Join us at Caetani Centre as we Celebrate CULTURE DAYS 2024!
Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture. At the end of each September, millions of people attend thousands of free participatory arts and culture events across the country both in-person and online. Culture Days programs invite the public to get hands-on and behind-the-scenes to highlight the importance of arts and culture in our communities.
This year BC Culture Days will take place September 20th through October 13th, 2024 for three glorious weeks of colour, creativity, and community!
Read below about all the Caetani Centre events happening during Culture Days!
We invite you to explore the history and lore held inside of our 125+ year-old heritage house. Learn about the fascinating world of this elusive branch of the Caetani family, descendants of Italian royalty, and their intriguing story.
The tour includes a visit through our heritage house museum as well as a visit to our art gallery to see a small selection of Sveva Caetani's Recapitulation Painting Series and the special exhibition, “Reflections on Belonging.”
The Caetani Centre is the former home of renowned artist, writer, mentor and teacher Sveva Caetani.
Sveva Caetani was a visionary figure in the North Okanagan community with a deep belief in the power of art, culture, and the pursuit of knowledge to enrich and change lives and cultivate community.
Sveva left her 1.3 acres of gardens and historic home to the community of Greater Vernon in 1994 with the express wish that it serve as a community cultural facility for artistic and critical exploration.
Now open to the public, the Caetani Centre is available for both guided and self-guided heritage tours. Visitors can learn about the fascinating royal Italian Caetani family history and story and see select displays of treasured family artifacts in the heritage home.
The mysterious and heartbreaking story behind the history of the house and its inhabitants provides a gateway to understanding our recent past, and opens a window to a much different world, shedding light on the many artworks and writings created by our benefactor Sveva Caetani.
Location:
Caetani Centre Museum, 3401 Pleasant Valley Rd. Vernon, BC
Dates & Times:
Fri, Sep 27, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sat, Sep 28, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Fri, Oct 4, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sat, Oct 5, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Fri, Oct 11, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sat, Oct 12, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Admission:
Free, and accepts optional pay-what-you-may donations for admission.
Accessibility:
Wheelchair accessible and has gender-neutral washrooms.
Year of the Dragon/hand embroidery by Evan Matchett-Wong/Archcurate
Reflections on Belonging invites communities to delve into today’s most pressing societal issues.
Featuring powerful storytelling, immersive art, and interactive experiences, this exhibition offers more than just an opportunity to observe—it invites active participation. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the profound and interconnected aspects of our shared experiences, prompting self-reflection and inspiring a collective vision for a just and equitable future.
The exhibition is made possible through the support of the Government of Canada’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program.
Location:
Caetani Centre Gallery, 3401 Pleasant Valley Rd. Vernon, BC
Open for Viewing:
Fri, Sep 27, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sat, Sep 28, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Fri, Oct 4, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sat, Oct 5, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Fri, Oct 11, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sat, Oct 12, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Admission:
Free, and accepts optional pay-what-you-may donations for admission.
Accessibility:
Gender neutral washrooms/wheelchair accessible
The Caetani Centre and the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club present the feature-length documentary, Casorsos: La Prima Famiglia, about one of the first Italian families to arrive in the Okanagan.
It was 140 years ago that Giovanni Casorso first came to Kelowna. This feature length documentary tells the story of Giovanni, Rosa and their family of 9 children: 8 sons and 1 daughter: their contributions, their impact on both the City of Kelowna and the local Italian community and their legacy that has passed from generation to generation.
The story of the Casorso Family and their voyage to Canada is expansive and fascinating. It encompasses the tribulations facing Italians after Unification in the late 1800s, experiences typical to Italian Immigrants before the turn of the century arriving in North America, what was happening in the new frontier province of B.C. and a snapshot of the early history of the Central Okanagan and Kelowna
Most of all, it is a remarkable story of courage, resilience and arrangiarsi - the spirit of "making do" that allowed Italian immigrants to thrive in a new land. Giovanni and Rosa Casorso, their eight sons and one daughter made an indelible impression on a young community and set in motion a chain of migration that has shaped the experience of every Italian who would follow in their footsteps.
The Casorsos: La Prima Famiglia received the Special Heritage Project Award from the Central Okanagan Heritage Society and was recognized by Heritage BC for achievement in Education, Communications and Awareness.
A wine and cheese reception and Q&A session will be part of the screening.
Location:
Caetani Centre Gallery, 3401 Pleasant Valley Rd. Vernon, BC
Date:
Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.
Admission:
By-donation. Please register for this event on the Culture Days event page.
Accessibility:
Gender-neutral washrooms/wheelchair accessible
Lambda Literary Fellow jaz papadopoulos offers a poetically critical look at how sexual assault trials impact survivors.
A critical response to the #MeToo movement, I Feel That Way Too is an experiment in narrative poetics. It weaves through past and present, drawing together art, philosophy, the Jian Ghomeshi trial and childhood memory to interrogate how media and social power structures sustain patriarchal ideologies. Inspired by the works of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Anne Carson, A.M. O’Malley and Isobel O’Hare, these poems are lyrical and meditative, moving to make sense of the nervous system in battle and in recovery.
jaz papadopoulos (they/them) is an interdisciplinary writer, educator and video artist. They hold an MFA from the University of British Columbia and are a Lambda Literary Fellow. A self-described emotionalist and avid Anne Carson fan, jaz is interested in media, horticulture, lyricism, nervous systems, anarchism and erotics. Originally from Treaty 1 territory, jaz currently resides on unceded Syilx lands. I Feel That Way Too is their debut poetry collection.
Location:
Caetani Centre Gallery, 3401 Pleasant Valley Rd. Vernon, BC
Date:
Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
Admission:
By donation. Please register to attend this event on the Culture Days event page.
Accessibility:
Gender neutral washrooms/wheelchair accessible
