London has no distinct culture
this is what the creative city initiative was trying to enhance. Guelph, K/W, Ottawa, even Brantford have identifiable music/arts "scenes". Since London's punk-rock hey-day in the 80's there has been no dominant sound/style coming out of the city. not sure if it has to do with the lack of venues (although the London Music Hall is a new one that is the best I've seen in 10+ years in London) or the fact that young people flock OUT of the city. Could be that there's more effort put into snuffing out fun (see Rock the Park complaints) than there is into creating fun. that being said, SunFest is a real gem that all Londoners should be proud of.
Mike Knoll
shared this idea
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clabbert
commented
London has a very distinct culture of being multicultural and has been at the forefront of festivals when they didn't exist anywhere else.
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Mike Knoll
commented
one strong thread as far as I can see in London's music scene is the Open House Arts Collective. there's a list (not sure if it's complete or out-of-date on wikipedia) I'm wondering if anyone has heard of any of them:
* A Horse and His Boy
* Alanna Gurr
* A Lending Library
* For Love or Money
* Handsome Dan and His Gallimaufry
* The Lava Lamps
* Aaron Lozynsky
* Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
* Sam Allen
* The State Bird of Idaho
* Sunday/Monday
* Bryan Pole
* The Whipping Wind
* Blair Whatmore -
Jennifer O'Brien
commented
Mike. There have been some great attempts at festivals put on by various cultural groups in London during recent years. If you check out www.coventmarket.com closer to the summer. Recent festivals include Afro-Festa, and an Indian and Italian Festival. The market is trying, but I don't think the crowds are as big as desired. I love the SunFest. It's in my top 5 favourite things about London list and I look forward to it all year. I always go at least twice - once with my kids and once alone. I fear the day downtown and near-downtown residents start launching serious complaints against it, as they have against the amazing Rock the Park charity concert.
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Mike Knoll
commented
good points Steph. However, I personally believe that culture isn't something that you should have to flush out through research and questions...I think culture is something that should be obvious and apparent.
Culture emits from a city's downtown and the culture I see in London is most apparent on Richmond Row after 2am when the bars get out. Testosterone, aggression, over-indulgence and civic ignorance.
I always cite Guelph as an example of a SWOntario town that has a culture that smacks you in the face. You can't visit Guelph and not take away a feeling of unity amongst the downtown businesses and patrons -- it's a culture of eco-minded liberal artists and both the music and arts scenes are unavoidable. -
stephknows
commented
http://www.londontourism.ca/Events
This website has a list of most of the events going on in our city. There are plenty of places to visit, festivals, concerts, etc. Not everything will appeal to one person but there is variety. Many people (especially young adults such as myself) don't realize that this information is available to them. The best way to get out and discover your city is through talking to people. Go to a few of these events, eg. tea at the Eldon House, or Museum London, the Market, the new Met, and just talk to people. A lot of the people at these places know London from top to bottom. I don't think that London has no distinct culture, I just think that some people don't know how and where to find it.