Art on Bernard is back

Photo: Contributed

Back for a second year, Arts on the Avenue is returning to Bernard.

The one-day, arts-focused, outdoor event celebrates local vendors, along with art exhibitions, demos, and performance art installations.

This year artists will once again take over the street and sidewalks but the event has expanded to two blocks on Bernard..

Lisa Brown, event assistant with Festivals Kelowna and the festival’s producer, says initially when the new visual arts festival launched last year it was unclear how people would respond.

"To say that we were blown away by the positive feedback, the huge number of artists that wanted to participate and the willingness of local arts groups like the Federation of Canadian Artists, Kelowna Arts Council and Artsco to partner on the event would be an understatement," she said. "This year’s event is shaping up to be even bigger and better than last year.”

New to the festival will be two “3D Chalk Artists”, Emmanuel Areizaga, an emerging visual artist heading to CATO this fall, and Shawn Smith, a professional and well-known local chalk artist whose work can be seen in restaurants all over the Okanagan and who is breaking into new territory with the 3D format.

Brown says those who attend can also expect to see  a large-scale, drop-in community art project headed up by the Okanagan chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists in celebration of the Group of Seven’s 75th Anniversary.

“Using multiple mini-canvases, patrons of all ages and painting skills will be invited to paint a portion of Tom Thomson’s “The Pool”, forming a single, large painting once assembled," she said. "Returning to the festival is the popular “Spotlight Artist” element where professional artists speak about their process and explain their creative inspiration.”

Local artist Alex Fong will also display his watercolour work for sale.

“People should come prepared to buy art and experience all kinds of visual arts,” said Brown. “This is a great chance to start some early Christmas shopping or to buy a one of a kind gift for a special occasion. We’ll also have live musical performances throughout the night so plan to spend a few hours with us.”

The event is free and takes place from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m., Thursday, July 28.

Live tweet and Instagram the event using the hashtags #ArtsonAveKelowna and #BuyCreateCelebrate.