While romance isn’t typically touted as part of an art tour, organizers of Texada’s Artists Studio Tour (TAST), Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10, are hoping visitors will fall in love with their island.
Texada is the largest island in the Salish Sea, but also one of the least developed, said TAST tour director Sandy McCormick. “It’s full of secluded hideaways and unspoiled natural beauty, sprinkled with a bit of industry. It’s the perfect setting for artistic inspiration and our artists have lots of creativity.”
A total of 19 artists are participating in this year’s biennial event in both their own working studios and in central locations. Their work encompasses painting, stitchery and fabric arts, lapidary, photography, stained and fused glass, beading, wood carving, pottery, graphic design, jewellery and beach glass. Some are well-established in the art world, while others are exhibiting for the first time.
All studios are open from 10 am to 4 pm and admission is free. Drivers should watch for direction signs with the colourful hand, the TAST logo, which point them to the studios. Barbecue lunches will be available at the Texada Arts, Culture and Tourism Society Centre in Van Anda. Full information, including the tour guide and map, is available online.
McCormick recommends that visitors stay overnight to allow time to meet participating artists and find out how they do what they do in Texada’s rustic, out-of-the-way surroundings. The island offers a full range of accommodations, including predator-free campgrounds. Accommodation information is available online.
If taking the 35-minute ferry journey from Powell River, visitors are encouraged to register online for TAST’s free driver-escort service, meeting guests who walk on the 9:35 am sailing.
TAST organizers are grateful to all sponsors and supporters who made the event possible.
