Call to Artists: Harvest Festival of Art

We are thrilled to announce that this year's Harvest Festival of Art will once again be held in the upper level of the Vaughan Shand Centre, 69 Cedar Street in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Last year we fell in love with the space with it’s high ceilings, natural light and weathered brick walls and wooden beams. Together these elements proved to be the perfect compliment to the work of our 20 presenting artists, creating a comfortable and  authentic gallery experience for all of  those in attendance.

This year’s event is our first to coincide with the Pumpkin Festival and in particular the Pumpkin Regatta. We are confident that by paring our event with this popular festival our attendance numbers are sure to reach an all time high.

With this in mind our Harvest Festival of Art committee is working diligently to ensure that as many local artistic genres as possible are represented including painters, sculptors, print makers, photographers, carvers, weavers, hookers and other various crafters, musicians and performers. 
   


Artist Jaki Durocher providing a
demonstration at last year's event

In an attempt to grow the festival we are inviting members to provide demonstrations, performances and/or workshops throughout the weekend portion of the event. In return, you will have your entry fee for the show refunded(*). Please contact Tacha (tacha.reed@gmail.com) if you have a particular idea and are interested in sharing and promoting your talents. We currently have 12 three-hour spots available; three each on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon.

We are also looking for volunteers to be on hand throughout the weekend to greet patrons and answer general questions.

Exhibiting artists must be members of the HCAC; memberships may be purchased at the time of entry at a cost of $15.00.

The entry fee is $45.00, payable to the Hants County Arts Council and each participating member may show up to 8 pieces. If you would like to display more pieces (or less) you can do so at $10 per piece.  For example, if you would like to show 12 pieces the cost would be $95, if you just wanted to show 2 pieces the cost would be $20.

Since this is a fundraising event for the Hants County Arts Council a commission of 25% will be deducted from the retail price of the works for sale - please keep this in mind when pricing your work.

If you have any questions our would like to volunteer your time please contact us at hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com

We look forward to having your support as we celebrate our local creative talents!

　
Artist registration and drop-off is Thursday October 11th from 4pm-7pm

Show opens Friday October 12th at 7pm and runs Saturday & Sunday from 10am - 5pm

Artist pick-up is Sunday October 14th from 5pm-7pm

Deadline for entry is September 1st  2012.

* the fine print: entry fees are to be paid in advance. Fee for artists volunteering their time to provide demonstrations, performances and/or workshops to be refunded at the rate of $45 per 3 hour demonstration, performance and/or workshop completed.

$15 membership fee is non-refundable and must be paid in advance of the festival.

A Look Back to the 5th Annual Festival of Art!

In the days between September 30th and October 2nd 2011, members of the Hants County Arts Council transformed the the vacant second floor of the Vaughan Shand Centre in Windsor, Nova Scotia into a beautiful and inviting art gallery.  

This year's collection featured a wide variety of paintings, sculpture and fibre pieces by 20 local artists. 

Opening night drew in over 100 people for a lively evening of art appreciation. 

A motivational speech by fellow artist and entrepreneur Kelly Mitchelmore and the awarding of the first ever HCAC's Hall of Fame to artist and volunteer extraordinaire David Howells all added to the evening's excitement. 


We are proud to announce that sales greatly increased from past years,with HCAC newcomer folk artist Jim Tracey kicking things off with the evenings first sale, a wood carving called Big Bird!

Overall the event was a success! The rain may have been working against us Saturday and Sunday, but many folks still manged to brave the elements and take in the show at their leisure. 




Those who made it out for the weekend portion were able to enjoy the live artist demonstration's provided by Flying Cloud Boutique's Tacha Reed and Jaki Durocher.

Now that we have all recovered from this year's Festival of Art the Hants County Arts Council's Board of Directors would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who came out to join us in this annual celebration of our local artistic talent.

Thank you to all of our sponsors who helped make the weekend just a little bit more special! A huge thank you to Yum Bakery for all the tasty treats, especially the carrot cake.

Thanks to Just Us! coffee roasters for providing the hot beverages, Mason's for the tangy apple cider, Blossom Shop for the lovely flower arrangements, Flying Cloud Boutique for designing and donating all the posters and brochures and thanks to the Grapevine, The Hants Journal and What's Going On! for helping to spread the word.

A thank you should also go out to Kelly Mitchelmore for her moving speech on the importance of self promotion; I hope everyone was left with the inspiration to become their own biggest fan!

Last, but not least, a big thank you to our membership, volunteers and the local community for coming together to help make this annual event something special. We appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you all at our next event!


In the meanwhile, here is a trip down memory lane :)

Photographs courtesy of John Webb and Tacha Reed

Festival of Art: Our Artists

Featuring the works of

Nova Scotian Artists

Karen Harvie

Cheryl Rutledge

David Howells

Carlos DaRosa

Sharol Ogilvie

Tacha Reed

Liz Robinson

Carol Morrison

Kelly Mitchelmore

Audrey Goucher-Millet

Dora Warren Davis

Terrie Greencorn

Gerald Jank

Al Simm

Avery Vaughan

Jim Tracey

June Brown

Jaki Durocher

Pauline Sulivan

Kristie Sheehy

There are still a few remaining spots open for interested Artists, Artisans, Independent studios, galleries, businesses and not-for-profit organizations wanting to participate in this Culture Days event. For more information please contact us at hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com or visit www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca

5th Annual Festival of Art

The board of directors for the Hants County Arts Council is thrilled to announce that this year's Festival of Art will be held in the soon to be opening Vaughn Shand Centre.


Known locally as the former Hawboldt's Furniture store, this site is a blank canvas just screaming to be brought to life with local art and culture!


The high ceilings and natural light combined with the rustic wood and brick walls create a cozy atmosphere perfect for experiencing great art. The speckling of the various nooks and crannies throughout have our planners just itching in anticipation to get started on decorating this space with art!


This year's Festival of Art committee is working hard to create an all inclusive event, inviting artists in various mediums including painters, sculptors, print makers, photographers, carvers, musicians and performers - all coming together to help us celebrate the magnificent arts and culture of Nova Scotia, and in particular Hants County.




Applications are available on the website www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca and the deadline for entry is September 1^st 2011. 

The entry fee is $45.00, payable to the Hants County Arts Council. Since the space is much larger than our previous venue we are upping the total amount of entries per person to 8 and if you would like to display more pieces (or less) you can do so at $10 per piece.

Exhibiting artists must be members of the HCAC; memberships may be purchased at the time of entry at a cost of $15.00.

Since this is a fundraising event for the Hants County Arts Council a commission of 25% will be deducted from the retail sale price of the works for sale - please keep this in mind when pricing your work.

If you have any questions our would like to volunteer your time please contact us at hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com

We look forward to having your support as we celebrate our local creative talents!