Culture Days
A national celebration of arts and culture!
Get more out of Culture Days
Culture Days 2025
Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture that invites the public to experience the importance of arts and culture in our communities through free hands-on and behind-the-scenes activities. Join us between September 18 and October 4 to explore creativity, share artistic expression, and celebrate what makes Oakville such a vibrant and special community.
The Town of Oakville is proud to once again serve as an official Ontario Culture Days Festival Hub, offering free activities and programs that celebrate arts, culture, and creativity at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Center, the Oakville Museum and the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts!
For the past four consecutive years, Oakville has been ranked #1 in Canada for Culture Days as the Overall Top Participating Community, offering more than 150 free programs and activities annually. As an official Ontario Culture Days Festival Hub, the Town is proud to continue championing accessible, community driven creativity.
For more details, visit the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre Event Hub page on the Culture Days website.
For more details, visit the Oakville Museum Event Hub page on the Culture Days website.
Bring your four-legged friends and join renowned Canadian artist and curator Micah Lexier for this unique exploration of the culture of dogs and their humans:
For more details, visit the "Dog Days of Ontario Culture Days" event listing on the Culture Days website.
This program is part of the Ontario Culture Days 2026 Creatives in Residence series and is curated by Dave Dyment.
Micah Lexier is a Toronto-based artist whose activities include making, collecting, and organizing. His projects range in scale and permanence from printed ephemera to public sculptures. He has presented over 120 solo exhibitions, participated in more than 250 group exhibitions and has produced sixteen permanent public commissions. In 2015 Lexier was honoured with a Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Micah Lexier is represented by MKG127, Toronto.
For more details, visit the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts Event Hub page on the Culture Days website.
Children 12 and under can color a custom illustration designed by artist Ray Vidal and submit it at their local community centre for a chance to win prizes!
Pick up a copy of the custom illustration at any Town community centre. Colour it in and submit it to the front desk of your local community centre by Sunday, October 4 at 4 p.m. for a chance to win exciting prizes!
Open to children 12 years of age or younger.
Entries will be grouped into the following age categories:
Submissions will be evaluated based on:
Top entries in each age category will receive fun prizes and be featured in a public display at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre.
Selected entries will be showcased at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre to celebrate local creativity and community spirit.
Runs throughout Culture Days, ending Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 4 p.m.
By submitting a colouring contest entry, parents or guardians consent to the child’s artwork being publicly displayed at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, and potentially featured on the Town of Oakville’s website or social media channels.
Personal information collected (such as the child’s name and age) will be used solely for contest administration and recognition purposes, in accordance with the Town of Oakville’s privacy policy.
The Town is launching its new Public Art Map, just in time for Culture Days! This interactive map highlights Oakville’s diverse collection of murals, traffic signal box wraps, thoughtfully designed banners, engaging sculptures, and more.
Take part in our Public Art Scavenger Hunt during Culture Days for your chance to win! Illustrated by artist Yen Linh Thai, the self-guided scavenger hunt explores Oakville’s vibrant public art scene along with the artists and stories behind each work.
Pick up your scavenger hunt map at any Town community centre, and use it to find featured public art pieces and answer the corresponding questions. Bring it back to your local community centre’s front desk by October 4 at 4 p.m. to redeem and collect unique stickers and win prizes!
All ages.
Collect 4 location stickers to earn a small prize, 8 stickers for a medium prize, and 12 stickers for a large prize. Collect all 32 stickers (one from every location) to receive an extra-large prize and a chance to enter a draw for a special prize!
Runs throughout Culture Days, ending Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 4 p.m.
Taking part in a Culture Days event or activity? Capture the moment! Add a photo, video or memory from your experience to the “Our Oakville” Digital Album to help us showcase Culture Days through the eyes of the community. Your contributions can help us celebrate Oakville's culture today and imagine where it could go next.
Oakville was named the number one participating community in Canada for the fourth consecutive year during the 2025 Culture Days Festival.
As an Ontario Festival Hub, Oakville hosted more than 150 free arts, culture, and heritage events across the community, welcoming over 4,000 participants.
The festival's success was further recognized through a 2025 Ontario Culture Days Spotlight Award for Best Collective Program, presented to Oakville artist Rafia Shafiq for Threads of Tradition: Introduction to Phulkari Embroidery. The collaborative program brought together regional partners to celebrate the traditional textile art of Phulkari through hands-on learning and cultural exchange.
Please email culturedays@oakville.ca or call 905-845-6601, ext. 4614.
