The plans are elaborate and full of fun details. Coast artists are getting ready: painting their studios, displaying their work, planning to stick close to home this weekend, Oct. 23 and 24. It's all in honour of a very welcome invasion - the art crawlers.
Visitors on the Art Crawl, from on or off the Coast, will make their way slowly from Langdale, beginning at number one, a glass blowing workshop, up to Powell River's Artique (or vice versa) stopping at their choice of over 75 artists' studios and homes on the way.
"The Art Crawl concept appealed to me because it allows me to open my home for two days only," said artist Sheila Page of Davis Bay. "My house is small, and I don't have a separate studio, so I am not prepared to welcome passersby." She adds that she hopes her neighbours will visit to see what she does.
This inaugural Art Crawl has been organized by the Coast Cultural Alliance (CCA) with support from the artists themselves, who have paid a fee to participate, and from other organizations that promote tourism on the Coast.
Everyone stands to benefit. Visitors will have an art feast for free, plus they will have their "passports" stamped at each stop to win prizes. Artists can showcase their work and attract new clients. And the tourism organizations that have helped sponsor this event will promote accommodation and attractions on the Coast in hopes of return visits.
It's not only paintings on display. The art includes pottery, woodworking, jewellery and even perfumery. In one case, a creative trio combined paintings, a cookbook and poetry at one Sechelt location. (Eat, Paint, Read is number 43 on the Art Crawl map.)
Linda Williams, organizer of the event, says that it's very much a member-driven idea. "We realize there are so many artists who can't be open year round, but they still want to have a chance to show their arts at work." Now that CCA has established their key programs - the Purple Banner guide to Coast studios, a monthly calendar, coffeehouses and a weekly e-newsletter - they were ready for a brand new undertaking. As members of Sunshine Coast Tourism, they worked closely with that organization's mandate (Strait of Georgia to Desolation Sound) and they jumped on the opportunity to mount this shoulder-season campaign. CCA created the product and Tourism provided a partnership to market off-Coast.
"We are also partnering with the bed and breakfast association," Williams said, "to help the accommodation sector and all the tourism spin-offs that involves."
How many visitors to expect? It's difficult to say. There's definitely a media buzz. Page reports that a Vancouver man who was browsing the artists' websites in preparation for a visit came across her website and asked her to put aside a picture for him.
"That's the kind of encouragement artists can always use!" she said.
There's even an interactive map to help visitors along the way, provided by Gary Little, a local realtor. Folks with iPhones can look up the stops using the iPhone's web browser by viewing: icrawl.GaryLittle.ca, or they can check out the map on their computers beforehand at www.sunshinecoastartcrawl.com. Printed maps are also available at each studio or at five hub locations in each centre. The hubs will also offer glass beads, one for each area, designed by artist Janna Packard, along with other souvenirs. Visitors can be outfitted with brochures and passports that offer the chance to win a $250 gift certificate welcomed at over 120 B&Bs and cottages on the Coast, courtesy of the association. Those who make it across the water to Saltery Bay and to the Powell River hub have a chance to win a $100 Experience pass card from B.C. Ferries.
Visitors can start anywhere on the trail that they see a studio sign, but it's best to browse the site first: www.sunshinecoastartcrawl.com to see a list of participants. Crawl on.
