Squamish is gearing up for a
weekend full of fun and entertainment, as its fifth annual Wild at Art festival
wraps up.
Events kicked off last
weekend, and so far, festival coordinator, Carolyn Grass, says everything is
going amazingly well, with a sold-out crowd on their opening night. But she
anticipates that Saturday’s activities will be the pinnacle of the festival.
The West Coast Railway
Heritage Park (WCRHP) is serving as the main hub of the festival, with the
gallery housed in the PGE Car Shop – a massive building that is still used to
store the Royal Hudson, and to work on machinery.
“It’s wide enough for three
tracks and long enough for about two or three cars, so it’s a huge building,
and it’s a heritage building, as well,” Grass points out, adding that it’s a
great venue to help tie in the heritage element of the event.
Saturday starts off at 11
a.m. with a cookout by the Squamish Lions at their main venue at the WCRHP,
where selections by artists from throughout the Sea to Sky corridor and as far
south as North Vancouver will be on display at the gallery. Local performers
will also entertain the crowds up on the Heritage Stage.
An entire block in downtown
Squamish will be shut down from noon until midnight to make room for the
festival’s main stage tent, which will be used for Wild in the Streets, an
open-air concert headlined by Whistler’s own Kostaman.
The 2010 Olympic and
Paralympic mascots – Sumi, Quatchi and Miga will also make an appearance to
help kick off the day’s activities, and volunteers will be on hand to answer
questions about the upcoming Games.
The third venue is the
Community Connections at the Brennan Park Leisure Centre from 11 a.m. until 4
p.m., with a free skate, an ice show entitled, “Sugar, Spice and Ice,” a
farmer’s market, lots of food and crafts, live music, and art activities for
kids.
Outside, there will be hot
drinks, llama rides for kids, environmental displays, cars and bikes on show,
and large working trucks, such as fire engines, available for exploration by
curious children.
The concept of the festival
first emerged in 2004 as a way to showcase the region during the Olympics by
the District of Squamish. But in more recent years, the festival has started to
evolve, growing into a 10-day celebration of local arts, culture and heritage.
And it’s only going to get bigger.
“Now in 2010, we intend to
go for the full 17 days of the Olympics,” says Grass, adding that they have
also decided to carry on with the festival after 2010.
Grass just took over as
festival coordinator last year, when the festival ran for only two and a half
days.
“I determined that if we’re
going to do 17 days in 2010, we’ve got to kick it up!” she says.
Last year, the Wild at Art
Festival Society was formed to take over the coordination of the event, and the
festival ran for ten days for the first time, though the programming was a bit
thin. They decided the key to making the event a success was to make sure they
maintained their momentum by keeping the event in the public eye. It looks like
their efforts are paying off.
“We have this huge program
this year – it’s really almost bigger than we realized,” says Grass.
They’ve also managed to
bring another historical element into this year’s festival.
Heritage trains known as
Budd Cars, will run between their venues at the WCRHP and downtown Squamish
between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., transporting people between festival events.
Budd Cars each have their
own engine, and don’t need to be pulled, which means they can move in either
direction along the tracks. Historically, the Budd Car service ran as a
passenger train between North Vancouver and Prince George on a daily basis.
“You could go up to
somewhere, say Lillooet or something, and then catch the train again that
night,” Grass explains.
Despite the rapid growth of
the festival, organizers are still discovering ways to improve. This year,
they’ve decided they need to find a better way to distribute the full schedule
event to residents. While the information is available through their website
(www.wildatart.ca), and an eight-page insert featured in the Squamish Chief,
Grass says they really need a standalone publication.
“Next year, no question,
there’s going to be a proper program booklet where everything will be
included,” says Grass
She hopes this year’s
festival will bring people from throughout the corridor to Squamish.
“This is kind of the portion
of the festival that is an opportunity for us to showcase our community,
because in 2010 there are going to be people coming here from all over the
world, and we really want an opportunity to show them what Squamish is all
about,” she says.
