A group of women, local business owners who are part of the Gibsons Landing Business Association (GLBA), surround a metre-long painted salmon hanging in the Gift of the Eagle Gallery and ponder the image. It shows paddlers, perhaps the outriggers, stroking furiously in the harbour, and it has been painted on plywood by one of the approximately 150 people who submitted their salmon creations for the fourth annual Salmon Festival in Gibsons this Saturday, Sept. 12.
No doubt about it - these women are good at what they do. Their task is to give an individual award to each one of the 150 salmon. Quickly they come up with a suitable honour for the paddlers: The Stroke of Genius Award. A lacy, carved salmon by artist Holly Larocke is given the designation, I'm Looking Through You. A salmon that features melting clocks and watches, Salvador Dali style, will be called The 1 2 (One To) Watch Award. Get it? Fishy puns are all part of the fun.
But, as festival founder Patricia Heth-erington said, the real attraction of the Salmon Festival and why it increases in size every year is probably because it gives people complete artistic freedom. There are no restrictions on what medium can be used: paint, feathers, jewels, guitar picks or copper coins. Even gumboots have been used to good effect on embellishing a fat salmon from the nation of Roberts Creek. It also allows the artist to make a personal statement, and this year, once more, many of the entries reveal a concern for the environment and the necessity of treating the oceans and its fish with respect.
"Painting salmon appeals to all ages, in any sort of configuration of artists," Hetherington said.
Entire families can work together, even if some have limited artistic abilities.
Professional artists can also explore. On display are salmon from Greta Guzek, Jan Poynter, Todd Clark, Kim Lafave, Pauline Lawson and Motoko - only a few of the artists who have taken up the challenge.
Artworks owner and festival founder Cindy Buis recalls that the festival began in 2006 with a mere 80 fish. Each year it increased with many contributors painting more than one piece. Waltzing Whippet owner and GLBA executive director Nancy Hache worked on five, for example. Many visitors as well as locals have submitted their decorated fish, Hetherington said, practically guaranteeing that the visitors will return for the festival.
The salmon can be viewed in Molly's Lane and around the Persephone this Saturday and will be open for bids at a silent auction that raises funds for GLBA projects. The festival opens at 10:30 a.m. with a First Nations ceremony in the Landing. At 11 a.m. the bidding begins in earnest and runs until cutoff time at 3:30 for one section of the work and up to 5 p.m. for others. Experience indicates that if you have your heart set on a particular fish, you should haunt Molly's Lane until the final bid is accepted.
Knotty Dotters, Sweet Cascadia and Wagon Tales Story Theatre will provide the entertainment throughout the day. Educational booths and displays pertaining to salmon or the environment can also be found in Lower Gibsons. A market will offer crafts and home grown goods on Saturday at Molly's Lane and the SC Film Society will screen favourite Beachcombers episodes in the park at dusk, weather permitting. To see a few of this year's entries, click on www.gibsonslandingbc.com.
