Huron Cultural Office

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Huron Cultural Office

Huron Cultural Office ignites & inspires creativity that reflects Huron County’s unique cultural identity.

We are dedicated to building capacity in the art, culture & heritage sectors and supporting an inclusive, engaged and connected cultural community. The Huron Cultural Office works collaboratively with a variety of local partners to contribute to a thriving community where diversity and tradition are celebrated and creativity and innovation are embraced for economic, social, and community wellbeing.

01/21/2026

Thumbs up if you're looking forward to warmer temperatures, live music, and dancing in the park as much as we are! ☀️💃

✨ Save the date!
Huron Multicultural Festival returns:
📅 June 27, 2026
📍 Lions Harbour Park, Goderich

Culture, music, food, and community—we can't wait to see you there! 🌍🎶🍴

Watch for full details coming soon: https://www.huroncounty.ca/multicultural-festival/

11/06/2025

Shannon McGavin (The Well Community Collective) and Tanis VanderMolen (Huron County Library) will present a case study at the Huron County Cultural Summit on - “Creating Belonging through Partnerships” shares how The Well Community Collective and the Huron County Library are co-designing inclusive, youth-driven spaces that bridge art, culture, and community, highlighting the process, successes, and lessons learned in building belonging across rural communities.

Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Tanis VanderMolen (she/they) works for the Huron County Library and is committed to creating welcoming and inclusive spaces where residents feel inspired, connected, and heard. They work collaboratively with local partners to support programs and services that reflect the diverse needs and interests of Huron County residents. With a focus on youth engagement and community connection, Tanis helps make the library a place where everyone can feel they belong. The libraries they manage are in Exeter, Hensall, and Kirkton.

Shannon McGavin is the Founder and Executive Director of The Well Community Collective, leading the creation of The Well Youth Hubs across Huron, Perth, Grey, and Bruce Counties. Rooted in a belief that youth are not just participants but partners in change, Shannon has championed co-design, youth leadership, and shared decision-making as central to transforming rural mental health systems. Through her leadership, The Well has become a model of collaboration, bringing together youth, families, and multi-sector partners to create welcoming, accessible spaces that reflect the voices and needs of young people. Guided by empathy, innovation, and evidence, Shannon is helping to redefine what it means for rural communities to support youth wellness together.

11/05/2025

Throughout the Huron County Cultural Summit, the Blyth Festival Young Company will be working away with Lisa Gill (nee Hood) to create a special performance for attendees which will be presented a the end of the summit for all to enjoy!

Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Registration required: Link in bio.

More about the Workshop: Creating theatre in a rural community is a lifeline for young folks living in the area. It can be difficult for young creative teens to see themselves reflected in the popular activities widely available in rural spaces. Theatre, visual art, music, dance, craft, writing, all become blazing life preservers in a sea of teenage uncertainty.

The presentation will introduce you to some of these amazingly talented folks and allow them to tell you, “Why Theatre?” Then, they will show you just what we mean. We will head to the Philips Studio Theatre where we will engage in a devising workshop surrounding the theme of the summit; Belonging. At the end of the day, we will showcase what is possible in just a few hours and welcome you into the world of collective creation.

Join the workshop: If you are a youth interested in registering for this workshop please register online: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesMTlcmWv5DHYkQ6pyvfPp1Kv1cbHomjy9eRfw8i1GJYHs-A/viewform

11/04/2025

Lisa Gill (nee Hood): will present a case study on Youth Belonging through Theatre and a workshop with the Blyth Festival Young Company at the Huron County Cultural Summit.
Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Born, raised and now living in Goderich, Lisa is overwhelmed with gratitude to be returning home to the Blyth Festival as the Director of Youth Engagement. About 24 years ago, Lisa was first welcomed into the Blyth family as a member of the Young Company, performing Funny Faced Ogre. She is now able to return the gift, welcoming the next generation of theatre geniuses to this amazing theatre family as the Director of Youth Engagement.

Lisa graduated from the Performance Program at Sheridan College in 2009 and holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Toronto Mississauga, a Bachelor of Education from Western University, as well as a Master of Arts from the University of Guelph. She is certified with the Ontario College of Teachers and has been a member in good standing since 2016.

11/03/2025

Rachael King, General Manager of the Blyth Festival Theatre will present a case study presentation on Volunteerism and Belonging at the Huron County Cultural Summit.

Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Rachael has worked across North America and Australia as a stage, production and tour manager with companies such as the Blyth and Shaw Festivals, Green Thumb Theatre, Caravan Farm Theatre, Erth Visual and Physical and Theatre Passe Muraille. Rachael taught stage management at Douglas College and was part of the Event Services team for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. She comes to Blyth directly from Exhibition Place where she has been with the Production Services team, delivering such events as the 2016 Grey Cup & Centennial Classic, the 2015 PanAm Games, as well as the annual CNE and Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Drama in Education from the University of Windsor as well as a Master of Fine Arts, Stage Management from the University of Iowa.

