caitlyn mcmillan

It may have just wrapped up in October but Thunder Bay has earned recognition for its successful Culture Days event.

Running September 19 to October 12, Culture Days is a three week celebration of arts and culture in communities across Ontario.

This year, the City of Thunder Bay was singled out among more than 15 other Ontario centres in the 2025 Culture Days Spotlight Awards as runner-up in the Warren Garrett Inclusive Programming category.

“Warren Garrett is one of the founding members of Culture Days,” explains Caitlyn McMillan, cultural development and public art coordinator with the city. “They created that award specifically to recognize events that are inclusive to all participants.”

Arts and Culture Under the Lights, Thunder Bay’s theme for Culture Days this year, invited residents to participate in several free or pay-what-you-may activities and performances hosted by artists and cultural organizations.

Among the many highlights were such programs as the Art of the Mushroom, a two-day celebration of creativity, clay, and community hosted by the Community Arts & Heritage Education Project (CAHEP) and free screenings of the film Lempo from Thunder Bay artists Laura-Lynn Petrick and Tina Petrick.

“When they are looking at this award specifically, they look at how the events have engaged in multiple types of demographics, multiple types of audiences and how they’ve been able to include them in the process as well,” says McMillan. “It’s really about highlighting events that are inclusive and welcoming to all types of people in the community.”

McMillan says while the event only recently completed its third edition, Culture Days continues to grow in popularity among residents in Thunder Bay and this recognition should only bring out even bigger crowds for next year.

“We haven’t got into too many details as its still quite early still,” says McMillan about the plans for 2026. “We are hoping we can take what we’ve been doing with it and have it grow to be something a bit more special.”