Midland among Canada’s Top Culture Days Participating Communities
The Town of Midland has ranked in Culture Days’ Top 10 Participating Communities across Canada for its second year, placing seventh in the Towns and Rural Areas subcategory in 2025.
Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture that takes place at the end of September. During this annual three-week festival, millions of people attend thousands of free and pay-what-you-may arts and culture events across the country. Culture Days invites the public to participate in hands-on programming that highlights the importance of arts and culture in communities across Canada.
“We’re incredibly proud to see Midland recognized as a top participating community again this year,” said Mayor Bill Gordon. “This recognition reflects the passion of our artists, partner organizations, residents, and visitors who come together to help make Midland’s arts and culture scene thrive.”
The North Simcoe Culture Days Hub, created by the Town of Midland in 2024, invited organizations within the region to publish their free or pay-what-you-may arts and culture events and link them to the hub. The 2025 hub featured more than 20 free events, including Indigenous Art and Culture Awareness Week, the Midland Mural Festival, Simcoe Reads, and several visual art exhibitions. Venues included the Midland Public Library, Huronia Museum, Midland Cultural Centre, Quest Art School + Gallery, and more.
In 2026, the Town looks forward to enhancing its involvement with Culture Days as an official Ontario Culture Days Provincial Festival Hub. Provincial Festival Hubs are key locations within the province that host a variety of arts and cultural activities, offering opportunities for residents and visitors to experience Ontario’s vibrant cultural scene.
“This is an exciting opportunity to put Midland on the map as a cultural tourism destination,” said Town of Midland Event Coordinator Alanna Brousseau. “Partnering with Ontario Culture Days as a Provincial Hub will allow us to collaborate with new community partners and help bring even more incredible arts and culture programming to North Simcoe’s residents and visitors.”
Staff will be reaching out to organizations in North Simcoe to invite them to a planning roundtable for Culture Days 2026. More information will be available at midland.ca/CultureDays.
Photo: One of the many Culture Days activities included the Midland Mural Festival where artist Yasaman Mehrsa lead a public art engagement project. Festival attendees of all ages assisted in painting seasonal panels depicting flowers and birds; these panels were installed on a rotating basis at the Rotary Stage in Little Lake Park.