Arts festival almost here

Times Reporter 

 

Arts and Sounds in the Park, Strathmore’s first arts festival, is coming up fast and organizers are excited to see their hard work come together. The festival will be held at Kinsmen Park on Sept. 28 and will feature local artists and artisans. Anyone attending the festival is encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit and enjoy the happenings in the amphitheater. There will be a mix of dancers, singers, musicians and theatrical artists performing. 

“There will be live classical music entertainment in the gazebo as well” said chair of the Strathmore Regional Arts Collective (SRAC) Brandy Hebbes. Tents for artisans to display their talents will be set up in Kinsmen Park, and there will be many demos of art being created. “We selected many artisans that will do a demo because people really like to see how the art is done; that’s a huge draw,” said Hebbes. “Also on the grounds, will be a magician, balloon twister, face painter, young buskers, and a tattoo artist.” 

There will be 16 different artisans displaying their work, which includes things like woodworking, pottery, pointillism, graphite and charcoal drawings and much more. 

In conjunction with the Festival, the Wheatland Society of Arts is putting on an Art Walk that will lead people through downtown to numerous art displays. Hebbes said they will be keeping it to the block closest to the festival this year. It will involve both sides of the street of the block described as going from the King Eddy up to the Bank Athletic Club to CIBC and back down to the Leary Centre. 

“We’re hoping it’s nice out so we can have art out on the sidewalks where it will catch (people’s) eyes as they go by,” said Hebbes. 

“Artist’s will also be painting et cetera on site in the Art Walk. We do have a couple of businesses that were gracious enough to let us set up inside. We’re extremely grateful for that, but we’re hoping to have the bulk of it visible from the streets.”

The Festival and the Art Walk will each have their own “passport” that will be given to people; the passports can be taken around to the indicated art locations to get stamped or signed. The Festival passport is for the Sites in Kinsmen Park; the Art Walk passport is for the sites in the downtown. Completed passports can then be entered in draws for prizes. The arts festival prize is two tickets for Rosebud Theatre for dinner and a show. For the Art Walk, the prize is a framed print done by one of the Wheatland Society of Arts members. 

There will also be plenty of food for anyone looking for a nibble as they wander the arts displays. There will be free popcorn, cold drinks for a reasonable price and a variety of food vendors. Also, Kim’s Café will be open until 5 p.m. and feature “Festival Specials”.

The festival will also be the official launch of the SRAC logo contest. Details can be found at the SRAC tent during the festival. The contest is open to anyone and everyone. 

Hebbes said The Town of Strathmore had agreed to partner with SRAC for the Festival and they have done so big style with generous funding and countless other means of assistance. “We are very grateful. SRAC is also very grateful for generous funding from their major sponsor – The County of Wheatland – as well as every other donation, money and otherwise. We couldn’t have pulled it off without this support.”

The festival will take place in Kinsmen Park from 12 Noon until 5 p.m. on Sept. 28. It will open up at Noon with the booming voice of Strathmore’s honorary Town Crier Nelson Phillips. He will then be going around introducing the different artisans and their tents after giving the opening proclamation. 

The deadline to set up a display in the festival has passed but, if you’re interested, you can still be involved by volunteering. Contact Brandy Hebbes at 403-901-1500 after 5 p.m., or email strathmorerac@live.ca for more information.