NEWS RELEASE
RIVER RUN CENTRE
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The upcoming Culture Days Festival is an annual, cross-Canada celebration of free arts and cultural events. Guelph, long heralded as a supportive arts community, has for generations attracted artists of all mediums to work and create here. The city is also proudly home to several renowned festivals featuring outstanding talent in music, dance, theatre, and more. Now, with Culture Days on the horizon, Guelph proudly boasts its title as one of the Festival Hubs, with several free, public events for all ages to enjoy.
As one of Guelph’s pivotal arts institutions, River Run Centre is pleased to host a culturally and historically relevant piece. On Thursday, Sept. 26, its Studio Theatre will be the set for JayWalking Guelph’s new multi-media presentation, Gwelf Early Days.
“Culture Days is a great festival to be a part of,” says Bill Nuhn, manager, theatres and civic events. “It really encourages people to go out and see something, take part in something. All of the events are available for free, aiming to reduce barriers to entry and encouraging people to take in as much as they can, or maybe to see something they wouldn’t ordinarily see.”
Well known around the city, Jay Wilson is gaining regional prominence as a travelling, performing historian. With a love of local history and a flair for storytelling, Wilson created JayWalking Guelph - a project combining walking tours, stories, recitations, and small-scale theatre productions. As part of Culture Days 2024, Wilson’s new production, Gwelf Early Days, will be presented in River Run’s intimate Studio Theatre.
Wilson’s new production incorporates the feeling of the walking tours he has become known for. Transporting the audience back to Guelph’s first 70 years, he traces its growth from hamlet to village, to town, to city. Through true stories from the journals and diaries of 19th-century Guelphites, Wilson reveals what life in this new settlement - which we now call home - looked like close to 200 years ago.
Gwelf Early Days is presented with a pay-what-you-can ticket option. For this performance, tickets are available for $20, $10, $5, or at no cost. Patrons are encouraged to select the price which works best for them. The production is a great introduction to the art and craft of JayWalking Guelph.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 519-763-3000, visit River Run Centre’s Box Office at 35 Woolwich Street in Guelph, or click here. To explore more Culture Days events in Guelph and beyond, click here.
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