Art Walk showcases local artists

October 1, 2020

By Mike Riley

Local Journalism Initiative

Limerick Township will be hosting a Community Art Walk this fall to showcase local artists and their talents and to raise money for youth programs within the township. The event will be held at the Limerick Recreation Centre on Oct. 22 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and has been planned out by the chair of the fundraising arm of the township’s recreation committee, Natalie Phillips, and her daughter Brianna. The event will be open to local artists in Limerick and all the surrounding townships, to come together and to display their artistry.

While the Limerick Community Centre was closed at the Sept. 21 council meeting due to the province’s new gathering restrictions on private parties and gatherings, after checking with the province and public health, the Community Art Walk was allowed to proceed as planned, to the delight and relief of the organizers.

Councillor Ingo Weise is on the recreation committee and says that while Bancroft was designated “Ontario’s Most Talented Town” back in 2004, that’s a bit misleading as many of the artists, craftsmen and musicians are from the surrounding areas.

“[This] is another opportunity for local artists and craftsmen from all over North Hastings to display their talents. It will be the perfect forum for people to come and see what our local artists accomplish and purchase/order original arts and crafts directly from the artists themselves,” he says.

Phillips joined the recreation committee this year and says it’s her job to come up with different events to raise money for the programs they want to support. Local artists are invited to purchase a table for $10 to display their work at the event. Payments can be made at the Limerick Township municipal office during business hours. At the present time, youth programs will be the beneficiary of any funds raised from the Community Art Walk.

Interest in the Community Art Walk has been good so far. She explains that the event is out there and being publicized but that there’s several weeks to go before it happens.

“I’ve gotten a phone call from an artist, Steve Brown, who wasn’t 100 per cent committed but was very interested. My aunt, Aline LeBlanc, who is an artist, will be having a table at the event, and another lady, Shirley Polmateer, from the recreation committee will also be there displaying her art,” she says.

Phillips also mentions that Maple Shack Tacos & More, a food truck in Bancroft, will be sponsoring the event and has bought a table to sell their maple syrup at the event. They will also be making a donation to the silent auction.

Sharne van Onselen, the owner of Maple Shack Tacos and More, was thrilled to support and participate in the Community Art Walk event. “For the silent auction, we will be donating a gift basket comprised of our 100 per cent pure maple syrup featuring our sugaring scene collection. We produce our maple syrup locally in our family run sugar house in Ormsby, Ontario. Fun fact; our maple syrup is a key ingredient in many of our recipes at Maple Shack Tacos and More chip truck! It is so refreshing to see the community come together to show support,” she says.

A similar community art event had been planned and advertised back in May, but it was scrapped due to COVID-19.

“So, this time around, this is what I’ve got so far. We don’t have a lot yet, but we’re hoping for some more people to reach out,” she says.

The event will be held inside the Limerick Recreation Centre, with all safety restrictions in place as dictated by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health. They’ll have limited tables and limit the number of people allowed to come through the building at any given time.

“I know people were quite happy about it back in May when I was planning it. Now, some of those people can no longer do it. Even when I was speaking with Steve Brown, he was really excited about it. He was going to tell a bunch of people who would be interested. So it seems to have been received pretty well,” she says.

They will also be having a silent auction to help raise money for the township’s youth programs. She says that every participating artist will be donating a piece of their art to be auctioned off. Phillips asks that all interested artists purchase a table and donate a piece of their art for the silent auction by the middle of October.

A New Years’ dance had been planned, according to Phillips, but now it’s not possible with COVID-19 and its restrictions.

“This is all relatively new, as it’s a fairly new committee, so we really want to get everything out there,” she says. “So, we’re getting back to the drawing board with all of our events and saying ‘what can we do?”