ArtsFest 2024
Plans are well underway for ArtsFest 2024, happening Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 on The Muse Grounds in Kenora. This family friendly event will be a hotspot for the area’s best local artists and an artistic playground for Kenora’s youth and art enthusiasts of all ages.
While we have received a good number of artist and performer applications, requests for voluteers and sponsors is coming along slowly. Both are critical to making this important summer event in our community a success! We need your help!
Join our planning committee to help make ArtsFest 2024 the best it can be
Pre-festival, we need volunteers for programming, volunteer coordination, site setup/takedown/logistics, Kid Zone, and fundraising. It’s a fun gig and an opportunity to be part of bringing a great family and tourist-friendly event to downtown Kenora during our beautiful summer. Email lowaccoordinator@gmail.com if you’d like to be a part of it!
We are actively looking for a KidZone lead as this is an important and big draw for the festival. Are you someone who has ideas and experience in engaging children and youth in their own art creation? We need about three to four different activities to keep young hands active and engaged over the two days. The amazing Susan Bulman has already offered to run the watercolour station again this year!
We are also looking for local sponsors
Local sponsors strengthen the foundation of ArtsFest. Many thanks to last year’s generous sponsors: Kenora Honda, Northern Sound & Systems, Kenora Home Hardware, Ronning Law Office and Out of the Woods Counselling as well as many other generous supporters who provided donations and in-kind services. See lowac.ca/artsfest-2023 for the full listing.If you or your business are interested in becoming part of this lively and inclusive summer event email lowaccoordinator@gmail.com. There are opportunities to sponsor our volunteer t-shirts, main stage, Kid Zone, Greenroom and some of the other activities. We’re open to other ideas on how you might like to showcase your business during our event in ways that supports our mission.
There’s just a few more days to get your application in to perform or exhibit
Deadline is May 29, 2024
APPLY USING THE ONLINE FORM HERE.
You must be a paid LOWAC member to be considered for one of the available spots – so it’s a great time to renew your $30 membership if you haven’t at lowac.ca/membership! Our current plan is to pay a $100 a day honorarium to all exhibitors and $400 to performers. This aligns with the funding we have received to date. We anticipate 20 spots a day for exhibitors and three to four live performances. Exhibitors are allowed to sell and display their artwork at this event and offer demonstrations of their art practice if they wish! Performers will each have 45 minute slots on the main stage.
Selection will be juried by the LOWAC Board to ensure a broad spectrum of performers, artists and arts disciplines to fit within the available space and performance schedule. Due to the limits of space, submission of an application does not guarantee a spot. We will have a waitlist for those who aren’t selected if anyone must cancel.
Any questions can be directed to lowaccoordinator@gmail.com.
Join us at Bob’s Burgers to celebrate the arts and ArtsFest – Friday, June 28!
We are in the early stages of planning a fundraising event at Bob’s but can confirm we’ve lined up some great local talent including Lexie Alcock and Mike Procyshyn. Join us for a fun night of music, art and community and a sneak preview of ArtsFest 2024! If you’d like to donate a raffle prize for have other ideas about how you’d like to be involved let us know! We’re also looking for volunteers for the evening. Email lowaccoordinator@gmail.com.
Partnerships make us stronger!
ArtsFest2024 is very excited to announce a new partnership with Kenora Chiefs Advisory – Ogimaawabiitong (KCA) for this year’s event! LOWAC is committed to presenting a diverse and welcoming festival, with a promise to support community artists of all cultures, ages, gender preferences, and economic status. LOWAC recognizes that we offer programming and events on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, territory covered by Treaty #3, signed in 1873, and the Treaty Adhesion signed by the Métis in 1875 and are committed to increasing the indigenous artist representation at our event.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors for Ogimaawabiitong, we are very proud to be a partner of Artsfest this year! Artsfest in the past has been a great experience for the community of Kenora by showcasing a variety of local talent and artists, and we are very excited that the organization is looking to include a better representation of Indigenous artists this year,” said Chief of Wauzhushk Onigum Nation and member of the Board of Directors, Chris Skead.
“Treaty #3 is filled with an array of talented indigenous artists who showcase their culture and community through their art, and it will be a great opportunity for our members to showcase their talents and further partnerships in the art space,” concluded Skead.
Other partners include The Muse, Kenora Tourism and Rotary. We are very grateful for this support!
We also issue big thanks to our primary funders: Government of Canada – Building Communities through Arts and Heritage , Ontario Arts Council – Northern Arts Projects and Kenora and Lake of the Woods Community Foundation – Dream Fund.
We were also recently awarded funds through the Tourism Kenora Special Events Grant.
Storage Cleanup – Helpers Needed – Saturday, May 25
We are doing a cleanup of our Storage Bros. space on Darlington Drive (Big green lockers) on Saturday, May 25 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) so members are welcome to pop by as we will likely have miscellanous artsy things that can be taken away or hauled to recycling and garbage. We are moving to a smaller unit in the same facility. We are also moving some of our storage (tents, tables, easels, sign holders) to the city’s storage and may need volunteers to load items up on Tuesday, May 30 (time to be confirmed based on volunteer and City availability) and unload at City storage in Keewatin. Any help is greatly appreciated! Email lowacdirectors@gmail.com if you can help and for more details.
Want to be a featured artist?
We want to hear from you! Send us along a short writeup about you and your art practice and a few photos and you could be the featured artist in an upcoming newsletter! We want to tell your story!
