Where Santa shops

The Oliver Arts and Crafts Fair is shaping up to be better than ever this year. And like last year, organizers are helping the local food bank by asking people to bring a non-perishable item to this great event.

You will be quite amazed by the new talents and will be intrigued to look closer. Too many to name all, but here is a sampling of what to expect:

Metal work by Humdinger for the home or yard as a decoration or functional addition is a must-see. There will be gift baskets to have a ready- made present for even the pickiest person on your list or fabulous kid’s clothes that are just too cute to pass by. Also there will be pottery with great colours and design or something for that computer friend.

Painters will be bringing their season’s work of oils, watercolours and other media for that wall accent you were looking for. More local talents at the show include wooden spoons, incredible handmade jewellery, golden honey and beeswax candles, baked goods for the season and very tasty preserves from the summer.

And then the fibre artists from in and around Oliver will again please the senses of look, touch and feel. There will be colourful rovings, handspun yarn made into garments, handwoven placemats and funky knitted socks and mittens. Check out the quilting wonders of different vendors who make Christmas ornaments, gift bags,tree skirts and, of course, great quilts.

After you see all there is to see, there will be time for refreshments or for the bigger hunger, a bowl of soup with a sandwich and a dessert to follow. The kitchen is, like every year, ready with all these goodies and never seem to run out of the good stuff.

So, don’t forget that food donation, bring a friend and head down to the best arts and crafts fair around!

Oliver Arts and Crafts Fair
Friday November 25
10 – 7
Saturday November 26
10 – 4
Oliver Community Centre
FREE Admission
Refreshments and lunch available for purchase
Oliver Food Bank items accepted.

Fall Art Show and Sale is FASS-t approaching

This popular annual event is on Saturday October 1 – Sunday October 2 at the Oliver Community Centre, in conjunction with the Festival of the Grape. See poster for details.

View many interpretations of the “Outside the Box” theme in eight artistic categories: photography,  fibre arts, 3 -D, oils, acrylics, watercolours, other media, and a category for young “emerging artists”.

Saturday is a great day to see the show for free,  from 3 – 9 p.m. View the artwork, vote for your favourites, purchase artwork, bid in the silent auction,  and tour fascinating non-competitive displays such as the RipOff Artists American Gothic and demonstrations. Visit the arts council information booth. In the evening, nibble at the reception, listen to live entertainment, and be present for the announcement of category winners and “Best Interpretation of the Theme” (our version of Best in Show).

The Sunday entrance is free only with your paid entrance to the Festival of the Grape. The exhibits and sale continue, as does the silent auction. Meet the artists. View the category winners and the  overall “Best in Show”. Did your favourites win?

Watch for cute little wine glass tags commemorating poster art from the last four art shows. They make great souvenirs as well as being handy to wear on your Festival of the Grape glass on Sunday. 

Bring your chequebook because, in addition to the great art, arts council memberships, souvenirs and gift items on sale, you will definitely want to enter the silent auction!

The silent auction is looking absolutely fantastic this year! The auction continues the “Outside the Box” theme. Bid on dozens of tempting hand-painted boxes laden with various themed goods.  Each box is filled with items such as “a night at the theatre”, “home preserves”, “vacation”, “outdoor living”, “games night”, “school days”, “kitchenware”, “gardening”, “coffee bar” , “tea for two” or “bath and beauty”, just to name a few.   Each filled box makes an attractive gift or keep it for yourself and display it at home.

Between now and the festival, watch for our travelling “Outside the Box” display! The 6-foot tall stack of boxes looks like the poster graphic.  Can you find it around town? Thank you to Beyond Bliss, Medici’s Gelateria, Interior Savings  Credit Union, Valley First Credit Union, and the Oliver Regional Library for hosting the box stack so far! Please patronize these community-minded  businesses and institutions!

Simple Requests at Handworks Gallery

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker? Well, not quite. This time at handworks, it’s the potter, the painter, the mixed media maker.

Hot on the heels of their success at the Fall Art Show and Sale, artists Mike Randle (outsider art) and Sue McCarrell (mixed media) share an exhibit at Handworks Gallery.

McCarrell won first and third in the New Media category for “Moment in Time” and “Vintage Pleasure” (pictured) respectively.  “Moment in Time” was also voted best in show as “Best Interpretation of the Theme”.

Randle tied for first place in the Abstract Painting category with “Number One Project”.  Randle’s style can be described as “outsider” or “naive” art, or “art brut”. Once used specifically to describe artists who were often institutionalized and whose work remained undiscovered until their deaths, the terms are now used to describe any self-trained artists working outside the  mainstream art world.  They often feature unconventional ideas, elaborate fantasy worlds, and unusual juxtapositions and perspectives. 

Potter Lucy Stoppler is the third featured artist in the Simple Requests exhibit.

Opening Reception
Thursday November 4
5 to 7 p.m. 

Put your name in for a door prize!

The exhibit continues until December 15.

GALLERY HOURS:
TUES -FRI 10-4
SAT. 10-3

Welcoming Potters, Photographers and Writers

potter-and-clayThe Oliver Community Arts Council hopes to foster three new arts groups this fall.

Over the years, several locals have expressed their interest in pottery, photography or writing, but no groups exist to support their creative endeavours, and no single individual has taken on the task of starting a group from scratch. To meet the need, the OCAC has decided to take on a facilitative role in getting these groups started.

aa040053The arts council is putting out a call to any people wishing to join a pottery, photography, or writing group to add their names to a contact list. In late fall, the arts council will co-ordinate and host an introductory meeting for each group at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre. They hope to “seed” each new group with arts council members who have special talent in the art form. These facilitators could provide some basic artistic instruction, offer guidance in starting a new club, and be a liaison with the arts council. Although still under discussion, the OCAC Board is hoping to offer some incentives to new groups, such as free rental for initial meetings at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre or a free one-year membership in the arts council. 482203

Currently member groups include the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers, Double O Quilters, Federation of Canadian Artists, Friends of the Oliver Library, Oliver Arts and Crafts Sale, Oliver Country Market A-Fair, Oliver Sagebrushers, Sage Valley Voices Community Choir, South Okanagan Amateur Players, and South Okanagan Concert Society.

 Other ideas for arts groups are welcome.

Interested in being part of a brand new arts group in Oliver? Contact the Oliver Community Arts Council at olivercac@gmail.com or at OCAC, P.O. Box 1711, Oliver, BC   V0H 1T0 

Let us get you jump-started!