CONTACT:
Pardeep Purewal
Manager of Communications & Administrative Services
City of Port Coquitlam
T: 604-927-5335
E: purewalp@portcoquitlam.ca

Check out Port Coquitlam’s new mural and try out art, music, writing and more at Culture Days events Sept. 29 and 30.

The free events are among thousands of Culture Days celebrations taking place across Canada to raise the profile of the arts and give the public a chance to experience the world of art, heritage and culture first-hand. Port Coquitlam’s festivities will highlight cultural activities that residents can enjoy year-round.

A highlight will be the unveiling of the city’s Canada 150 legacy project: an eight-by-12-foot mural consisting of 600 tiles hand-painted by hundreds of local residents at this summer’s Canada Day and Canada 150 events.

Permanently installed at the Outlet, the mural is part of the national Canada 150 Mural Mosaic public art project, which aims to create murals in 150 Canadian communities with an over-arching railway theme. The project was made possible in part by the Government of Canada.

The Port Coquitlam Canada 150 Mural Mosaic Committee, with representatives from the Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm) First Nation, Art Focus and local youth, selected additional themes, imagery and design elements to reflect the city’s unique heritage. Entitled Our Journeys, the mural features images that pay tribute to hometown hero Terry Fox, the Kwikwetlem First Nation, the area’s natural heritage and the trails enjoyed by many residents.

Mural Mosaic artists Lewis Lavoie and Phil Alain finalized the design, allowing room for the community to include personal artwork on 600 four-by-four-inch tiles.

The unveiling – 12:15 to 12:45 pm at the Outlet in Leigh Square – will be a chance to see the city’s newest piece of permanent public art and for the hundreds of tile-painters to find their tile in the mix.

Other free drop-in Culture Days activities include:

• 29, 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Pop-Up Library Storytime (Hyde Creek Recreation Centre) – Enjoy stories and songs from around the world at the Terry Fox Pop-up Library at Hyde Creek.
• 30, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada exhibit (PoCo Heritage Museum, Leigh Square) – Learn more about hometown hero Terry Fox at this travelling exhibit by the Canadian Museum of History in partnership with Terry Fox Centre, commemorating the 35^th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. Visitors are invited to write and decorate a postcard that will be put on display for the rest of the exhibit.
• 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Creative Writing Workshop / PoCo Writers Drop-in Group (The Gathering Place, Leigh Square) – Join local writers and get help composing your own poem, short story or any kind of writing.
• 30, 12 to 3 p.m.: Family Art Drop-in (The Outlet, Leigh Square) – Bring the whole family to create a memorable piece of art, with free supplies, refreshments and guidance by Leigh Square staff.
• 30: 12 to 4 p.m.: Dictionary Project (Terry Fox Library) – Learn how the dictionary has shaped culture and history, and check out the display for the Rotary Club Dictionary Project, which gives an illustrated dictionary to each Grade 4 student in Port Coquitlam in September.
• 30, 12 to 4 p.m.: Explore the Future of Arts and Culture (Terry Fox Library Makespace): Discover how technology will change the ways we create and think in our Makerspace. Drive a mini-robot through a maze, create a photo of you and friends in a strange new place, and learn to make a circuit play a song.
• 30, 1 to 4 p.m.: Cutie Circle Ukulele Jamboree (The Gathering Place, Leigh Square) – Do you play the ukulele or aspire to? Bring your own uke for the open jam, or borrow one at this event and learn to play a song in just five minutes with the help of the Populele “smart” ukulele.

These activities are part of the Tri-Cities Culture Days weekend taking place Sept. 29-Oct.1, when organizations from Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody will offer more than two dozen free hands-on and interactive events for people of all ages. For more information about the events, visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/culturedays, www.coquitlam.ca/culturedays, www.portmoody.ca/culturedays.

For information about year-round arts, cultural and heritage activities in Port Coquitlam, visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/leighsquare

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