Harmony Arts Festival

Starting Friday, July 30th and running until Sunday, August 8th, the Harmony Arts Festival presented by Odlum Brown Limited kicks off its landmark 20th year, marking the return of the premiere summer North Shore arts festival. The public is invited to visit the various seaside venues to experience first-hand all the sights, sounds and sensations of this award winning 10-day festival. Everyone is welcome and all of the events are free.

The festival offers a visual arts program, nightly Sunset Concert Series, all-new late night weekend Garden Stage Concerts, Seniors’ Concerts, World Music Day, Children’s Programs, over 25 Studio Tours, Fountain Stage Concerts, Cinema in the Park, Youth Rock, the ever popular Craft Market, ArtSPEAKS, ArtDEMOS, the Harmony SHOWCASE Exhibition at the Ferry Building Gallery, the high calibre Juried Group Show and much more.

Since its inception, visual arts of all types have always been a key component of the Festival. Even the most energetic and enthusiastic art aficionado will be kept busy. Daily ArtSpeaks and ArtDemos from July 31th to August 8th in the Art Tent and in the gallery will feature an exciting line-up of artist’s talks, art demonstrations, workshops, hands-on classes and slide presentations. All ArtSpeaks are free of charge unless specified and are on a first-come, first-seated basis. One of this year’s highlights will be a talk by Michael Tickner, “A View From The Studio”, on Sunday August 1st in the Art Tent. Michael is the feature Festival artist whose image will be on the t-shirts, programs and posters.

A Festival highlight for the past three years has been the Annual Plein Air Grand Prix d’Art Challenge. In a traditional 3-hour Plein Air painting competition, painters must originate paint, complete, and frame a piece of art that they create outdoors. Works will be judged and prizes will be awarded. This event was created and is being overseen by Plein Air Master Alfonso L. Tejada. This year’s event, generously supported by Opus, is slated for Saturday August 7th from 10am–1pm. Registration is now open at the Ferry Building Gallery for $35, 1414 Argyle Avenue in Ambleside Landing, West Vancouver. Phone 604-925-7290 for more details.

This year’s Craft Market has some of the North Shore’s finest creations, including artists from various parts of BC. The craft market is open both weekends July 30th to August 2nd and August 6th–8th, Fridays, 4pm–8pm, Saturdays, Sundays and B.C. Day Monday, 10am–8pm. Over 60 high calibre artisans (a record number) will populate the waterfront of West Vancouver to display and sell their original pieces during this very popular program. This year offers an exciting mix of Harmony favourites alongside 25 all-new artisans showcasing their unique pottery, jewellery, textiles, paintings, photography, gifts, woodwork,
and much more. Enjoy the live sounds of the Park Royal Fountain Stage as you stroll through the market – this is the way shopping should be.

Another great feature of the festival is Art in the Park. This event stations artists in various accessible public parks and places throughout the festival area, providing a rare opportunity to interact, experience, and witness a multitude of engaging art processes in action. In keeping with this idea, some of the North Shore’s most talented artists and vibrant galleries will open their studio doors to visitors from 12pm–5pm on August 1st and August 8th for a complimentary tour.

The Harmony Showcase Exhibition at the Ferry Building Gallery will feature works of ArtSPEAKS artists and invited alumni artists. The juried Group Show, sponsored by Pacific Arbour, is a diverse, mixed media gallery show featuring unique and dynamic work by renowned local artists. Their works will be showcased at various West Vancouver venues. This is the flagship exhibition of the 10-day long visual arts celebration and this multi-media exhibition is an honoured tradition, featuring the works of over 50 artists. These exhibitions open at 6pm on July 30th and run until August 8th. Gallery hours during the Festival will be 10am–8pm daily.

Let yourself groove at this year’s Harmony Arts Festival. With over 80 bands performing, there is more music than ever, including Canada’s youngest country superstar Jaydee Bixby, JUNO Award Winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Shari Ulrich, and many more. To find out more about Harmony Arts Festival, check out www.harmonyarts.ca