With a landscape as breathtaking as Vancouver Island’s, it’s no wonder so many artists make their home here.
In addition to numerous studio tours and galleries welcoming visitors year-round, a variety of arts-related special events are scheduled in communities up and down the Island.
A highlight of the Campbell River calendar is Painters at Painter’s, May 24 to 26. The annual celebration of art is hosted at renowned Painter’s Lodge where more than 1,000 guests meet and talk with the artists. The Campbell River Garden & Art Tour brings together two of the region’s favourite pastimes June 22 and 23 while from June 26 to 30, the community welcomes art of a different nature with Transformations on the Shore, when amateur and professional carvers show their stuff at Frank James Park.
Studio tours are another great way to explore the local arts. Get to know Quadra Island with that community’s 15th annual Studio Tour of island studios and galleries June 1 and 2. At Alert Bay, Artfest invites both locals and visitors to explore the community’s art scene July 26 to 28.
The Comox Valley’s Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens kicks off spring May 18 to 20 with its Art & Bloom Festival, then welcomes the community back for an end-of-summer Artisans Festival Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Comox’s Filberg Lodge and Park hosts one of the Island’s largest celebrations of art with the annual Filberg Festival Aug. 2 to 5 while Port Alberni showcases its local arts community with the Art Rave juried art show, Aug. 17 & 18. In the Oceanside area, art is a timely affair during the annual Grand Prix d’Art Painting Race July 27. Nearby, the charming Milner Gardens is the site of Art & Photography in the Garden Aug. 10 and 11.
Visit Ladysmith Aug. 25 for Arts on the Avenue, when First Avenue is transformed into a street filled with art, food, entertainment and fun. A mainstay of the Victoria summer arts scene is the TD Paint-in, hosted by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria July 20, featuring professional and emerging artists who demonstrate their art along Moss Street from the gallery to the Victoria waterfront.