11/02/2025

Siwi Vodden will present a case study on “From Movement to Meaning: An Immigrant’s Journey of Belonging Through Art” at the Huron County Cultural Summit

Thursday, Nov. 13th at Blyth Memorial Hall.
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Marsiwi (Siwi) Vodden is a Canadian-based artist originally from Indonesia. She immigrated to Canada in June 2012, where she embraced a new chapter by pursuing a career change. Siwi returned to school and earned a Honours Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), and she now works for the Federal Government of Canada. Alongside her professional career, Siwi has been an active member of the Goderich Little Theatre for the past three years, performing in productions such as Ruby of Elsinore, Elizabeth Rex, and Lend Me a Tenor. A traditional dancer since childhood, she continues to share her cultural heritage through performances at festivals across Goderich, London, and Toronto.

11/01/2025

Alex Jebsen, Chair of Huron County Pride, will discuss updates from the organization and their work to build belonging through Education & Training at the Huron County Cultural Summit.

Thursday, Nov. 13th at Blyth Memorial Hall.
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Huron County Pride’s mission is to promote programs, services, opportunities, and activities that cultivate a positive community; educate on, and advocate for gender and sexually diverse individuals; and promote inclusion. Their vision is for Huron County to be a place where regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, everyone will be safe, equal, and a valued part of the community.

10/31/2025

Join Huron Heritage Round Table for their quarterly meeting which will be open to the public for the Huron Cultural Summit.

Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

The Heritage Round Table meets to discuss ideas, opportunities, and challenges facing the Huron County heritage community. Participants from this group will share updates, resources and potential collaborations that may exist in Huron County.

This meeting will be chaired by Elizabeth French-Gibson, Senior Curator of Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol. Elizabeth oversees the management of all our Museum sites, leads the collections team and develops the temporary and permanent exhibitions.

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

10/30/2025

We are so please to announce that you will have the opportunity to Join Terre Chartrand, Omámi Ininiwak (Algonquin), French, and Welsh artist in her session on Building an Indigenous Belonging Resource at the Huron County Cultural Summit.

Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Terre brings a diverse background in literature, theatre, visual arts, photography, technology, and science. As the founder and artistic director of various collectives and projects, Terre is the founder of Red Osier Guild – a guild for land based learning, cultural resurgence, and survival, she initiated Pins and Needles Fabric Company, an inter-arts collective, founded by the urban Indigenous youth arts collective Endaayaang – Our Home, and was the architect of O:se Kenhionhata:tie , a culture and Land Back camp for Two-Spirit youth.

Current projects highlight principled engagement in identity and Indigeneity, encompassing Indigenous advising to QUN (Q***r Up North), curating Emerging from the Broken Forest for Indigenous artists, and producing ongoing collaborative projects highlighting traditional craft and Indigenous connection to the land, and Indigenous cultural resurgence.

Terre is currently working to build a resource with County of Huron Local Immigration Partnership with funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

10/28/2025

We are delighted to be hosting James Fowler and Pearl Van Geest for the Closing Keynote Presentation at Huron County Cultural Summit!

Thursday Nov. 13, 10am-5pm, Blyth Memorial Hall
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1141145990795689/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7

Artists James Fowler and Pearl Van Geest will share how collaborative art can nurture connection, reflection, and purpose. Through projects such as Q***r Up North, Wild Waysides, Natural Variations, the Eco Art Van, Terrain of Sensation, and the long-running Nuit Rose Festival of Q***r Performance and Visual Art and the 10X10 Photography Project, they explore how creative practice can bridge people and place. As co-curators, their projects investigate q***r ecology, environmental justice, community, and kinship. Together, they reflect on how mapping, mark-making, storytelling, and collaboration can foster belonging and meaning across diverse geographies. This presentation invites educators, artists, and culture makers alike to consider how art making can make people, places, and purpose truly matter.

Based in Toronto, James is known for his work bridging q***r aesthetics, cartography, and craft. His paintings and textile-based sculptures explore how culture and place intersect, often using traditional craft techniques to challenge heteronormative expectations. Fowler has exhibited nationally and has taught at OCAD University.

Based in Guelph, Pearl is a q***r artist, writer, curator, and educator whose work explores q***r ecologies and the connections between the body and the natural world. Her practice engages painting, writing, and community-based projects that blur boundaries between human and environment. Van Geest teaches in the Visual Arts Department at Brock University and has exhibited widely across Canada.

Address

1 Courthouse Square
Goderich, ON
N7A1M2

Website

https://www.huroncounty.ca/cultural-services/cultural-office/

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