The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation Day was on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean you should only think about  the effects of colonial school systems on First Nations for just the one day a year.

 Two new exhibits at the Galt Museum share the stories and experiences of  residential school survivors. The traveling exhibit “Escaping Residential Schools: Running for their Lives” is a national touring exhibition developed by Ontario organization the Legacy of Hope Foundation  over the past 20 years. It uses interactive audio and informational panels to tell the stories of seven  residential school survivors’ experience to deliver more national  perspective.

They tell the stories of their experiences  in their own words and as well as the experiences of several children who ran away from the schools, some of who perished and some of the politicians responsible for the schools.

  The local exhibit, Stolen Kainai Children: Stories of Survival, developed by University of Lethbridge sociology professor  Apooyak’ii/Dr. Tiffany Hind Bull-Prete brings the issue h right home to Southern Alberta,  breaking down the  six different types of colonial schools designed to   assimilate native children into the white world, of which residential schools were just one, and telling the stories of Southern Alberta survivors  who  went to different schools everywhere from Standoff to Calgary.

Major cities like Calgary and Toronto have film festivals, so why not Lethbridge? Lethbridge has a thriving arts scene including a vibrant film community, so some of our talent and a lot of First Nations talent will be part of  the Lethbridge On Screen Film Festival, running at the Movie Mill and Galt Museum, Sept. 23 and 30, which happily coincides with Arts Days, Alberta Arts and Culture Day and Truth and Reconciliation Day.

“There is something for everyone. There’s short films, animation, silent films and more. And for Truth and Reconciliation days all of the films will be from Indigenous artists,“ enthused film co-ordinator Tess Mitchell, who has been putting the festival together for the past three months.

“I’m really excited about it. I’ve been involved in in  films since I was 16 when I was tearing tickets and making popcorn. This festival is going to be really beautiful and really special,” said the Lethbridgian, adding she has been part if the film industry in Canada and the United Kingdom for 20 years including a stint working for the  Edinburgh Film festival.

“The film industry in Lethbridge and Alberta is growing rapidly, and this film festival will bring some incredible movies to the screen in Lethbridge for the first time. All the work for the Lethbridge OnScreen Film Festival is by underrepresented communities to make more space for their vital and powerful contribution to the film industry,” she said.

 Most of the over 20 contributions are newer films including Darlene Naponse’s “ Stellar” and Anthony  Shim’s feature “Riceboy Sleeps” which were part of the TIFF film festival in Toronto earlier this month, though some of the Indigenous films are from the 1960s.

Theatre Outré made history not only as Lethbridge’s first 2SLGBTQ theatre company but lasting 10 years. Now they are part of history with an exhibit opening today at The Galt Museum outlining their  history.

“ I don’t feel old enough to be considered part of history,” laughed Deonie Hudson, interim  artistic director for Theatre Outré, whose collection of suitcases full of props, costumes and paraphernalia for each show the company has done  was the source of  the items in the exhibition.

 Hudson, who has been part of Theatre Outré  for eight years, observed the exhibit is a good way to mark the end of an era.

“ It’s the beginning of the next chapter,” Hudson said.

 The exhibit features props, and costumes, plus interactive informational panel boards for every one of the theatre company’s shows they have performed  over their first 10 years.

Theatre Outré moved out of their downtown space after their tenth season ended.

“ Most local theatre companies don’t have their own spaces. So we’ll be doing more found theatre,” said Hudson, thanking the Owl Acoustic Lounge and Good Times for hosting some of their events.

 She noted they have already performed  a few productions in found  spaces, like under 10,000 Villages and has taken their shows on the road to as faraway as Ireland.

 Theatre Outré veteran Brett Dahl, who has performed in several Theatre Outré  show like “Like Orpheus” takes the helm of the company beginning in September.

Hudson hopes   the exhibit will inspire other artists to  step out of their comfort zone and  make art.

 Curator Jason Ranaghan was excited to put together this exhibition, starting work on it in January.

“I did  a lot of research. I wanted to celebrate the  history of  this queer theatre company,” he said at a press call.

“ I’ve been looking at Theatre Outré from the outside for several years,” he continued.

It’s okay to play, in fact it is essential.

 So The Helen Schuler Nature Centre has started a new interactive play program “The Nature of Play,” to reach out to all ages.

“ It’s for the very young to grandparents,” said Helen Schuler Nature Centre manager Coreen Putman.

 The program featuring a variety of interactive displays designed to encourage mental, motion and object play.

Putman observed the exhibit opened a week ago and has met with enthusiastic response since opening last week.

“It is designed to prioritize the importance of play and how to prioritize play,” Putnam continued, adding it is  a culmination of work from community organization Lethbridge Play, which includes 20 community organizations which began in 2018.