboration. Partners such as the Downtown Barrie BIA, MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie Public Library, Barrie Farmer’s Market, Barrie Native Friendship Centre, the Barrie Art Club, and The Campus Gallery at Georgian College, contribute to fulsome and varied programming. As well, community organizations and individuals contribute with their own programming.
Stay tuned for next year’s celebrations, happening from September 18 to October 11, 2026, by following @creativebarrie on socials, and subscribing to the Culture Pop e-newsletter.