Eastside Arts Society Invites Aspiring Creatives and Art Lovers to Discover and Participate in the Art-Making Process at 3rd Annual CREATE! Arts Festival
Eastside Arts Society (EAS) presents the return of its highly anticipated two-day summer art-making event, CREATE! Arts Festival, taking place at Strathcona Park on Saturday, July 22 and at various Eastside Arts District studios on Sunday, July 23, 2023. A community initiative designed to welcome guests to explore, learn, and create art together with local artists, CREATE! Arts Festival features a wide variety of accessible visual and performing arts workshops for adults and youth, including watercolour painting, needle felting, indigo dying, pottery, glass fusing, photography, ukulele, Salish singing, storytelling, and much more.
“Following two incredible years growing our new summertime art-making event, we are thrilled to welcome the CREATE! Arts Festival back for its third year, with even more offerings for people of all ages and abilities to explore their creative expression in collaboration with the Eastside Arts District community,” says Esther Rausenberg, Artistic & Executive Director of EAS. “In addition to a variety of art workshops, demonstrations, and public participation art installations, we are also incredibly proud to introduce our brand new Festival Art Shop, featuring a curated selection of arts and crafts all handmade by local artists.”
You can learn more about the Festival HERE.
All ages + abilities are encouraged to explore a wide range of artistic practices through workshops, art demos, public art installations, and a brand new Festival Art Shop
On Saturday, July 22, the festival will offer a series of outdoor art-making workshops taught by more than 15 artists who live and/or work in the Eastside Arts District, many of whom will be participating in CREATE! Arts Festival for the first time. Adult and youth workshops will be hosted by Taaye Wong, Tanna Po, Suzan Marczak, Nima Nasiri, Naomi Yamamoto, Niki Holmes, Ross den Otter, Daphne Roubini, Russell Wallace, Naomi Steinberg, Nicole Caspillo, Nathaniel Marchand, Eri Ishii, and Chantal Cardinal (FELT à la main with LOVE). A children and youth workshop will be hosted by Amberlie Perkin and an all-abilities workshop by Alternative Creations Studio.
Saturday festivities at Strathcona Park will also include a general admission CREATE! Art Zone. Art demonstrations include painting, pottery, and glass beading from Francis Tiffany, Julia Chirka (summer skool), and members of Terminal City Glass Co-op. Public participation art projects include a life-size colouring mural with Serena Chu of Chu Chu, squeegee art with Joanne Probyn, and the building and performing of two giant crow puppets – in honour of Eastside Arts Society’s unofficial mascot – with Jacquie Rolston. Opus Art Supplies will have a hands-on block carving and printing activation, as part of the CREATE! Art Zone. Carve and pull a mini-block print, and contribute to a collaborative printmaking collage.
A selection of local handmade artworks and goods, curated by OH Studio Project, will be available at the Festival Art Shop. On site, visitors can also enjoy the festival’s fully licensed beer garden serving beer, cider, and wine, from Strange Fellows Brewing, as well as a delicious assortment of food from a collection of food trucks, including Earnest Ice Cream, Wak Wak Burger, Mahshiko, and Camion Café.
July 22 will see the return of the beloved crowd favourite event, the 8th Annual Art! Bike! Beer! Crawl Fundraiser and tour, which for the first time will end at the CREATE! Arts Festival grounds where attendees will enjoy a final tasting pint, food, raffle, and the CREATE! Art Zone.
Festival activities will move indoors on Sunday, July 23, connecting participants with art production spaces in neighbouring Eastside art studios, with additional art workshops hosted by members of the Terminal City Glass Co-op, Richard Tetrault, Sonya Iwasiuk, Grace Lee (eikcam ceramics), and Naomi Yamamoto.
Where:
Strathcona Park (857 Malkin Ave)
*Festival Entrance off Raymur Ave
Various Eastside Arts District studios
Saturday, July 22
Workshops: 10am to 7pm
CREATE! Art Zone: 11am to 7pm
Festival Art Shop + Beer Garden: 12-7pm
Sunday, July 23
Workshops: 10am to 7pm
Workshops are $35 + GST for youth/adults, with the exception of Amberlie Perkin’s workshop for children/youth at $20 + GST. Children under the age of 12 must be supervised by an adult. The general public can access festival activities at Strathcona Park – including the CREATE! Art Zone, Festival Art Shop, beer garden, and food trucks for a $5 general admission fee (children under age 12 are free). For full festival details and workshop registration, visit createartsfestival.ca.
About the Eastside Arts Society
The Eastside Arts Society (formerly the Eastside Culture Crawl Society) began in 1996 with a handful of artists and a couple hundred attendees and now heralds a festival that celebrates the art of over 500 artists with 45,000 attendees annually, as well as the CREATE! Arts Festival and the Eastside Arts District.
