More than 20 artists will be battling it out at this year’s Summer Arts Festival at the Burnaby Arts Council’s Deer Lake Gallery.
The festival includes the Park’s Edge Paint Off, with the artists starting their painting at 1 p.m. and wrapping up by 3 p.m. The public votes on the pieces starting at 2 p.m., and at 3:45 p.m. the winner is announced.
“It’s a fabulous event, to watch someone paint from a blank canvas to a finished work,” said Teena Martina, artist and Burnaby Arts Council executive director.
There will also be a silent auction of the Paint Off artworks, which closes at 4 p.m. The artists gets 50 per cent of the proceeds, with the other 50 per cent going to the council, which puts on the free event.
The featured artists taking part in the paint off include Yukiko Adachi, Flavia Chan, Alyx Essers, Cas Fernandez, Brianna Nilsson, Juan Pablo Vargo and more.
The event includes entertainment as well as art, featuring DJ BJAM during the paint Off. There will be performances throughout the day by Jeff Neufeld, the Cubia Galera Band, and the Burnaby Summer Theatre presents Dragula, an original play written, directed by performing art students from Simon Fraser University.
There will also be a First Nations prayer and welcome, and a new mural by Kwakwee Baker will be unveiled. A new exhibit, Tricksters Laugh will open and features the works of Alanna Edwards and Geronimo, an Indigenous artist. It will run until Aug. 11.
The festival also has an artisan market, with more than 15 B.C. artists and designers offering up handcrafted pieces, including Art Cards by Valerie, KC’s Woodcraft, Euro Designs, Slate Jewelry, and items from the Burnaby Artists Guild.
There is an Inspiration Station, put on by Muckabout Gift Gallery, where kids can colour, share stores, and draw and write about what inspires them.
There will be a beer garden in the back yard as well, featuring Burnaby brewery Dageraad Brewing, and the Cheezee Does It food truck will be on site.
There will also be face painting.
“There’s something for everyone here,” Martina said.
The festival is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Deer Lake Gallery is at 6584 Deer Lake Avenue. For more information, including a full list of artists taking part in the paint Off, go to www.burnabyartscouncil.org/summer-art-festival.
