Thirteen venues in Lower Gibsons opened their doors to visitors last week, Aug. 9 to 12, for the annual Art Stroll in the Landing.
Thursday got off to a slow start, moving toward a busy day on Saturday with many visitors roaming in a self-directed tour.
Organizer Manon Staiger acknowledged that there were more Coast events on that particular weekend than in the past, pulling visitors away, but after sorting through entry forms for a prize draw, she discovered that at least two thirds of the entries were people from out of town, from as far away as Switzerland and across Canada.
Winners of the draw for donated work from several artists and gift certificates from sponsors were: Annie Huston, Doris Wilcox, Allana Pierce, Sue Prentice, Patricia Bower and Jenny Mosure.
Activities varied from collage projects for all ages at the library to an Art Stroll reception, entitled Work in Progress, at the former Bank of Montreal building that is being turned into the new Gibsons Public Art Gallery. It is situated across the street from other Art Stroll venues, The Landing Gallery and Daffadowndilly Gallery, making the street an ongoing art attraction for tourists.
"Accessibility makes such a big difference," said Staiger, noting that they had about 90 visitors stop by on Saturday to the new building with its street level entrance, many of them learning about the gallery for the first time. "They included a number of more senior visitors (including a visitor from Mexico) whom I just couldn't imagine getting down those stairs at the current location."
Guests sampled appetizers from local Landing businesses Sushi Bar Nagomi and Leo's, and they wrote or drew their good wishes on the walls of the new space, knowing that the walls would be covered during renovation, and their messages hidden like a time capsule even after the gallery's projected opening in November.
