For three days this month, more than 30 arts and culture locations across the city will reveal their secrets, debunk myths and generally expose themselves to the public.

What shenanigans lurk behind the curtain and backstage at the theatre?

Does the city actually have a mystery warehouse where 15,000 precious donated artifacts are stored?

And will a barrel of ripe apples, water and sugar -- intended to be made into cider -- eventually turn into fruit vinegar if left long enough?

All these questions and hundreds more like them, will be answered when Culture Days -- a free, hands-on nationwide annual event -- is launched across the country for the first time from Sept. 24-26.

Culture Days, which will have similar events running that weekend coast to coast, is an attempt to forge a lasting connection between the public and their local arts and culture industry.

This week, the News and other members of the media were given a sneak peak behind the scenes of three of Richmond's Culture Days participants and a preview of what the public will see during Culture Days.

First port of call on the tour was the Gateway Theatre, where its general manager, Suzanne Haines drew no comparisons between certain stinking performances and the fact the buildings sits atop the city's sewage treatment plant.

What Haines did confirm, as we made our way backstage, was that there will be a costume designer on site during Culture Days to reveal her secrets and get the public involved.

The theatre is home to more than half a million dollars worth of costumes, which have to be stored at the right temperature in studio A, which is also used for rehearsals.

The green room -- where actors generally relax before/after shows -- was next on the backstage tour. The room's name dates back to Shakespearian times, when actors would wait on the "green lawn" before being called onto stage, according to Haines.

Creeping closer to the stage itself, one of several dressing rooms, complete with comfy sofa and no less than 14 light bulb-decked mirrors is where actors put