More than 70 artists are teaming up with 54 downtown businesses to create the 2015 Art Walk and Sale which begins Friday with a guided tour.
The guided walk will begin at 11:30 a.m. from Laketown Furnishings on Second Avenue and time permitting visit the first 20 businesses participating in Art Walk.
Harry Jennings will be there to provide musical entertainment, and Mary Forbes along with Willie Dye, Arty the Art Walker, will provide the comentary.
Artists will also be in attendance at some of the locations to talk with visitors, Arty says.
“This year’s art walk will be very exciting with the work of more artists on display than ever before,” Arty says.
The 2015 Art Walk and Sale was formally introduced to the public during the Performances in the Park Thursday evening and will run right through until September 12.
Many of the artists featured are familiar figures at the art walk but there are a few new ones this year along with a few new businesses, Arty says.
Some special events for the Art Walk are also planned including music.
On Aug. 13 busking will be featured on the walk along with Arty and John Dell working to make the fourth annual Art Walk video.
Sept. 8 is back to school day where students are invited to take the walk.
Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. voting for the people’s choice award ends and the same evening the grand prize draw will be made at 8 p.m. along with the announcement of who wins the people’s choice award.
Everyone of the participating businesses has a prize draw box and then there is the grand prize draw providing extra incentive for people to participate in the walk.
For the grand prize draw this year jeweller Geoff Bourdon has designed and hand-crafted a beautiful necklace featuring a 15.55 ct marquis smoky quartz stone, with black diamonds in a stirling silver setting, valued at $550.
Once again there will be more chances to win the grand prize, based on the number of passport stamps walkers collect at the businesses they visit.
This year 11 stamps will provide one entry; 12 to 24 stamps, two entries; 25-37 stamps, three entries; and 38 to 51 stamps four entries.
So the more you walk the more chances to win, Arty says.
Arty is also looking for more buskers to participate in the Art Walk and Sale.
He says a pot of $1,000 has been created to encourage street music.
The first 50 performing acts will receive $20 per performance from this fund.
To find out how it all works contact the BIA at 250-398-5717 or talk to Arty at 250-398-8826.
Work by potters, painters, printmakers, carvers, sculptors, fabric artists, quilters, weavers, jewellers, glass artists, photographers and more will be featured on the art walk this year.
The art walk has also grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years drawing arts groups from Logan Lake and the Nicola Valley to participate in group shows this year, Arty says. The work of Lake City Secondary students will also be featured in a group show at the Williams Lake Library.
“You can also look at many of the murals in the city while you are on the art walk,” Arty says, adding there are 16 beautiful murals.
For the complete list of where these artists will be showing their work look for the Art Walk and Sale booklet in this issue of the Tribune/Advisor. They will also be available at the participating 54 businesses.