Another glorious week has passed and, with lots of great events coming up in the next week or so, I’m going to continue to take the time to try and highlight as many as possible, but before I get to that, I hope everyone out there has taken a moment or two to enjoy the beautiful weather in whatever way they can.
I know I’ve made a point of making music in the sun a few times now and hope to carry on with it for at least the next little while.
Doing creative things outside is always slightly better than being inside, at least in my experience.
I always enjoy watching birds, being watched by them and generally relaxing as I work my way through a song, so be sure to set aside some time to do something, whatever your creative thing is, outside — even planning out your garden is a fairly creative endeavour that requires a lot more understanding of colour than I’m capable of.
The perfect example of how a little outside creativity can help the community is soon going to be found around the downtown area when the Beauty of Spring kicks off on April 16.
These are colourful wheelbarrow displays that are going to be found all over downtown to help usher in spring and to celebrate the season.
These displays will be put together by various downtown merchants for everyone to enjoy.
If you’ve spent your time outside doing creative things already and are looking to get out in the community to do a little bit more, then you’re in luck, as there is a lot going on right now, as mentioned.
With Earth Week coming up, there are a lot of nature and conservation-based activities happening around Summerland to help educate people about the earth in general, what the possible issues facing the earth are and what we can do to help fix them.
The really nice thing about these events is that while a lot of them are proactive things like neighbourhood clean ups or educational things like tours of water treatment plants and documentaries, there are a handful of hands on events that involve both creativity and learning about the world around us.
For example, on April 20, the Philosopher’s Café is holding a special Earth Week talk about Sylix Water Perspectives, which is sure to be a fascinating conversation about water and the management practices of those who rely on the water of the Columbia River system.
Keeping with the water theme, you can also visit the library on April 23, for “Water is Life” featuring activities, stories and more from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Another great option for artists of all ages is the Imagination Station, which is at the Summerland Arts Centre on Main St. on April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m.
There will be recycled art projects and offers a fantastic chance to figure out some creative uses for things you likely have lying around the house, so be sure to check out this event.
Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and culture event, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.