Arts District Day on March 14 is offering free access to a wide range of art forms at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Winspear Centre, and Citadel Theatre. The event is the inaugural day by the Arts District, which got a formalized brand in 2024. "We all believe in the same thing," Hanna Choi of the Winspear told Fish Griwkowsky about working together on Arts District Day, "the same core value that art is vital to human life."
The AGA will host a series of live music performances, hands-on workshops for sculpture and posters, guided tours, an exhibit with objects sourced from the Royal Alberta Museum, and youth yoga. The Winspear's programming includes live music, a colouring activity, works by iHuman Youth Society artists, and a booth where visitors can connect with the Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre. Lastly, the Citadel features special arts-themed menus at PlayWright and GhostLight, face-painting, a performance by magician Jay Flair, and balloon art. The Citadel also hosts a suite of free, supplementary programming for its ticketed show, The Wizard of Oz. Guests can partake in a choir performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and catch a pre-show chat with music director Steven Greenfield and artistic director Daryl Cloran.
Guests can collect physical or virtual stamps on the Art Hop passport by visiting all three venues to be entered in a prize draw, and programming extends beyond the three aforementioned venues. The Stanley A. Milner branch of the Edmonton Public Library, the Edmonton Arts Council Shop & Services, the ArtsHub Creative Studios, and L'Espresso Café all have something going on.