Downtown Welland will be a hotspot of culture this weekend.

The city's annual Culture Days celebration, taking place locally for close to a decade, will start Friday night at the wellness complex on Lincoln Street with a live concert, then continue Saturday and Sunday with activities at Merritt Park and at Welland Museum.

Welland Public Library will host a battle of the bands on Saturday, with eight groups hitting the floating stage in the contest.

At the museum, there will be a virtual exhibit of the HMS Hunter, allowing guests to get a point-of-view glimpse of the discovery and excavation of the War of 1812 ship, with the digital data being an exact replica of the actual vessel.

"It's the ship itself you'll be seeing through those goggles," said Penny Morningstar, manager and curator of the museum.

Cultural food is also expected to spice things up on the weekend.

Friday Night Live presents Kindred with special guests Feelin' Flat at the wellness complex, running 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. At Merritt Park Sunday is jazz and world music.

The music ties in with the celebration's 'beat on' theme, says Cassandra Magazzeni, arts and culture co-ordinator for the city.

"Music is kind of the universal language of culture," she says about the flavour being added to the event this year, while adding this is the first time the city, the museum and library have partnered to organize the weekend.

Niagara Handweavers and Spinners Guild will be teaching classes at the museum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Architectural and residential tours will also be part of the program Saturday, starting from the museum.

For a full schedule of events and locations, go online to https://bit.ly/2xH0OBL.