Lethbridge’s arts community can’t wait for the eighth annual Arts Days, Sept. 30-Oct. 2 — a three day long celebration of Lethbridge’s arts scene taking place all over downtown, all day long beginning at 10 a.m. each day until the businesses close.

“This is pretty much our big event of the year for the Allied Arts Council. We focus all of our energy on it ,” said Ashley Markus, the Allied Arts Council’s director of communications.

“We have so many artists doing amazing works, so this is a way to get everyone involved.

Arts Days is part of a bigger provincial event, which is in turn part of a national event supporting the arts.

So over the three days there will be a cornucopia of live music as well as arts in local businesses and even in city hall.

Markus estimated they have 50 local businesses matched with local artists for the Art Walk part of Arts Days.

“ There will be painting, wood carving, open studio and felt making,” said Markus listing a few of the types of art being created  or on display at local businesses during Arts Days.

 A couple things are new this year. There will be an artisan’s market at the Gate featuring different vendors selling things like jewelry clothing and patterns, handmade books as well as photographic cards.

 The other big event will be the public unveiling of  a new work of art outside of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Several new art exhibitions open up on Saturday.

 Catch Collin Zipp and Mandy Espezel’s  exhibition at the Dr. Foster Penny building has its’ ‘opening’ on Saturday, though it has been up for a couple weeks.  The two University of Lethbridge MFA art majors have a variety of paintings, multi-media productions as well as a few surprises up their sleeves.
“We haven’t had many people here yet,” Zipp said.

 His exhibits are based on a variety of artists like Richard Prince, Andy Kaufman and Chris Burden. Most are accompanied by text Zipp wrote to help engage the audience with the art. All of the pieces are related to each other. It is up to the viewer to make the connection.

 Mandy Espezel is looking forward to the event. She has created a beautiful fall day  inspired walking around the University of Lethbridge campus with blue sky, leaves and cloud balloons, among several other paintings and video productions
“I guess we’ll find out on Saturday,” she said as to what people think of the display.
 The reception is 7-10 p.m.

Down the street at the Trianon, Troy Nickle will also be debuting his new exhibition. The reception is at 9 p.m.

The Southern Alberta Art Gallery is opening two exhibitions, on Saturday. Local artists Denton Frederickson and Catherine Ross  are premiering “Between Material and Imagination” which will add context to their  joint exhibitions “Aeolian Aviary” which  will be unveiled  Friday, Sept. 29 during Arts Days.

Things are coming together well for Lethbridge’s first Word on the Street festival, Sept. 25 downtown. Lethbridge will be joining this nation-wide celebration of the written word which is also taking place in Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax and Kitchener.

 There will be a variety of activities, music and vendors set up downtown to recognize the importance of reading and writing in modern life.

“We have 35 authors and the music stage is also full,” said organizer Colette Acheson. Numerous musical acts including John Wort Hannam, Karen Romanchuk,  Shocked Standards, Jean Greer McCarthy, the Necessities and Edmonton bluesman Marshall Lawrence will be performing.

“ It’s a pretty diverse line-up,” she said.
 There will also be a variety of authors speaking including mystery author and playwright Gail Bowen who writes the Joanne Kilbourne mysteries, Red Deer based young adult novelist Sigmund Brouwer, there are also  poets like Medicine Hat’s Niq Beat and Calgary poet Rosemary Greibel, teen author Intissar Louah and many more.

“We have everything to people writing about gardening to fiction,” she said.
Toronto born, Regina based writer Gail Bowen is best known for writing the the popular Joanne Kilbourn mystery series, as well as a “labour of love”— the Charlie D  series which surrounds late night radio talk show host Charlie D and is written for people with literacy difficulties.