Culture tour on tap for Basin
By Contributor
You may think you know culture here in the Columbia Basin, but be prepared to discover
something new – The Columbia Basin Culture Tour (CBCT) is a free, self-guided tour showcasing local arts, culture and heritage throughout the region.
Take a road trip to a different community or discover the treasures in your own backyard. We invite you to visit artists’ studios that are not normally open to the public, stop by that museum or art gallery you have not visited in a while to see special exhibitions, interpretive displays and collections, meet the artists, shop for fine art and craft, watch performances, chat with historians and meet the people behind the scenes during this day-long cultural celebration.
The community of Castlegar is featuring a variety of exhibits. Stop by the Brilliant Cultural centre to visit the women of the USCC Cultural Interpretive Society and to see exquisite Doukhobor fibre arts and crafts, then learn more by viewing over 1,000 artifacts at the exhibits of the Doukhobor Discovery Centre, which also features the members of the Selkirk Spinners and Weavers Guild demonstrating the various techniques of making fabric, from preparing and spinning fibres to yarn, to setting up a handloom and
weaving cloth.
Visit artist, author and instructor Karla Pearce to view her expressionistic landscape paintings, many featuring local landmarks, and Kari Burk at Muddy Tutu featuring an eclectic variety of mixed-media paintings, garden art and photography. Mirja Vahala at Inspiring Minds Fine Art creates paintings, each with a carefully-chosen colour scheme intended to enhance the mood of the piece. Kootenay Gallery of Art also features an exhibition of work by Ronald Smith and Helen Ormiston-Smith inspired by the rich colours and physical strength of landforms found in the geography of the places they have lived and visited.
Then hit the road to Salmo to visit Joe Horvath and see his beautifully-detailed wildlife and landscape artworks, then through Fruitvale to Bizzarios Gallery, where Deborah Wandler creates 3-D, abstract, mixed-media collage. Artisan in Trail will showcase many local artists and craftspeople in a variety of media, as will the Rouge Gallery in Rossland. Artists Tricia Rasku and Stephanie Gauvin will be opening their busy, working studios, featuring Tricia’s fibrework and soap-making and Stephanie’s bright and lovely paintings of mountain life. Don’t forget the Rossland Historical Museum, where you visit many indoor and outdoor exhibitions and activities, and even pan for gold!
This day long celebration of culture takes place Aug. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is
generously supported by Columbia Basin Trust funding. Tour brochures are available at tourist information centres and participating venues. Visit the website at www.cbculturetour.com to view full artist/venue profiles for further details on each location’s activities or register to receive a tour brochure in the mail. For further information, call the CKCA at 1-250-505-5505 or toll free at 1-877-505-7355.
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