The Burk's Falls Arts and Crafts Club is getting ready to host its second arts fair since resuming the regular event this past summer after COVID shut down the art shows for two-and-a-half years.
Club president Lois Cookman says the two-day fair takes place the weekend of Nov. 19 and 20 at the Katrine Community Centre (KCC).
Cookman said that pre-COVID, the arts club would easily hold three or four art fairs a year, and its first show post COVID at the KCC this past June was very well received by the public.
Because of its proximity to the Christmas season, the upcoming fair has a holiday theme to it.
“A majority of the work will be related to Christmas and we're calling it the Holiday Show and Sale,” she said.
“There will also be a lot of winter themed images.”
Cookman expects at least 30 club members to showcase their works at the November art fair.
“The majority of the work will be paintings but there will also be crafts work,” Cookman said.
The Burk's Falls Arts and Crafts Club is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in northern Ontario.
It was created about 75 years ago by five women from Burk's Falls and Katrine.
Cookman says the five founding members met regularly and soon after the membership began to grow.
Today there are about 55 club members who cover the Bracebridge to North Bay corridor.
Cookman says in addition to painters, also among the artisans are potters, basket weavers, jewellery makers, and stained glass artists.
The Holiday Show and Sale will include painters, plus several of the craftspeople will also be at the fair with their finished works.
“This won't be something you come to and expect to buzz through in five minutes,” Cookman said.
“It's a lingering kind of event.”
The artists will also be on-site in case the public wants to buy any of their pieces.
Cookman says all forms of arts took a big financial hit during the pandemic.
She says it wasn't only painters and craftspeople who were affected, but also organizations like dance and theatre weren't able to perform publicly, and perhaps they were harder hit.
Cookman says that's because painters like herself, if they were fortunate enough, were able to sell their works online.
Cookman has been a member of the local club for about 20 years.
Her preferred subject matter is landscapes and she'll use pen and ink, watercolours or acrylics when working on an art piece.
Cookman is also president of the Northern Ontario Arts Association, an organization the local club helped found which represents about 15 arts clubs across northern Ontario.
There is no admission to the public to attend the November Holiday Show and Sale.
On Saturday, the art show takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
