The streets of Lethbridge will be alive with the sounds and sights of the local arts scene, Sept. 22-30 as Lethbridge Arts Days features events all over the city.
There will be buskers on the street, live music, theatre, family fun, concerts, film screenings at the Lethbridge Public Library, artist talks, art exhibits, artisan market and lots more.

Simultaneously, New West Theatre’s production of The Million Dollar quartet continues throughout ArtsDays . And exhibits continued at SAAG and Casa.
“We have a lot of projects happening at the Allied Arts Council, Casa and downstairs. There are even events at City hall,” said  Allied arts Council communication manager Kelaine Devine.
“City Hall will be lit up with full lighting red, blue and yellow, the primary colours of art,” she said.

“It’s really exciting to have their support,” she said, adding City Hall hosts  the Lethbridge Centennial Quilters Guilt’s  ArtWalk Quilt show beginning, Sept. 25.
A week chock full of artistic opportunities begins Sept. 22 with Word On The Street at the Lethbridge Public Library.
“It’s out eighth year,” observed festival director Elisabeth Hegerat.

 “We have authors coming from Halifax to Victoria,” she said, adding Pauline Dakin who wrote “Run Hide Repeat,” will be a highlight.
“She spent most of her childhood on the run. So It’s about her fugitive childhood,” she said, adding there are a variety of different authors including cook book authors, true life drama and comic book artists reading from their works. Some of them will have ASL sign language featured.
“Roy MacGregor writes about hockey and his time travelling with his kids across Manitoba,” she added.
 There will be familiar faces like Clifford the Dog.

 And there will be a lot of live entertainment. The event opens at 10:50 a.m. with a blessing from Francis First Charger followed by a drum circle from Thunder Chief productions. The Saints play at 11:30 a.m. followed by  Japanese Minyo Dancers  at 12:15 p.m , Fawns  at 12:30 p.m., the Lethbridge Highland Dance Association (1:15p.m.); Ezra Sulin (1:30p.m.); Black Roses for Breakfast (1:50 p.m.); Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Troop (2:15 p.m.); Jolene Draper & The Inquisitive Few (2:30 p.m.);Will Big Bull (3:15 p.m.);  Alison & Danny (3:30 p.m.) and Ecuadorian Roots (4:15 p.m.)
 And the Sik-Ohh-Koytoki Friendship Centre are erecting a teepee for First Nations storytelling. The Nikka Yuko Japanese Centre will also have a presence at the festival.

As a bonus, Library memberships will be free during Word on the Street.

A lot of art exhibits open on Monday,  a youth art exhibit opens at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre and continues through the week, Kylie Fineday opens an exhibit ninoson at Street Legal Records, Arianna Richardson continued her exhibit “The Garbage Party” at Galt Gardens, Sept. 15-21 and then Sept. 22-28 in Indian Battle Park 2-4 p.m. each day, plus 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Sept. 15 and Sept. 22 . Jose Luis Torre‘s opens “The Everyday Future” in the Hess Gallery at the U of L in W600. Dr. Margaret (Marmie) Hess opens an exhibit Walter Phillips in the Helen Christou Gallery.

Local artist Kasia Sosnowski is a familiar face working at the Southern Alberta art Gallery, but she gets to show off her own explorations of the theme of grief at  Casa, with her new exhibit “Good Grief,” which opens tonight and runs until Oct. 19.
“Ninety per cent of the pieces were created at the kiln at Casa,” Sosnowski said adding she wanted to examine another side to grief with the exhibit.

“ I had just broken up with my boyfriend and I had a death in my family which really affected me,” she said, adding the bright colour palette gives the them a lighter feel.

“ Grief is  challenging. There is a lot of sadness.  I used a lot of bright colours because I wanted to explore grief as a capacity for change,” she said.

 “ There is a negative side to grief and depression and sadness but I wanted  to do something more playful,” she said.

She used the kiln to create  dark red tear drops/rain drops as well as an assortment of body parts- mostly butts.
“There are lots of body parts and tons of butts because butts are really funny,” she said.

New mothers Laura Ajayi and April Matisz drew artistic inspiration from being isolated from the artistic community while raising their children. So they developed “Mommy, Mama, Mother , Mum.”
“We each have a five-year-old and a three-year-old,” said April Matisz.

“ This exhibit is about integrating all of the work of motherhood with being part of a community,” she continued, noting she collaborated with Ajayi on several of the pieces.
“For example I sent her a picture of a child I drew and she added things like gold stars and even pasted sugar on one piece,” Matisz said, adding she started thinking about the exhibit after the birth of her second  child.

 One wall is dominated by Matiisz’s coloured pictures of children.
“ Some of them are pictures of my children, but most of them are composites of my friends‘ photos of their children from social media,” she said.
“They are interesting and different based on the experiences of motherhood,” she said.
Ajayi’s work is mostly textile art including a piece of a umbilical cord.