“Fortunately, art is a community effort,” said the poet Allen Ginsburg.
Living up to his words, the Comox Valley’s biggest art festival of the year is coming soon.
The Local Colours Arts and Culture Festival happens July 15 and 16 on the streets of downtown Courtenay.
It’s the sixth annual edition of Local Colours, which, like the Comox Valley Community Arts Council, combines the talents of local artists working in a variety of media with craftsmakers in vendor tents and performing artists onstage.
The event is the community’s cultural component of Market Day, hosted by the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association on the Saturday in the city’s core.
“We have extraordinary talent in our midst, here in the Comox Valley,” says arts council board member Bobby Herron. “It’s really worth a look and a listen.”
Local visual artists will create on the street from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 15, then again the next day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday, the visual artists will be joined by a variety of performing acts on two stages: the main Arts Council stage at the corner of Fifth Street and England Avenue, and a stage set up in the Sid Williams Plaza.
In addition, surprise street performances will show up unexpectedly, and there will be fun activities for kids, along an arts theme.
A vendor fair of local crafts people, artisans and home-based businesses, all organized by the Arts Council, will integrate with the downtown merchants for Saturday, the 41st annual Market Day.
“It’s a unique experience,” says arts council executive director Dallas Stevenson. “Traditionally, people come out to experience the arts. But with this event, we are bringing arts to the people. As a community arts organization, we see this as a perfect fit.”
She noted that the Comox Valley Community Arts Council greatly appreciates “the amazing support” from the downtown business community and from festival funders the DCBIA and Canadian Heritage.
For more information and for schedules, check out the CVCAC website, www.comoxvalleyarts.org, contact the arts council by email at info@comoxvalleyarts.org, or call 250-338-4417, ext 2.
Event schedules
July 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and July 16, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spot a variety of artists working and interacting with the public on the streets and outside downtown businesses.
July 16, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Performers take to the arts council stage at Fifth Street and England Avenue, as well as to the streets of downtown Courtenay.
July 16, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Artists and crafts people join downtown merchants in providing a variety of stimulating shopping experiences at the 41st annual Market Day.