Town of Oakville ranked number one overall in Canada for Culture Days

The Town of Oakville’s art, culture, and creativity have received top honours for the fourth year in a row as the number one participating community in the 2025 Culture Days Festival. The annual celebration took place from September 19 to October 12, 2025, and showcased the Town’s vibrant arts and culture scene. 

Oakville was one of this year’s Ontario Festival hubs, and held over 150 events including The Sleeper by artist Shary Boyle at the Oakville Museum as part of the Ontario Culture Days Creatives in Residence program. Other events included exhibitions, workshops, public art installations and performances featuring local creators at locations across town including Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Glen Abbey Community Centre, Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, Heritage Square on Kerr Street, and the Oakville Public Library branches.  

Threads of Tradition: Introduction to Phulkari Embroidery with Rafia Shafiq celebrated for exceptional programming 

Threads of Tradition: Introduction to Phulkari Embroidery, received recognition as a recipient of Ontario Culture Day’s 2025 Spotlight Awards as winner of the Best Collective Program. This workshop, led by Oakville artist Rafia Shafiq, invited participants to explore the textile art of Phulkari through hands-on embroidery, and was a collaboration between the Town of Oakville, Halton Hills, and the City of Burlington in partnership with the Art Gallery of Burlington and Halton Region’s Heritage Services. 

The award recognizes events hosted by two or more organizers that result in various artists or groups coming together to create something new. Visit the Ontario Culture Days website for a full list of recipients. 

Explore the featured events and activities offered as part of our Culture Days celebration on the Culture Days page.

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“What an honour it is that Oakville has once again been recognized as the overall top participating community in Culture Days! Congratulations to all who were involved in helping the Town achieve this ranking. Council and I are proud that Oakville is a place where the community can come together to express their creativity and showcase the thriving arts and culture scene here in Town.”
– Mayor Robert Burton