Organizers of the second Arts Rising Festival have decided dial back this year’s events.
“It’s much smaller and more intimate this year and it’s concentrating on downtown events on the Friday and Saturday,” Diane Michaud, one of the event’s organizers said.
This year’s theme is “Flow: Where Will Art Take You?”
“We want people to connect with the artist side of themselves and experience the art in our community,” she said.
To make all elements accessible this year, all events are admission by donation.
A warmup event takes place Sept. 20 with an arts and culture focused all-candidates meeting for those vying for a seat in the upcoming municipal election.
The forum will be held at the Cannery Brewing Company, starting at 7 p.m., and moderated by Robin Robertson.
On Sept. 21, things heat up with a sculpture walk starting at 2 p.m. The walk begins on the front steps of city hall and takes about an hour to complete. The same walk also takes place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sept. 22. Limited spaces are available.
Penticton galleries will be keeping their doors open late on Sept. 21. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. galleries from the 500 block of Main Street down to Marina Way will be open, many of them as venues for live musicians and painting demonstrations.
The following day is predominantly about the music.
A Music Walk will take place with musicians, and storytellers playing at a number of downtown businesses. A list of performers and venues are available on the Arts Rising website. This starts at 1 p.m. at Smugglers Smoke House and The People’s Soda (215 Winnipeg St.) where musician Ari Neufeld kicks the day off. It ends at 8 p.m. at Craft Corner Kitchen (557 Main St.) with a Brazilian jazz trio playing.
Also on Sept. 22, a Smattering of Storytellers will be held at the Saint-Germain Cafe and Gallery from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Each storyteller will tell an enchanting tale or truth for the audiences pleasure. Each story will be about 15 minutes long.
Saturday Arts Rising will be hosted by the Elite Restaurant where several live bands will play from 8 p.m. to midnight including Flaming Gloves of Sigmund, The Heatscore, Faith Maxwell, and Hank and Moondogs.
Sunday’s events will be held at Leir House Cultural Centre. Events include Free upcycled crafts with Alice Strohmaier of Harmony Paper, yoga classes and an art market. There will also be an opportunity for the public to participate in the creation of a community paper mural.
The festival will conclude with the dedication of the steel sculpture Bringing Back the Salmon Chief by local artist Clint George, which is being permanently installed at Leir House, followed by a community feast.
For more information regarding this festival, please visit our website at www.artsrising.ca.